2021-’22 Real Estate Tax Due Dates

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Albion

Tax year runs Feb. 1 to January 31
Taxes due September 30, 2021

China

Semi-annual
September 30, 2021
March 31, 2022

Fairfield

Four quarters

August 25, 2021
November 10, 2021
February 9, 2022
May 11, 2022

Palermo

October 31, 2021

Sidney

September 1, 2021

Vassalboro

Four quarters
September 27, 2021
November 22, 2021
February 28, 2022
April 25, 2022

Waterville

Four quarters
October 8, 2021
December 10, 2021
March 11, 2022
June 10, 2022

Windsor

Semi-annual
September 30, 2021
March 31, 2022

Winslow

Four quarters
October 8, 2021
December 10, 2021
March 11, 2022
June 10, 2022

To be included in this section, contact The Town Line at townline@townline.org.

CHINA: Broadband ballot question over 200 words long

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by Mary Grow

China selectmen learned at their special meeting Sept. 2 that it takes at least two lawyers to draft a proper ballot question asking voters if they will authorize selectmen to issue a bond – and a third lawyer to explain the result.

The local referendum question China voters will be asked to vote yes or no at the polls Nov. 2 is more than 200 words long. It has four sections; one section has two subsections.

The China Broadband Committee (CBC) requests the bond issue to provide funds to build new internet infrastructure in China. CBC member Jamie Pitney, who is a lawyer, drafted the first version of the ballot question.

At the Sept. 2 special selectmen’s meeting, town attorney Amanda Meader zoomed in to explain that the Maine Bond Bank, from which town officials intend to seek a loan, needs authorizations worded in specific ways. She had referred Pitney’s wording to a bond expert, and she and Pitney had further refined that lawyer’s draft before it came to the selectmen at their regular meeting Aug. 30.

When selectmen reviewed the proposed question, board member Wayne Chadwick had a problem with the first sentence. It begins: “Shall the Town vote to a) approve the acquisition, construction and equipping of a broadband system to be owned by the Town and built by contractors” and goes on to specify maximum cost ($6,485,850) and other parameters.

The bond issue has a maximum of $5,608,700. Grants are supposed to cover the rest of the cost.

To Chadwick, who readily admits he is not a lawyer, the wording sounded as though if voters said yes, selectmen were obligated to set up the new system. CBC members have repeatedly set two conditions for going ahead with the project: enough residents must sign up for the proposed new service to make it financially sound, and grants must be obtained.

Meader pointed to two phrases farther along in the document that she said allowed selectmen to refuse to apply for the bond if conditions were not met.

One section she cited authorizes selectmen to accept money from grants and other sources as they determine “are necessary and proper.” Selectmen could find that no grants or other funds were “necessary and proper,” she said.

The other section says selectmen can delegate to the board chairman (Ronald Breton) and the town treasurer (Becky Hapgood) the power to issue the bonds and “in their discretion” to establish schedules and other details. Their “discretion” includes the possibility of finding they cannot carry out the responsibility, Meader said.

Meader described the wording of the ballot question as “convoluted” and “cumbersome.” To make the intent and effect clear to non-lawyers, she proposed, and selectmen accepted, a fourth section. It says that voters further:

“[R]equire the Select Board to vote to determine whether in their own judgment and discretion there is sufficient subscribership to proceed with the bond issue.”

After more than an hour’s discussion Sept. 2, the wording was accepted on a 4-1 vote, with Chadwick voting against it because he opposes the whole idea.

The earlier version of the article carried a selectmen’s recommendation of “Leave it to the People,” adopted on a split vote at the Aug. 30 selectmen’s meeting. Irene Belanger, Blane Casey and Janet Preston voted in favor of the recommendation; Breton and Chadwick were opposed, believing the board had a responsibility to offer advice.

Breton raised the question of changing the recommendation at the special meeting. Hapgood ruled, with Meader’s support, that only the three board members on the winning side of the prior vote could make a motion to change it.

Preston moved to make a recommendation that voters approve the bond issue. She called it “a very low-risk opportunity for the town,” given the previous discussion.

Chadwick seconded her motion. The selectmen have more information from their discussions at meetings than the average voter has, and therefore should provide guidance on the ballot question, he said.

Chadwick voted against Preston’s motion, which lost on a 2-3 vote, with Belanger and Preston in favor.

Casey then moved selectmen recommend that voters not approve the bond issue. His motion passed 3-2, with Breton, Casey and Chadwick in favor.

Selectmen agreed to put the question on the Nov. 2 ballot and to include the negative recommendations from the selectmen and budget committee, with the numbers on each side after the recommendations (3-2 for the selectmen, 4-1 for the budget committee at an Aug. 23 meeting).

The next regular China selectmen’s meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 13.

Just Our Jams raises money for local food pantry

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Cindi Orlando, left, Luanne Webber, right. (photo by Eric W. Austin)

by Eric W. Austin

Can strawberry jam save the world? Two local women think it can. Luanne Webber and Cindi Orlando, both from China, have started a venture called “Just our Jams” to help raise money for their local food pantry. The initiative aims to repurpose leftover fruit from the China Community Food Pantry to make jam, which they sell at events around central Maine. All profits are donated back to the food pantry. In just the last few months, they’ve raised more than $1,400.

Ann Austin, director of the China Food Pantry, says she’s blown away by their success. “It’s really amazing what they’ve done,” she says. “We’ve been able to replace two of our older freezers. That’s going to help reduce future electric bills, which is one of our biggest expenses.”

The two local ladies were looking for a way to give back to their community when they came up with the idea. Last winter, at the start of the pandemic, they became involved in several community efforts. Working with the China for a Lifetime Committee, they sewed more than 500 masks for local residents and school children. They also began cooking soups and meals for the elderly and delivering food boxes from the pantry to residents who could not leave their homes. But it was when they began volunteering for the China Community Food Pantry that their eyes were opened.

“The first day I volunteered,” says Orlando, “I went home with a whole new respect for these people.”

“We only saw it at the end, when we picked up the [food] boxes and left,” adds Webber, “but to be included from the beginning to the end – it was exhausting!”

Although the food pantry is only open from noon to 1 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, work for pantry volunteers extends far beyond those hours. Donated food needs to be picked up and delivered to the pantry for marking and sorting. Floors have to be swept and counters cleaned, and since the pandemic, food boxes must be prepared before the pantry opens.

“We started seeing how much fruit was left at the end of the day,” remembers Webber. “There were buckets and boxes.”

Often, food is donated to the pantry because it has reached the end of its shelf life. The food that is too far gone for human consumption is removed and given to volunteers who live on homesteads with farm animals. Nothing ever goes to waste, but Webber and Orlando saw a way to repurpose some of the leftover fruits and vegetables to further support the work of the pantry. They began taking home some of these supplies to make jam.

The first event they attended was a bit of a disappointment. It was a vendor’s fair in Waterville and they only sold eleven jars of jam. Next, they set up at the Olde Mills’ weekend farmer’s market in Vassalboro, selling 30-40 jars. It was there they met one of the organizers of the Taste of Waterville event and were invited to attend. This was their big breakthrough. They sold more than 150 jars of jam and were interviewed by a reporter for a story about the event from the Morning Sentinel. A few weeks later they were featured in a segment on WMTW Channel-8, a local ABC News affiliate.

Word was getting out.

Cindi Orlando, left, and Luanne Webber, display their banner in front of the China Food Pantry van. (photo by Eric W. Austin)

Since then they have had a booth at the recent China Community Days festival, where they raised another $400, and this coming weekend, September 10-12, they will be attending the Vassalboro Days celebration.

The personal history of their friendship is also an interesting one. Both grew up in a small town in Rhode Island called Scituate, attending the same school and church, before moving to the nearby town of Pascoag. Then life happened and the two drifted in different directions.

“I disappeared,” says Orlando. “I moved to Maine.”

“When you’re raising your kids, time gets busy and you lose track of so many people because you’re so involved. That’s what happened,” affirms Webber.

Cindi Orlando moved her family to Maine in 1987 and pursued her career, in between parenting, as a chef. Eventually, Webber made her own way to Maine, moving to Madison. Then, a little over five years ago, Orlando bought a house in China. A year later, unbeknownst to Orlando, Webber and her husband also relocated to China. They lived several years without being aware of each other, but then, two years ago, they ran into one another at the Hannaford store, in South China. They hadn’t seen each other for 30 years.

At the time, Webber’s husband, a disabled veteran, was very ill. He passed away six weeks later. “She really needed me to walk into her life at that time,” says Orlando, “and we’ve been together ever since. We just work together on things. I helped her through the loss of her husband, and we repainted both of our houses inside this winter. We’re just busy people. We like being busy, and that’s when we said we’ve got to start volunteering. Being retired, sitting at home is just not our thing. So, we did this. We thought this would be a good cause.”

The ladies do a lot of experimentation to come up with their jam flavors. “Our number one bestseller came from necessity,” explains Webber. “We had an overabundance of pineapple and an overabundance of jalapenos.” That resulted in their jalapenos-pineapple jam, a fan favorite. “It also has carrots in it so it has a lot of body to it,” she says. “Put that over cream cheese, or over Brie. Put it on salmon or pork chops as a glaze.”

“We make 32 different kinds, or about that,” says Orlando.

“We lose count,” admits Webber. “When we get a fruit – like recently we were inundated with peaches – we try to come up with every concoction we can for peaches, so we have a peachy-orange marmalade, a peach and mango, a ginger peach butter, a bourbon peach and a plain peach.”

“What we make, you cannot buy in stores,” points out Orlando.

All of their jams are low sugar. A selection of their jams are available at McGrath’s farm stand, in South China, (next to the school), but their jams will never be available in stores. As a not-for-profit business, they get by with a home-kitchen license and a vendor’s license that lets them sell at local events. To sell in stores would require them to upgrade to a commercial kitchen license and they have no plans to go pro.

“We will never go commercial,” says Webber. “Neither of us wants a fulltime job.”

Those interested in supporting their work can order jam by contacting them through their Facebook page, via email at justourjams@gmail.com or by text at 401-486-0076, or through the China Food Pantry at 968-2421. Jams sell for $7 for an 8 ounce jar, or $12 for 16 ounce. If you are local, they will happily meet you in the Hannaford parking lot to deliver your order.

The ladies are also in need of donations of 8 and 16 oz canning jars, sugar and pectin (low sugar only). Donations can be dropped off at the China Community Food Pantry, 1320 Lakeview Drive in China Village.

Eric W. Austin writes about local community issues. He can be reached at ericwaustin@gmail.com.

FISHY PHOTO: First fish a whopper!

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Lincoln, right, age 3, visiting China Lake in July, from Louisiana, caught his first fish with a little help from daddy. Domenic, left, age 3, was very interested in what his brother caught! The bass was 17 inches long and weighed between 2 -3 pounds. Parents are Bernard Boudet and Katharine Simon. The twins are the great-grandchildren of the late Irma W. Simon, of South China.

Demolition debris fees to be raised at China transfer station

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by Mary Grow

A majority of China Transfer Station Committee members recommended at the Aug. 24 meeting that selectmen increase fees for disposal of demolition debris, and selectmen agreed at their Aug. 30 meeting.

Committee members reviewed the current fee schedule (available on the town website, www.china.govoffice.com) with two goals in mind: to ensure that fees cover disposal costs, including staff labor; and to ensure that China’s fees are not so much lower than other towns’ that China attracts out-of-town waste.

They added that any 2021 increase should cover costs for some years into the future, to avoid the need for annual reviews and updates.

Committee member Ashley Farrington had collected information on fees from 15 other Maine towns for 71 different items. Committee Chairman Larry Sikora had narrowed the list to make a spreadsheet for comparison.

There was still the complication that some towns measured by weight and others by volume.

China’s contract with Palermo requires six months’ notice to Palermo before any fee increase is effective. Town Manager Becky Hapgood calculated that if selectmen approved a change at their Aug. 30 meeting, the increase could take effect April 1, 2022.

After discussion, transfer station committee members voted 6-1, with Sikora opposed, to recommend increasing demolition debris fees from six to 10 cents a pound for China and Palermo residents and from eight to 15 cents a pound for non-residents. The increase, they added, is subject to review after further study of costs and would be effective six months after selectmen’s approval.

At the Aug. 30 China selectmen’s meeting, board members unanimously approved a three-part motion that said:

— Demolition debris disposal fees for China and Palermo residents will increase from six to 10 cents a pound, effective April 1, 2022;
— Demolition debris disposal fees for residents of all other municipalities will increase from eight to 15 cents a pound, effective Jan. 1, 2022; and
— Hapgood is to notify Palermo officials that the price Palermo residents pay for bags for mixed waste will increase April 1, 2022, with the new price to be recommended by the transfer station committee and approved by the selectboard.

Transfer station committee members will also continue to discuss charges for bulky items, like furniture, mattresses and tires, having come to no decision on Aug. 24.

In other business, they unanimously adopted the state-required policy on remote participation, created by the legislature as the pandemic emergency rules end. The policy allows limited exceptions to the rule that public boards and committees must meet in person.

Hapgood reported rumors that the RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags allowing admission to the China transfer station are being lent to people who are not residents of China or Palermo.

The tags, read by a scanner at the station, succeeded the window stickers used until a few years ago. Stickers had license plate numbers on them; if the sticker number did not match the vehicle license plate, attendants could question the driver.

Hapgood and committee members discussed whether a different identification system is needed. They decided first to try to get more information on the extent of the problem and thus the extra burden on China taxpayers.

Transfer station committee members scheduled their next meeting for 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 12.

China TIF committee spends lots of time on legal issue of remote meeting policy

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by Mary Grow

Members of China’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Committee spent much of their Aug. 23 meeting trying to understand the state-required policy on board and committee meetings that are not entirely in-person.

Pre-Covid, Town Manager Becky Hapgood explained, the state right-to-know law assumed, and required, that when a board or committee met, members and the public were in the meeting room interacting face to face.

During the pandemic, emergency provisions allowed remote meetings. The emergency has expired, and the legislature has passed a law returning to almost the pre-Covid normal. However, there are now two exceptions, Hapgood and TIF Committee member Jamie Pitney explained:

— An entire board may meet remotely in an emergency, like a pandemic or a blizzard; and
— A member, with notice to the chairman who in turn notifies as many other members as possible, may participate remotely in case of “illness or temporary absence that causes a board member significant difficulties in travel.”

The Maine Municipal Association distributed information to municipalities that Hapgood said repeated the legislative wording and said that each separate board and committee must adopt the policy, or something similar enough to be legal.

A member participating remotely who qualifies for one of the exceptions to personal attendance is counted as part of the quorum and may vote, Hapgood said. If the TIF Committee did not have a remote meeting policy and a renewed shut-down prohibited in-person meetings, the committee could not meet.

Qualification to participate remotely was the issue. There was consensus that someone who tried to Zoom in because he or she did not feel like driving to the meeting, or because he or she had child-care responsibilities at home, did not qualify.

When TIF Chairman Tom Michaud is spending the winter in Florida, there was agreement he has difficulty traveling to a meeting in the China town office. But, Pitney, pointed out, Michaud chooses to go to Florida; so maybe he should not be allowed to participate remotely.

Committee members debated a hypothetical case: a committee member calls the chairman to say he or she has to work late, either can drive to the meeting but is unlikely to arrive before it adjourns, or can Zoom in from the office. They did not decide whether the situation authorized remote participation.

Despite the lack of clarity, TIF Committee members adopted the policy on a 6-0 vote.

They spent less time on tax increment financing business. Hapgood said the state Department of Economic and Community Development has not yet approved the amended TIF program local voters adopted at the June 8 town meeting, so no money has been disbursed under it.

No accurate fund balances are available, because the audit for the fiscal year that ended June 30 is not finished.

The causeway project is done and paid for, Hapgood said, except for one minor step that cannot be done until late in the fall. She updated board members on the single outstanding loan from the Revolving Loan Fund that is part of China’s TIF.

Michaud’s wife Marie has resigned her secretarial duties; when no one volunteered to replace her, Michaud proposed members take turns preparing minutes, starting with himself. He also asked for a vice-chairman to run meetings when he is unavailable. James “J. J.” Wentworth was elected unanimously.

The next TIF Committee meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, Sept. 20.

CHINA: Town receives two bids on Lakeview Drive lot

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by Mary Grow

China selectmen had two bids on the town’s Lakeview Drive property to review at their Aug. 30 meeting.

Voters at the June 8 town meeting authorized them to sell the almost 40 acres of land on the east side of the road opposite The Cottages at China Lake. A group called People’s Park, led by Lindsey Harwath and others, promptly organized to raise money to buy the lot for a park.

At their Aug. 16 meeting, selectmen voted to contract with Lucas Adams, of Adams Realty, in China, to handle the sale. Town Manager Becky Hapgood signed the contract last week, and Adams attended the Aug. 30 meeting to discuss the two offers.

Confidentiality considerations prevented Adams and the selectmen from sharing all details with the audience. Adams said one bid was $10,000 from a group planning a park; the other was $80,000 from someone whose tentative plan is to split the lot and sell part of it to the People’s Park organization.

Earlier, Adams had valued the land at between $80,000 and $100,000, and selectmen had settled on $90,000 as their base price. Adams said he had had other inquiries, but so far no other offers, he thinks because much of the lot is wetland.

After discussion, selectmen voted 4-1 to authorize Hapgood to make a counter-offer to the higher bidder, negotiate with him, her or them and sign relevant documents.

Selectman Janet Preston, a supporter of the park plan, voted no. Her earlier motion to accept the lower bid was not seconded.

On another issue, China’s Broadband Committee (CBC) had asked selectmen to put a question on the Nov. 2 local ballot asking voters to authorize a bond issue to build new internet infrastructure in town. By Aug. 30, the CBC’s question had been rewritten by an attorney – not town attorney Amanda Meader, Hapgood said, but a “bondwriting specialist” Meader had consulted.

Selectman Wayne Chadwick did not like the result. It sounded to him, he said, as though if voters approved the article, selectmen would have no choice but to issue the bond and go ahead with construction.

CBC members have repeatedly said that if too few residents sign up for the proposed new service the expanded infrastructure will provide, or if the grants expected to cover some of the cost do not materialize, the project will be canceled and the bond will not be needed.

Despite the evening hour, Hapgood tried to reach Meader, without success. Since the Nov. 2 ballot must be final by Sept. 3 – the day nomination papers for local elective office are due – selectmen agreed to a short special meeting at 4 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 2, expecting a clarification before then.

Hapgood said none of the ordinance amendments China Planning Board members have discussed for months will be on the Nov. 2 ballot, because she has been unable to get final copies in time.

Jeanette Smith, Chairman of the Thurston Park Committee, attended the meeting to explain why committee members want to contract with Scott Childs to do $23,350 worth of work in the park, without seeking other bids. Childs heads SD Childs and Sons Excavation, Inc., of Palermo.

Last year, she said, Childs worked on two main trails in the town-owned park in northeastern China. Heavy rains in the fall showed that ditching some sections and installing a culvert are needed, to avoid dealing with repeated damage.

Childs gave them the estimate, which includes other projects, last fall. Committee members intend to use part of the $35,000 allocated from China’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) fund to pay him.

Meanwhile, they were told they should get at least three estimates. Committee member Steve Nelson has found no other contractor with the time or inclination to bid on the project.

Smith asked selectmen’s approval to go ahead with Childs as planned. Despite general belief in the value of multiple estimates, they approved in this case; Chadwick pointed out that this year is unusual. The vote was 4-1, with Blane Casey opposed.

Chairman Ronald Breton added that since China apparently has no policy saying when proposed expenditures are to be bid out, the board should develop one.

In other business, selectmen made committee appointments as follows:

— Cemetery Committee, Elizabeth Curtis and Jean Dempster; and
— Building Committee, for the planned addition of a storage room on the town office, Ashley Farrington, Debra Fischer, Tiffany Glidden, Sheldon Goodine, Jaime Hanson and Scott Pierz.

After the special Sept. 2 meeting, the next regular China selectmen’s meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 13.

LakeSmart designation awarded to two China Lake residents

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Bob O’Connor

LakeSmart Award to Bob O’Connor

In 1967 Bob’s father bought five parcels of property on the Lakeview side of China Lake. One of the lots is where Bob now calls home. The original camp was converted to a year around home in 1980. Bob eventually moved his family to the home full time in 1987.

You may know Bob because he has lived in China for a long time. Or, you may know him because since 1990, he has been the coordinator of the China Lake loon count, which is done on the third Saturday of July at the early hour of 7 a.m., rain or shine every year. Volunteers are assigned specific areas of the lake to ensure we count each adult and chick they see. This information is gathered on most lakes in Maine at this very early hour to help monitor the loon population in our state. Because of the initiative, people pay better attention to our loons.

We learned to stay 200 feet away from them. We keep a “no wake” speed within 200 feet of the shore because we don’t want to flood their nests and wash away the eggs! And every fisherman knows that using Leadfree tackle and properly disposing of monofilament lines protects the life of our loons.

What stands out at Bob’s lovely lakefront property is that he seldom mows. He prefers to see the native vegetation which includes flowering plants that attract the pollenating bees. He likes the natural setting. Bob mentioned that the wild plants have deep roots. I would say he is right on.

If you would be interested in having a China LakeSmart volunteer visit your lakefront property to see if you can help protect the lake, please email us at ChinaLakeSmart@gmail.com. Hope to hear from you!

Cynthia Hart

LakeSmart Award earned by Cynthia Hart

The China Lake Association’s LakeSmart Program recently awarded Cynthia Hart the LakeSmart Award. Her family has owned this lake front property for many years. It consists of a narrow strip of undeveloped land that has a very lake protective natural berm in front of the shoreline. The land slopes towards the lake. The land above the berm consists of undisturbed duff, young and mature trees, and native shrubs.

When we experience heavy rains, the mature trees create a canopy to shield the land from the damaging impact of fast traveling rain. A canopy will reduce soil erosion. Soil has the potential to send phosphorous and pollutants towards the lake. Phosphorus feeds algae and that can cause our lake to turn green.

With the natural berm and strong effective buffers, Cynthia Hart earns the China LakeSmart Award.

Maybe your property is already LakeSmart. Please contact us for a visit and we can find out if you too, can post a LakeSmart Award on your property. People are observational learners. Being a role model helps others to understand what they can do to protect our Lake. We can be reached at ChinaLakeSmart@gmail.com.

China budget committee urges “no” vote on broadband expansion

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by Mary Grow

China Budget Committee members recommend voters not approve the bond issue for broadband expansion on the Nov. 2 local ballot.

At the Aug. 23 committee meeting, members talked with representatives of the China Broadband Committee (CBC) before deciding to disagree with them.

The vote on a motion to add a “No” recommendation under the ballot question was 4-1, Chairman Robert Batteese announced. He, Tim Basham, Kevin Maroon and Tom Rumpf voted to recommend against the bond issue. Trishea Story dissented.

The committee majority’s main argument was that CBC members are getting too far ahead; they should wait until amounts and allowed uses of pending federal and state funds have been made clear.

One budget committee member added that the option of collaborating with other towns should be explored. Another objected on principle to town government rather than private enterprise providing broadband service.

CBC members advocate the bond issue, currently estimated at around $5.6 million, to cover most of the cost of building new broadband infrastructure town-wide. They anticipate grants will cover about 15 percent.

Having bond money would put China in an advantageous position for getting grants, because the usually-required matching funds would be available, CBC member Tod Detre said.

CBC member Jamie Pitney said there had been informal discussions about regional cooperation.

The problem with waiting for a private company to offer improved service is that China is too small to attract investors, Detre said. Pitney said CBC members have talked with Spectrum, the company currently providing internet service to about 70 percent of residents, and found no interest in upgrading and expanding. Meanwhile, Detre said, some residents have no internet access at all, and others have limited service.

When the CBC asked for proposals for broadband service at the beginning of the year, there were three responses, including Spectrum’s expensive and inadequate offer, Pitney said. Since then, CBC members have chosen to work with Axiom Technologies to provide a town-owned, Axiom-operated and maintained system funded by user fees, not tax dollars.

Story said better service is essential as needs increase, for example for education, and to attract new businesses to town. Axiom’s proposed monthly $55 fee for the lowest service tier is significantly less than she pays now, she said.

Pitney and Detre pointed out that authorizing the selectmen to apply for the bond does not mean they must do so. If too few residents sign up for the new service to provide needed income, or if grants are not awarded, selectmen need not act on the authorization.

At the Aug. 16 China selectmen’s meeting, Selectboard members decided their recommendation on the ballot question will be “Leave to the people” or similar wording, meaning that as a board they recommend neither for nor against the bond issue.

Interviews with China Lake Association leadership; Goal is to educate, re-engage membership

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New China Lake Association president Stephen Greene, left, and newly-appointed executive director of the China Region Lakes Alliance, Scott Pierz, during a recent interview. (photo by Jeanne Marquis)

by Jeanne Marquis

The China Lake Association (CLA) elected a new president, Stephen Greene, which established Scott Pierz as the president emeritus for his seven-year service. Scott Pierz will remain active with the CLA, aid in the leadership transition while his passion for lake management will be shared to a greater area as the Executive Director of the China Region Lakes Alliance (CRLA).

In an in-depth interview, we discovered what this shift will mean in terms of strengthening the stewardship of our natural local water resources, their visions for the future and the differences in their leadership styles.

What in their backgrounds has prepared them for these roles?

Scott Pierz grew up in Connecticut and graduated from the University of Maine at Orono with multiple degrees in philosophy, psychology and teaching. After teaching early in his career, he took a job with the State of Maine as one of the first program monitors of fuel assistance in the late seventies and eighties. In the mid-’80s, Pierz was the City of Gardiner’s codes enforcement officer and later that decade became Oakland’s first codes enforcement officer. After leaving that position, he became a planner with what is now the Kennebec Valley Council of Governments (KVCOG). In this position, Pierz wrote comprehensive plans and grants. One of these grants, a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) for the Town of Norridgewock gave him a job as the CDBG Director of this multi-phase project. In 1995, Pierz became the codes enforcement officer of China, serving for 19 years, where he saw first hand the direct connection between building codes and lake quality.

Pierz explained this connection, “Essentially, the knowledge I gained through my codes enforcement career with various communities, along with planning and grant writing experience, have formed the foundation of my education about municipal land use and lake ecology.”

Stephen Greene’s career has also extensively prepared him for the role as CLA president. Greene is a 1973 graduate of the University of Maine at Orono (UMO). Prior to continuing on to law school, he worked industrial construction jobs in Portland, Maine. In 1979, he graduated from the New York Law School and was admitted to the New Jersey Bar. For the next four years, Greene served as an assistant prosecutor for the Hudson County (NJ) Prosecutor’s Office and tried over 20 jury criminal cases during his tenure.

Greene was an associate attorney with Ravin, Sarasohn, Cook, Baum­garten & Fisch , Roseland, New Jersey, during 1983 to 1990 and an associate attorney with Schwartz, Tobia & Stanziale, Montclair, New Jersey, from 1990 to 1993. At these firms, he conducted civil business litigation, including some bench trials and appellate work.

After 1993 until his 2018 retirement, Greene served as Vice President and General Counsel with G&W Laboratories, Inc., South Plainfield, New Jersey, a pharmaceutical manufacturing firm.There he was responsible for all legal matters involving the company, such as FDA, mergers and acquisitions, corporate compliance, and litigation. During his tenure at G&W, he volunteered for and performed pro bono legal work for non-profit organizations under the auspices of the Pro Bono Partnership.

Green mentioned two lessons he learned in his career that he will apply in his new role as CLA president. The first is to always rely on the facts to determine a sound decision. The second lesson is to find the common ground between people’s positions.
How did Pierz and Greene develop their connections to China Lake?

Pierz has lived on China Lake since 1981. Through his 40 years of watching sunsets over the lake and hearing the calls of the loons, he feels a deep connection to the lake. He saw through his work how the lake is the heartbeat of the surrounding area and what happens within the 26 square mile watershed area surrounding the lake impacts the water quality.

Greene also has a long relationship with China Lake. He first visited the lake with his wife, Margo Rancourt Greene, who he met at the University of Maine at Orono as students. China Lake had been an integral part of her family’s life and that continued as Stephen and Margo Greene raised their own children. In 2010, the Greene’s converted their camp into a year-round residence to get more enjoyment from the lake and, now in retirement, spend the majority of the year there.

Greene explains how his passion for the lake turned into concern, “My wife and I remember very well the purity of the China Lake in the 1970s, as well as the heartbreaking changes over the next two decades. We couldn’t abandon China Lake with our deep roots here, and decided we would do something to make a difference. We joined CLA many years ago and got involved. Margo with LakeSmart and me now with the CLA board and presidency. I have been absorbing information from friends in the community, scouring regional news sources and local journalism, including The Town Line, as well as listening to non-profit groups with similar missions as the China Lake Association.”

What does Scott Pierz’s move to the China Region Lakes Alliance as their Executive Director mean to China Lake?

Pierz told us, “ My father instilled in me a nature to participate and give time, to dedicate time, to my community and that’s a community with a capital “C.” That still drives me. I’ve got more to give. There’s more to do. So that’s why I’m making the move to the China Region Lakes Alliance to continue the core programs that have been offered not only to China, but to expand them within the region, and that’s my goal.”

The CLA and CRLA will continue their strong relationship. As the executive director, Pierz will expand the core programs to serve the regional lakes – Webber Pond and Three Mile Pond – that connect with China Lake. These programs are LakeSmart, Courtesy Boat Inspection Program (CBI), Youth Conservation Corps (YCC), and the Gravel Road Rehabilitation Program (GRRP). The strategy behind this organizational shift is that China Lake will be better protected when the surrounding bodies of water are also protected.

What does Stephen Greene see as the future and the greatest challenges ahead for the CLA?

Green responded, “The CLA has been and continues to be a vibrant, effective and constant organizing voice for China Lake protection and restoration. The campaigns it conducts and programs it supports for environmental education, science-based research, watershed surveys, YCC, LakeSmart, boat inspectIons and gravel road restoration have been instrumental in reducing and slowing the phosphorus load to the lake. … As was pointed out in our recent annual meeting, the greatest threat may be the epic task of solving the lakebed phosphorus load.”

Green sees his initial calls to action are to educate, re-engage the membership, and recruit the younger generation to get involved to preserve the lake for future generations. “We owe it to our children to do all we can to secure that destiny.”