China Lake Association updates public on 10-year watershed plan

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by Eric W. Austin

On Thursday, December 2, the China Lake Association hosted a two-hour Zoom webinar to present the public with their 10-year plan for the China Lake Watershed. The plan represented work over a two-year period by multiple organizations to survey the China Lake watershed and develop a plan for preserving and improving it.

Stephen Greene

Stephen Greene, president of the China Lake Association, served as moderator for the event. Jennifer Jespersen, owner of the environmental consulting company Ecological Instincts, was the keynote speaker, with Amanda Pratt, of Maine DEP, presenting information about the recent watershed survey and moderating the question and answer session afterwards. Dr. Ken Wagner, a consultant from Water Resources Services, who Jespersen described as a “water professional specializing in the management of internal loading in lakes throughout New England”, was also on hand to answer questions from the audience.

China Lake Association president, Stephen Greene, introduced the evening by saying, “What are we trying to accomplish? In a nutshell, to restore water quality in China Lake, to end recurrent nuisance algae blooms. And why is this important? We all know that China Lake is the drinking water supply for 22,000 people. China Lake is the heartbeat of the community in the region. It is an economic engine. It serves as a large part of the tax base. It is home to people and wildlife in our community. It is a center of recreation.”

The previous watershed plan, formulated in 2008, was out of date, Jen Jespersen explained, and in order for local groups that do important restoration work in the watershed to apply and receive grants, the watershed plan must be updated every 10 years.

Jespersen began her presentation by explaining some of the problems China Lake is facing now and historically, along with reviewing some of the characteristics that make the China Lake watershed unique. Consisting of land in and around China Lake, both the east and west basins, 89 percent of the China Lake watershed sits within the borders of China, with nine percent in Vassalboro, two percent in Albion, and a tiny slice, making up only 0.1 percent, in Winslow. In total, the watershed includes about 27 square miles, with most of that surrounding the east basin (20 square miles). The surface area of the lake is about 6.2 square miles total.

The watershed is the area of land surrounding the bodies of water and determined by the sources that drain into the lake. Most of this area is forested (56 percent), with the remaining being wetlands (19 percent), agricultural areas (12 percent), developed land (11 percent) and roads (2 percent).

Water flows from the north end of the east basin, down the length of China Lake and then into the west basin (also known as the Big Lake), and into Outlet Stream which eventually drains into Sebasticook River and from there into the ocean.

Maximum depth of the lake is 92 feet in the west basin, and 56 feet in the east basin. Average depth across the lake is about 25 feet.

Screenshot taken from the China Lake watershed presentation.

Currently, China Lake is on the state’s list of impaired lakes because of the frequency of algae blooms, because China is considered a “high contact” body of water, and because of the high level of phosphorous and low oxygen levels detected in the lake. Part of the goal of the proposed 10-year watershed plan is to address these problems.

One of the problems China Lake suffers from is a lower than average flush rate. This is the rate at which all of the water in the lake is replaced by new water. Jespersen said that while the average for lakes in the state is between 1-1.5 flushes per year, China Lake is much lower at just .65-.72 flushes per year. This means that when pollutants are washed into the lake, it takes longer for the lake to flush them downstream than other comparable lakes.

Jespersen explained that they have arrived at their recommendations through extensive data collection, including Secchi Disc testing for water clarity at multiple stations around the lake, lakebed sediment testing, the collection of water samples to test for total phosphorus and Chlorophyll-a content, and water column readings, which test for dissolved oxygen in the water and also water temperature. This data is then fed into several data models to identify the best approach for management and restoration.

Algae problems in bodies of water like China Lake are directly related to the nutrient load on the lake. This “load” comes in two varieties: external load and internal load. The external load on the lake refers to the sources of nutrients flowing into the lake from external sources, including leaky septic systems, new land development and runoff from agricultural activity like farming and animal husbandry.

Impact overview of China Lake watershed. Screenshot taken from the China Lake watershed presentation.

The internal load is a bit harder to explain. This is the amount of nutrients already trapped in the sediment at the bottom of the lake. Some of this internal load on the lake is natural, coming from the decomposing bodies of animals, fish and plant matter that settle to the bottom of the lake, but much of it is also due to human activity. Today, there are regulations to manage the leakage of nutrients into the lake from things like land development and septic usage. But that wasn’t always the case. In the past, septic systems leaked directly into the lake, and no effort was made to reduce the influence of land development or agricultural activity on the watershed. Over time, these nutrients drained into the lake and built up in the sediment of the lake bottom, just waiting for the right moment to feed an explosion of new algae growth. That moment came in 1983 with the first major algae bloom, and this incident spurred regulatory changes to prevent it from happening again. But by that time we were already fighting a losing game against the internal nutrient load which had been building for years.

Because of this history, the China Lake Association and its partners must focus on the problem from two fronts, the external load, or the amount of new nutrients being fed into the lake, and the internal load, which refers to the nutrients already stored in the lake as a result of years of development and mismanagement of the lake’s watershed.

Algae blooms cause multiple problems. They can threaten the safety of drinking water for those residents that source their drinking water from China Lake. Blooms also damage the recreational and aesthetic value of the lake, and can negatively impact shoreline property values. Additionally, certain types of algae can be toxic to people and pets who come into contact with them.

The team’s research has suggested that the greatest impact on the west basin (the Big Lake) comes from sources in the east basin, and so dealing with the east basin’s internal load will result in the most improvement across both bodies of water. They have also identified the largest contributors of nutrients into the lake as a way to help formulate a management plan. For example, land used for agriculture makes up only 12 percent of the area of the watershed, but it contributes 38 percent of the nutrients feeding into the lake.

The goal of the proposed plan is to reduce the phosphorous in the east basin by 656 kg/year, a reduction of 7.5 parts per billion (ppb), and to reduce the phosphorous in the west basin by 229 kg/year, a reduction of 2.1 ppb. Currently, the total phosphorous in the lake, according to the ten-year average, stands at 17 parts per billion (ppb). This plan would aim to reduce that to 10 ppb, a significant reduction, which should, based on the data models the team is using, lower the probability of major algae blooms in the lake from 28 percent to 2 percent over the next ten years.

Screenshot taken from the China Lake watershed presentation.

Most of the questions asked by audience members after the presentations centered on the proposed alum treatment to address the lake’s internal nutrient load. This treatment involves adding aluminum sulfate to the lake which prevents the phosphorus in the sediment from being released as nutrients for potential algae blooms. Jespersen says that such a treatment could reduce the phosphorus in the east basin by as much as 90 percent, with an estimated cost of $1,445,000. She emphasizes that more analysis of lake sediment needs to be done to determine correct dosage for the alum treatment, which will also influence total expenses.

Ken Wagner, a consultant with Water Resources Services, addressed concerns about the treatment. While nothing is without risk, he said that aluminum is the second most common metal contained in the earth’s crust (after iron), and is commonly used as a treatment for drinking water. In fact, the companies that provide lake treatments are primarily involved in the treatment of drinking water.

Robbie Bickford, an employee with the Kennebec Water District, jumped on the call to confirm that aluminum is used as part of the KWD water treatment process.

Other proposals, such as oxidizing the lake to raise the dissolved oxygen level, or dredging the lake bottom to remove nutrient-rich sediment, were suggested by audience members. Dr. Wagner said that while such ideas have merit to achieve greater water clarity, both suggestions were discarded because of the enormous costs involved when compared to the expected improvements. An alum treatment is more cost effective, safe, and expected to provide benefits for 20-30 years into the future.

A question was asked about how the recent return of alewives to China Lake might impact water clarity. Dr. Wagner said he doesn’t think there will be a substantial impact either way.

Much more detail and additional information was included in the presentation than could be fit into this article. A recording of the presentation should be available on the China Lake Association website by the time this article is published.

(View the full presentation below or click this link to watch on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1RCFlW0sFw)

Up and down the Kennebec Valley: Clinton, China Libraries

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Albert Church Brown Memorial Library

by Mary Grow

Clinton’s Brown Memorial Library
China’s Albert Church Brown Memorial Library

Brown Memorial Library, in Clinton, is the third of the local libraries on the National Register of Historic Places. Built in 1899-1900, it was added to the Register on April 28, 1975.

In their application for the listing, Earle Shettleworth, Jr., and Frank A. Beard, of the Maine Historic Preservation Commission, compared the Brown Memorial Library to Fairfield’s Lawrence Library (see The Town Line, Nov. 11) and Augusta’s Lithgow Library (see The Town Line, Nov. 18).

Architecturally, all three buildings are variations on the style of Henry Hobson Richardson (1838-1886). Shettleworth and Beard called Clinton’s library “a purer example of the Richardsonian ideal with an exterior exhibiting warm hues and contrasting colors in stone walls and trim, as opposed to the almost monochromatic use of granite and slate,” in Fairfield and Augusta.

Also, they wrote, “The Clinton Library, though symmetry is implied, is basically an asymmetrical composition, truer to Richardson’s buildings of the same type than either the Lithgow or Lawrence libraries, which reflect contemporary Beaux Arts symmetry clothed in a Richardson-derived exterior.”

They concluded, “The Clinton Library is the most exemplary structure of its kind in Maine and is an unusually large and elegant library for a small, rural community.”

John Calvin Stevens

Portland architect John Calvin Stevens (1855-1940) designed Brown Memorial Library. He has been mentioned before as the architect chosen to remodel Augusta’s Blaine House in 1920. Other Maine libraries he designed include Rumford Public Library, built in 1903 and added to the National Register in 1989; and Cary Public Library, in Houlton, opened in 1904 and added to the National Register in 1987.

Clinton’s library is on Railroad Street just north of the Winn Avenue intersection. Shettleworth and Beard described a single-story stone building on a partly raised basement (with windows), with a hipped roof. Reddish sandstone trim contrasts with greyish granite walls and a grey slate roof.

The building’s rectangular shape is broken by three “projections,” small ones on the back and south side and, on the front, to the right (south) of the main entrance, “a large five-bay projection trimmed in sandstone and capped with a semi-detached conical roof.” This projection features tall windows with narrow stone dividers between them.

The entrance is approached by granite steps and recessed under an arch. Above the arch is a “dormer:” a rectangular panel with the words “Brown Memorial Library”; above it, two small rectangular windows; and above them “a steep triangular pediment topped with a ball finial.”

Entry is through two doors with glass panels topped by “a colored glass transom,” Shettleworth and Beard wrote. The “small porch” inside the arch “is floored with a marble mosaic pattern.”

The north side of the front wall has two tall windows, narrower than the ones in the south tower.

The historians noted the origin of the various building materials. The rough granite for the walls is from Conway, New Hampshire; the sandstone for trim is from Longmeadow, Massachusetts; and the slate for the roof “was quarried nearby on the banks of the Sebasticook River.”

An on-line Town of Clinton history adds that the “ledge for the foundation” came from Clinton farmer J. T. Ward’s land.

Inside, the “vestibule,” “entrance hall” and original librarian’s room were straight ahead (by 1975, Shettleworth and Beard wrote, the librarian’s room was a children’s room). The room to the left was the stacks.

The reading room on the right is “the largest room in the building.” Lighted by the bow windows on the front and a smaller one on the side, the room has “a large fireplace flanked with built-in seats” on the back wall (the library’s “Cozy Nook”) and a pine ceiling “patterned with trusses and panels.”

“The interior plan, like the exterior, exhibits Steven’s faithfulness to Richardsonian principals [sic], being designed with a logical, functional simplicity,” Shettleworth and Beard wrote.

Clinton had no public library until William Wentworth Brown (April 19, 1821 – Oct. 22, 1911), born in Clinton but by 1899 living in Portland, bought the land, paid for the building and provided a $5,000 endowment (earning an annual income of $350, according to the 1901 annual report of the state librarian). The town history article says Horace Purinton, of Waterville, was the contractor for the building.

Shettleworth and Beard wrote that Brown presided at the Aug. 29, 1899, ground-breaking. The cornerstone was laid Sept. 25, “amid elaborate ceremonies.” The building opened to the public on July 21, 1900, and was formally dedicated on Aug. 15, when Brown presented it to the residents of Clinton.

The town history article identifies the first librarian as Grace Weymouth, “a descendant of Jonathan Brown [William Brown’s father].” One of William Brown’s four older sisters is listed on line as Eliza Ann Brown Weymouth.

Shettleworth and Beard wrote that Brown also provided many of the “books, furnishings and pictures.” The state librarian wrote that the library started with 2,500 books and had space for 10,000.

In 1902, Shettleworth and Beard said, Orrin Learned added “100 volumes of the official records of the Union and Confederate armies.” Library Assistant Director Cindy Lowell says they are still stored in the building.

(Orrin Learned [June 16, 1822 – July 2, 1903] was a Burnham native who moved to Clinton in 1900. He attended Benton Academy and, like his father Joel, made his living farming and lumbering in Burnham. He served on the select board and school committee and was a state representative in 1863 and 1873 and a state senator in 1877 and 1878.

The on-line biography of Learned says nothing about military service, Civil War or other, except that he was the great-grandson of Revolutionary War General Ebenezer Learned, who was Brigadier-General under Horatio Gates at the October 1877 Battle of Saratoga, where British General John Burgoyne was defeated.)

Clinton officials dedicated the June 2012 town report to the library. They explained that the 1899 trust specified that part of the trust fund interest would be used for “maintaining the building and library,” and that the operating budget would come from local taxes.

One of Brown’s gifts was Vinton’s portrait of him, Shettleworth and Beard wrote.

(An on-line search found Frederic (or Frederick) Porter Vinton [Jan. 29, 1846 – May 19, 1911], a Bangor native who lived in Chicago and later Boston, where he studied art at the Lowell Institute and in 1878 opened his portrait studio. Vinton began painting landscapes in the 1880s, but is known primarily as a portrait painter.)

Lowell said in late November 2021 that the huge painting had been sent away to be cleaned and restored. The restorers had uncovered a fur collar that had been completely obscured over the years, she said.

Brown said at the library dedication that it was a memorial to “my dear parents who were my ideal of all that is best and purest in life….” He expressed the hope that “the good to be derived from this gift may go on forever.”

* * * * * *

The Albert Church Brown Memorial Library, on Main Street, in China Village, less than 15 road miles south of Brown Memorial Library, in Clinton, has been in existence only since 1936, and in its present building since Jan. 1, 1941. Its name honors Albert Church Brown, whose widow donated money to buy and renovate a house dating from around 1827.

Albert Church Brown (no known relation to the Clinton Browns) was born in Winslow in 1843. He grew up in China; the China bicentennial history says he left when he was 16.

After service in the Civil War, Brown prospered as a businessman in Malden, Massachusetts. He died in 1922, leaving his widow, whose family connections with former China residents led to her interest in the library.

The two-story Federal building was formerly known as the Fletcher-Main House, after the two intermarried families who owned it. The building is in the China Village Historic District, a group of mostly residential buildings added to the National Register of Historic Places on Nov. 23, 1977 (see The Town Line, July 8, 2021).

The two Brown libraries share an interesting reputation: people who worked or work in each repeat the superstition that the buildings are haunted.

In Clinton, Assistant Director Cindy Lowell said the ghost is taken to be William Wentworth Brown himself, or “WW,” as she and colleagues call him. She cited two examples of “WW is up to something again.”

Once, she said, the library director’s eyeglasses vanished. Staff and patrons searched the building in vain. Days later, a fuse blew; Lowell went to the basement to replace it, and the missing eyeglasses were on the basement floor.

Another time, Lowell had just come to work, alone, when she heard a very loud slam in the basement. She waited until a patron came in before she went down to investigate – and found no explanation, nothing out of place.

Your writer is the former librarian at China’s Brown Memorial library. Several people familiar with the building assured her there was a ghost, though no one knew who it was. More than once she heard noises as though someone were moving upstairs when she was sure no living person was there; and if the sounds were made by mice, they left no other sign of their presence.

William Wentworth Brown

Various on-line sources say that William Wentworth Brown was born in Clinton on April 19, 1821, sixth of the seven children of Jonathan Brown (1776 – 1861) and Elizabeth “Betsy (or Betsey)” Michales (or Michaels) Brown (1784-1850). His parents and sister, Eliza Ann, are buried in Clinton’s Riverview Cemetery.

William Wentworth Brown

Jonathan and Elizabeth Brown were donors of Clinton’s Brown Memorial Church, now Brown Memorial United Methodist Church, according to Brown Memorial Library Assistant Director Cindy Lowell.

William Brown lived in Clinton until he was 21, when he moved to Bangor to work in his brother’s grocery business (probably his older brother, Warren, born in 1811).

In 1845, Brown started making timbers, decking and other essential pieces of wooden ships. In 1857, he moved the successful business to Portland.

Brown took note of the use of ironclads in the Civil War (the battle between the “Merrimack” and the “Monitor” was on March 9, 1862), and when in 1868 he and Lewis T. Brown (no relation?) were offered a chance to buy a sawmill in Berlin, New Hampshire, he changed businesses.

The two Browns enlarged the sawmill. In the 1880s William Brown bought out Lewis Brown and became sole owner of the Berlin Mills Company, as it was known until it became the Brown Company in 1917. This mill was one of several pulp and paper mills in Berlin.

Lowell quoted a report on the History Channel saying that Brown’s home in Berlin is now a museum.

On Feb. 6, 1861, Brown married his first wife, Emily Hart (Jenkins) Brown (Jan. 23, 1836 – Apr. 4, 1879), from Falmouth, Massachusetts. His second wife was Lucy Elizabeth (Montague) Brown (Jan. 16, 1845 – May 16, 1927); no marriage date is given. Genealogical records contradict each other on how many children he and his successive wives had.

This writer has found no information about William Brown’s career after the 1880s. She assumes it was profitable. Nor has she found any explanation for his decision that a library was the appropriate memorial for his parents.

William Brown died Oct. 27, 1911. He is buried with both wives and five children in a family plot in Portland’s Evergreen Cemetery.

Main sources

Grow, Mary M., China Maine Bicentennial History including 1984 revisions (1984).

Shettleworth, Earle G., Jr., and Frank A. Beard, National Register of Historic Places Inventory – Nomination Form, Brown Memorial Library, April 4, 1975.

Personal interview.

Websites, miscellaneous.

Beans, beans and more beans!

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(Contributed photo)

If you had a chili dog or a cup of chili at the China Baptist Church Hamburger booth at the Windsor Fair….this is where it came from. Pastor Ron saved all the (clean) cans and had everyone build a pyramid with them during Fellowship hour after church Sunday. The booth used four batches of chili every day of the fair. Twenty one years ago a group from the church bought an older office trailer and converted it and built in a kitchen for the fair booth to raise money for the general fund. The church has been doing the fair for 20 years and the booth is staffed by volunteers. Four people, four shifts a day for nine days. Every Thursday of the fair the church’s Boy Scout troop #479 takes over the running of the booth to help out. If you missed us this year be sure and stop by next year.

China’s Municipal Building Committee (MBC) accepts chairman’s recommendation to select board

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by Mary Grow

At a short meeting Nov. 18, members of China’s Municipal Building Committee (MBC) accepted Chairman Sheldon Goodine’s recommendation on documents to be forwarded to China select board members.

The committee, active since last spring, has been asked to suggest where and how to provide additional space, primarily for storage, at the town office. Members have focused on a single-story addition designed for keeping town records and related documents, so that the well-filled storage rooms in the present office would be available for other uses.

Goodine’s list included minutes of committee meetings and other information members have discussed, and the CAD (computer-aided design) drawings committee member and Codes Officer Jaime Hanson prepared.

Goodine said he thinks committee members have come up with proposals that are both aesthetically acceptable and practical. A main contribution is providing specific information on amounts and types of storage space needed.

The next step is to get select board members’ reactions and suggestions as a basis for more detailed design work.

MBC members did not expect to be on the select board agenda until the Monday evening, Dec. 6, meeting, at the earliest. Pending discussion with select board members, they did not schedule another committee meeting.

China select board listens to three speakers on different topics

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by Mary Grow

Speakers on three different topics at the Nov. 22 China select board meeting gave board members information to ponder and perhaps act on later.

Board member Janet Preston shared profiles of three different voting methods town officials could consider as alternatives to the present local method.

Bob Parsloe, of Portland-based Wireless Partners, LLC, offered a possible alternative source of internet service for China residents, besides existing providers and those the town’s Broadband Committee has been exploring.

Lauren Gaudet, field service representative for the Maine Municipal Employees Health Trust, summarized programs the organization offers.

Preston thinks China’s present local voting system, which asks voters to mark as many candidates’ names as there are open seats on the board they’re voting for, is self-contradictory when voters take it literally. If you vote for two or more people, “you’re voting against your own choices,” she said.

Citing a website called nonprofitvote.org, she said one alternative is called limited voting: voters cast fewer votes than the number of seats to be filled. The example she used was a race with five open seats, but voters limited to two votes.

Cumulative voting is another method: voters have as many votes as there are open positions, but they can allocate their votes as they please: one to each candidate, all to one candidate, or anything in between.

The third option Preston presented is the ranked-choice system Maine already uses for some statewide elections.

More information on all three methods is available on line.

Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood was unsure whether select board members or town voters were the appropriate body to change the local voting method, if a majority of the select board decided a change was desirable.

Parsloe’s virtual PowerPoint presentation explained what Wireless Partners, LLC, offers for internet service, with a focus on rural towns in northern New England.

His company, he said, would design and build a network, operate it for a while (typically five to seven years) and sell it to “a major carrier.” He expects not to require town investment; to offer competitive prices to subscribers; and to need to build additional towers in town.

Company websites are wireless-partnersllc.com and mytrailrunner.com.

Robert O’Connor, chairman of the China Broadband Committee (CBC), was in the audience and intends to communicate with Parsloe to get more information.

O’Connor gave select board members a summary of relevant parts of CBC studies. Recently, he said, Spectrum Communications’ parent company, Charter Communications, had asked to discuss “new options.”

O’Connor asked whether select board members wanted to meet with a Charter or Spectrum representative, or whether CBC members should do it. Select board Chairman Ronald Breton was happy to have CBC members handle the discussion.

The Augusta-based Maine Municipal Employees Health Trust is a nonprofit group associated with the Maine Municipal Association. China town employees currently get health insurance through one of its plans. Gaudet listed other plans for which China is eligible, with some of the financial advantages and disadvantages of each.

In other business Nov. 22, select board members approved Town Clerk Angela Nelson’s proposed timeline leading to a written-ballot town meeting on June 14, 2022. Deadlines she and Hapgood noted there and elsewhere include:

  • Requests for 2022-23 funding from China’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) fund are due by Jan. 3, 2022 (earlier if possible).
  • 2022-23 budget requests from town department heads and others who receive town funding are due by the end of January 2022, for review by the budget committee before select board members approve them for the town meeting warrant.
  • Proposed new town ordinances from the planning board are due by early February 2022.
    Nelson’s schedule calls for the select board to approve the final draft of the town meeting warrant at an April 11, 2022, meeting.

Select board members appointed Karen Morin a new member of the TIF Committee.

The December meetings of the China select board are scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 6, and Monday, Dec. 20.

Managing lands for high quality water: Kennebec Water District’s Watershed Management

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photo by Eric W. Austin

by Robbie Bickford,
Water Quality Manager,
Kennebec Water District

The Kennebec Water District (KWD) will be hosting a public informational meeting at 5:30 p.m., on Wednesday, December 1, 2021, at the KWD Water Treatment Plant, at 462 Main Street, in Vassalboro, to review the Forest Management Plan and the South Narrows Peninsula Harvest Plan. These are available for review on our website at: www.KennebecWater.org/Source.

China Lake (or “the Lake”) has been the sole source of supply for KWD since 1905. When the Lake was first used for drinking water, the land around the West Basin was heavily impacted by livestock pasturing and other agricultural activities. In 1909, seeing increasing development around China Lake, KWD began purchasing the shorefront land around the West Basin to protect the drinking water supply. Subsequently, thousands of trees were planted to reforest areas previously cleared for agricultural use.

Today, KWD owns approximately 344 acres of forested land in the China Lake watershed consisting of a nearly continuous, approximately 200-foot-wide, strip of land surrounding the West Basin and two larger plots of land known as the North and South Narrows Peninsulas.

To ensure that KWD’s watershed lands are managed to prompt the highest possible water quality in the Lake, KWD has contracted with Comprehensive Land Technologies, Inc. (CLT), of China, to assess the health of the forested land and develop a Forest Management Plan. Parts of this plan provide recommendations for improving the health of the forest through selective harvesting to prompt an uneven-aged, mixed species forest.

An uneven-aged, mixed species forest has been found to be the most effective buffer to limit erosion and to trap nutrients and contaminants in runoff as well as providing a more resilient forest to a multitude of pests and other adverse conditions.

In winter of 2021-2022 KWD anticipates conducting a selective harvest of the South Narrows Peninsula stand to promote new healthy growth and develop an uneven-aged, mixed species forest. This harvesting will have the primary goal of protecting and enhancing the water quality of the Lake as its focus and any harvesting activities will strictly adhere to industry “Best Management Practices” to minimize the impact on the land and lake water quality.

As always, KWD is committed to preserving and enhancing the water quality of China Lake and this approach to active forest management is the next step in the long line of efforts to achieve this goal. Any questions about the public informational meeting on December 1, 2021, or KWD’s efforts in the China Lake Watershed can be directed to RBickford@KennebecWater.org.

CLA to present 10-year runoff plan

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China Lake

A 10-year plan to restore water quality in China Lake will be the focus of an online, interactive public meeting sponsored by the China Lake Association on Thursday, December 2, at 6 pm. The meeting will provide an overview of the proposed measures needed to minimize stormwater runoff into the lake, address internal phosphorus loading from lake sediments, and ultimately prevent annual algal blooms that have been occurring in China Lake over the last 40 years. The China Lake Association and their partners urge China, Vassalboro, and Albion residents, lake users, public drinking water customers, and all interested parties to participate in this free program. The public’s participation will help experts protect this valuable resource through the sharing of knowledge and by helping to shape the plan.

Register for this webinar here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/3916372725825/WN_ksBioidNQ6Weqo1KCBWsWg

China Broadband Committee (CBC) continues exploring options for funding

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by Mary Grow

At their Nov. 17 meeting, China Broadband Committee (CBC) members continued exploring options for funding better internet service for China residents, after voters said no to borrowing money through a town-issued bond.

At their Nov. 4 meeting, the main alternatives considered were seeking an arrangement with other towns or continuing to develop a China-only service (see The Town Line, Nov. 11, p. 3). As the meeting ended, Axiom Technologies President Mark Ouellette said he would look for possible sources of financing, government or private.

Private investors seem more likely, because, Ouellette and committee member Jamie Pitney agreed on Nov. 17, state and federal funds are aimed mainly at unserved populations. They could not find that improving slow or unreliable service qualified for government funding.

Only an estimated five percent of China residents get no internet service to their houses. The majority are served by Spectrum or Consolidated Communi­cations.

CBC members consider that neither company provides adequate service for contemporary needs. So far, neither has offered an upgrade that committee members have found acceptable.

Ouellette suggested a useful activity to begin as soon as possible: asking residents to check the speed of their internet systems and report results, to help evaluate current providers. Information on running tests and forwarding results will be publicized. Testing is as simple as finding the phrase “internet speed test” on the web and following the directions.

Ouellette has worked with other towns where private investment has made expanded internet possible through Axiom. The possibility of such an arrangement for China is “generally positive,” he said, but he had no specific plan to report.

Based on other towns’ experience, he advised trying to find investors in the Town of China, who will accept a low rate of return in order to benefit their neighbors.

Organizational possibilities were mentioned. Pitney cited an intertown nonprofit created to provide ambulance service. Ouellette knew of a four-town utility district.

Committee member Tod Detre suggested CBC members form a nonprofit organization and ask for money through one of the crowdfunding platforms on the web.

Ouellette and Piney intended to schedule an appointment with the acting head of the Finance Authority of Maine (FAME), the state agency that promotes business development, to see if China qualifies for help there.

CBC Chairman Robert O’Connor and others planned to attend the Nov. 22 select board meeting, where O’Connor said board members were scheduled to hear a presentation from a wireless internet provider.

Pending information on FAME and the select board meeting, CBC members postponed scheduling their next meeting.

Transfer station committee members agree on two monetary issues

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by Mary Grow

China Transfer Station Committee members agreed unanimously on two monetary issues at their Nov. 16 meeting.

One was to ask selectmen to choose an engineer to design a cover for the pre-crusher and controls beside the mixed-waste hopper at the transfer station. Committee members recommend an engineered plan because they want the new cover attached to the present structure.

Building the cover is included in the draft five-year facilities plan as one of two items recommended for fiscal year 2022-23. The cost is tentatively estimated at $15,000.

The other project the draft plan now proposes for the coming fiscal year is providing electricity in the free for the taking building, so volunteers and “customers” can enjoy heat and can test donated electrical appliances. That project cost is estimated at $5,000, Transfer Station Manager Ronald Marois said.

Committee Chairman Lawrence Sikora plans to ask for final approval of the five-year plan at the committee’s Dec. 14 meeting. Once approved, it will serve as a recommended guide for expenditure requests to the select board and voters.

At the Nov. 16 meeting, there was brief discussion of buying a screen for compost. The material is double-composted, but without being screened it contains small sticks, rocks and other debris unwelcome in residents’ gardens.

Marois said he has no trouble getting rid of the unscreened compost. Committee members took no action.

The second monetary decision was on the committee’s requested budget for FY 2022-23.

For the current year, Sikora asked for and received $1,000. His intention was to support members attending Maine solid waste conferences and workshops, visiting other towns’ facilities and otherwise expanding their knowledge.

In October, he and Chris Diesch, one of Palermo’s two representatives on the committee, went to a multi-day conference for which the registration fee was $275 apiece.

When Sikora asked that the two fees come from the committee’s budget, some China select board members asked why China money should cover Diesch’s fee. Board members ultimately decided, on a split vote, to pay this time but hereafter to expect Palermo to support its own committee members (see The Town Line, Nov. 11, p. 2).

Transfer Station Committee members made it clear at the Nov. 16 meeting that they think all committee members should be equally supported by committee money. They emphasized the usefulness of regional and state meetings and the desirability of having several members attend to provide different perspectives. They also pointed out that the $1,000 budget would not have covered registration for even the one conference if all eight committee members had attended.

Consequently, they authorized Sikora to ask for a $2,500 Transfer Station Committee budget in 2022-23. Robert Kurek, Palermo’s other representative on the committee, abstained on the vote; Disch was absent.

Sikora shared some of the things he learned at the October conference.

A decision on increased bag fees for Palermo residents was again postponed, this time because the cost of the bags is apparently going to rise substantially due to supply chain issues. Palermo has been given the required six-months’ notice that there will be an increase in the spring, so Kurek had no problem with the exact amount being left undecided.

Committee members voted unanimously to buy 17 cases of bags their supplier is said to have on hand.

In addition to the Dec. 14 meeting of the full committee, a Visioning Subcommittee meeting is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 1. Both meetings will be at 9 a.m. in the portable building behind the China town office.

Committee corrects two false impressions

China Transfer Station Committee members want to correct two false impressions that they said are creating problems at the transfer station.

One is that the free for the taking building is a place to dispose of things like computers, televisions and worn-out furniture, to avoid paying disposal fees. The free for the taking building only accepts items that other residents can happily take home and use. Its space is limited.

The second error is the belief that residents of neighboring towns besides Palermo can obtain China transfer station RFID (radio frequency identification) placards. Placards are issued only to residents of China and, by contract, Palermo. China has no contract with any other town.

Moving forward with the South China Public Library

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New South China Public Library, under construction on the Jones Road. (contributed photo)

by Jean Dempster

If you travel on Jones Road near the north end of South China village you will see progress on construction of the new South China Public Library building, located at 27 Jones Road. The exterior of the building is complete and interior work will continue over the coming months. Blane Casey Building Contractor is coordinating the project and working with other local businesses. While the exterior looks great, the library volunteers and directors continue to raise funds to finish the interior of the building and prepare to move to the new location.

The South China Public Library is the oldest continuously operating public library in the state of Maine. It was established in 1830 and its founders included members of the Jones family, other Quaker families, and prominent residents of China. The library is one of the oldest nonprofit organizations in the state, incorporated in 1912 as an independent community library. The building presently in use was constructed in 1900 and the addition now housing the children’s room was built by volunteers in 1980. This historic, treasured building does not have bathroom facilities and the library could not expand at the current site. The new location is less than half a mile from the current location and convenient for residents of the town of China and nearby communities, summer visitors, and seasonal residents. The new library will feature more space for meetings, programs, library materials, and outdoor events.

Over the years the most popular service offered by the library is the summer reading program for children ages pre-school through middle school. Each year the program encourages reading, learning, and creativity throughout the summer. Attendance is often 25 – 35 children plus parents and caregivers in the children’s room. An important benefit of the new library will be more space for programs for all ages, and bathrooms!

During the pandemic, the current library has continued to provide library services such as curbside service, children’s programs on Zoom, Story Time on Facebook Live, 24/7 Wi-Fi internet access and patrons have access to the Maine Infonet Download Library which allows library users to download audiobooks and eBooks. The library is operated entirely by volunteers, with leadership from librarian Cheryl Baker.

With over 10,000 books, hundreds of movies and audiobooks for adults and children, and special collections such as Maine authors and Quaker history, there is something for everyone. Public use computers are available or visitors can bring a device and use the Wi-Fi. The library volunteers appreciate the support already provided by the community. The library has been a vital presence in the community for almost 200 years. The building project needs a boost to focus on the future, finish up the interior, and be ready for many more years of serving the community. Library cards and programs are free to all.

Donations to support the new library may be mailed to South China Public Library, P.O. Box 417, China, ME 04358. Visit www.southchinalibrary.org for more information or to donate through the PayPal Giving Fund.

The current library hours are Wednesday 10 a.m. – noon, and 1 – 3 p.m., and Saturday 9 a.m. – noon. Questions? Email: southchinalibrary@gmail.com.