OPINIONS – Question #1: A diabolical scam to gain more control

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by Sheldon Goodine
South China resident

A lot of questions and confusion about question #1 have come to my attention, so I’m going to try to dissect the wording and give you my take on it. I do this under my by-line, The way I see it, and not by any legal or expertise on my part.

Question #1: “Do you want to ban the construction of high-impact electrical transmission lines in the upper Kennebec Region”…. Fair question, but it should stand alone for an up or down vote. Question: What are the high impact of the transmission line? Why did the writers of the question want to expand it to include Future Construction for Politicians to have control and to require the legislature to approve ALL other such projects anywhere in Maine…? Do you not see what is happening? The legislature can and will make a correlation, that a new project is like question #1.

We continue, “not only in the upper Kennebec Region, but the entire state of Maine, ‘both retroactive to 2020’.” Now we see the beginning of retroactivity power and a precedent will be established giving the legislature retroactive power to 2014….So now the authors want to go backward seven years to give the legislature the power to pick and choose where and when to apply this new law as they see fit.

We continue: “To approve by a two-thirds vote such projects using public land….” Do you believe they will stop at public lands and not to private lands. I think they will stop at nothing.

You must ask yourself, which part of this double barrel question will harm the state of Maine and its citizens the most over many years. To me it’s just a diabolical scam for the legislature to ride on the coattails of a very controversial subject that they believe will be approved and will give them more power that they want.

The way I see it the CMP corridor will be nice when completed, giving access for animals to feed and for recreation. In a few years it will look like it will always be there, but power to the legislature will go on a long, long time. I’ll be voting NO and hope informed citizens will see the harm in one vote for two questions found in Question #1.

China group cancels fall WindowDressers workshop

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by Eric W. Austin

The China for a Lifetime Committee has announced they will not be moving forward with a WindowDressers workshop this fall. Current uncertainty regarding conditions around the COVID-19 pandemic as well as low participation were the reasons for the cancellation.

WindowDressers is a volunteer-led, community initiative that aims to build low-cost window inserts to help reduce residential heating costs. The program is sponsored by the nonprofit WindowDressers organization based out of Rockland.

In an email sent to committee members, chairman Christopher Hahn wrote, “My recommendation is that we not go forward with a Community Build or measuring this year. Taking into account the responses I received from most of you regarding the survey from WindowDressers and the continued COVID-19 trending in Maine and the uncertainty regarding the twists and turns of the pandemic, I feel a greater obligation to help people stay safe than to reduce the heating costs for a handful of people in the area. I am not minimizing that issue but with the contagiousness of the Delta variant and the established fact that vaccinated individuals can asymptomatically transmit the more deadly variant to unvaccinated individuals, I would be horrified to learn that one of our recipients contracted the virus from our event.”

Participants who had planned to order inserts from the China workshop this year may be able to process their orders through other community builds. WindowDressers will work with them to accommodate any orders already received. Anyone still hoping to order inserts should sign up on the WindowDressers website at https://windowdressers.org/insulating-inserts/.

According to a community survey conducted by the China for a Lifetime Committee in 2017, 12 percent of local residents struggle to sufficiently heat their homes. The planned WindowDressers workshop was one way the committee hoped to address this need. The committee was working in concert with a number of other local groups as well as several residents of Vassalboro who had participated in a previous workshop.

The committee plans to continue its work supporting local residents in line with its mission to “develop initiatives that improve the quality of life for residents of China, South China, Weeks Mills, and Branch Mills.” To this end, they created a China Volunteer Program (CVP) several years ago to assist community members in need. They can be reached through their email address at ChinaforaLifetime@gmail.com or through the Friends of China Facebook group. More information about the committee can also be found at their website, chinaforalifetime.com.

Planning board: subdivision permit on Lakeview Dr. land has expired

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by Mary Grow

With two pending permit applications postponed, China Planning Board members had a short meeting Sept. 28.

They did not hold a public hearing on, or discuss, Miguel Rivera’s application to convert the former Knowles Mechanical Building at 1097 Route 3 to a medical marijuana business (see The Town Line, Sept. 23, p. 3). Codes Officer Jaime Hanson said preliminary steps had not been completed.

Board members hope they will be able to hold the public hearing at their Oct. 12 meeting.

They did not review an amended subdivision plan involving relocation of Fire Road 19. This project, Hanson said, is awaiting a surveyor’s report. It might be ready for planning board review at the Oct. 26 meeting.

Hanson informed board members that the subdivision permit for the town-owned 39-acre lot on Lakeview Drive that is for sale for the second time (see The Town Line, Sept. 30, p. 3) has expired.

Subdivision permits do not expire under state law. However, municipalities are allowed to have stricter rules. The China Subdivision Ordinance says, “Failure to commence substantial construction of the subdivision within five years of the date of approval and signing of the Plan shall render the Plan null and void.”

Hanson said the last recorded activity on paper was an amendment approved in June 2015. There has been no on-the-ground activity, he said; the planned road is not built and no lots have been cleared or sold.

Planning board members voted unanimously that the five-year period to start construction has been exceeded and the subdivision permit is no longer valid. They think it is the responsibility of the landowner – the Town of China – to put a notice in the Registry of Deeds.

The other action taken, also without opposition, was adoption of the remote participation policy recommended by the Maine Municipal Association. Adoption allows municipal board and committee members to participate in meetings via zoom or other on-line technology, if criteria are met.

Other China boards have adopted the policy, with the understanding that it does not allow a whole municipal committee to meet remotely, as was legal during the proclaimed state of emergency due to the Covid pandemic. If a member is sick, or is temporarily unable to travel to the meeting, he or she may participate on line.

Downer is pleased that China meetings are routinely broadcast on Live Stream and taped for later viewing; he thinks the procedure benefits interested residents. However, he expressed concern about the cost.

The next regular China Planning Board meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 12, in the portable building behind the town office.

Selectmen approve CBC distribution of flyer

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by Mary Grow

China selectmen held a special meeting Tuesday evening, Oct. 5, for one purpose: the China Broadband Committee (CBC) asked them to meet to approve distribution of a revised informational flyer on the proposed new internet system for the town.

Selectmen unanimously approved distribution of the flyer. CBC Chairman Robert O’Connor will have it printed at Saturn Business Systems, in Waterville; town office staff will mail it to every China address, with printing and postage costs to come from the CBC budget.

Before the vote, resident Joann Austin suggested selectmen should be supportive of committees they appoint if they want people to volunteer, and shared information from Consumer Reports on benefits of municipally-owned utilities, including broadband. After the vote, Selectboard Chairman Ronald Breton thanked CBC members for doing “a great job” providing information for voters.

On Nov. 2, China voters will decide whether to authorize, but not require, selectmen to borrow up to $5.8 million to help pay for new broadband infrastructure throughout town.

To publicize and explain the ballot question, CBC members have held a series of lightly-attended informational meetings and have created a website, chinabroadband.net. The informational flyer will supplement these efforts.

CBC members met for an hour Sept. 30 to put the flyer into final form, discussing grammar and graphics more than content. The content they were satisfied with, believing it will be helpful as voters try to understand the significance of their Nov. 2 decision.

Selectmen denied permission to use town funds to mail out an earlier draft of the flyer, because they saw it as one-sidedly in favor of the broadband project. The revised version has more details, including information on finances and on other issues raised in public discussions.

It also has a new section titled “Risk Factors, including Taxation.” The section points out uncertainties in predicting how smoothly construction work would go and how many residents would sign up for the new service. CBC members expect the new service, if approved by voters and authorized by selectmen, will be self-supporting and need no tax money, but they cannot guarantee that result.

Click here to view the China Broadband Committee’s informational flyer.

China Broadband Committee (CBC) informational session draws small audience

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by Mary Grow

The China Broadband Committee’s third public informational session, held on-line only Sept. 26 and hosted from the Albert Church Brown Memorial Library, in China Village, drew a small audience with many questions.

CBC Chairman Robert O’Connor and Axiom Technologies President Mark Ouellette repeated information from earlier public meetings: the advantages of fiberoptic cable over current local transmission methods; the plan to have subscribers, not taxpayers, cover costs; the reasonable rates; and the responsibility of Axiom for all management and maintenance.

Audience members’ questions led to additional information. Some of the on-line questions were interrupted or distorted, something CBC members expect would not happen if the fiberoptic system were in place.

Ouellette explained that the present systems have all users on the same line, so to speak, so when a lot of people are on at the same time, service slows. With fiberoptic, he said, a single fiber goes from the central office to each home; there is no sharing.

When such a system is built, extra fibers are included to accommodate future users.

(See all our stories about the China broadband initiative here.)

Asked about the system’s life expectancy, Ouellette cited federal depreciation figures giving a half-life of about 17 years. In practice, he said, he knows of fiberoptic cable working for 40 years; he would not expect fiber installed in China in the next year or so to need replacement “in our lifetimes.”

Office equipment seldom lasts as long as the cables, Ouellette said, but Axiom keeps replacements on hand.

Axiom will have a technician in or near China to do repairs that cannot be handled by a telephone call. In case of storm damage, he expects repairs would be accomplished within 48 hours.

He pointed out that before fiberoptic cables can be fixed, utilities need to deal with dangerous live electric wires. Sometimes, he said, fiberoptic cables will stretch rather than break when stressed.

Yes, he assured resident Eric Austin, promised repair times – and many other details – will be in the contract Axiom signs with town officials, assuming the project goes ahead.

The next step is the Nov. 2 vote. If voters approve the bond issue, Axiom will begin signing up future subscribers and accepting $100 down payments as evidence of serious intent. The down payments will be applied to the first monthly bills.

If enough subscribers sign up in the next six to eight months to make the project financially viable, selectmen have the option of applying to the Maine Bond Bank in the spring of 2022.

CBC members expect after the first two or three years, subscriber fees will more than cover all costs, creating a surplus for the town. Use of the surplus, if it materializes, will be a local decision, Ouellette and CBC member Tod Detre emphasized. It could be used to pay off the bond faster; to reduce subscribers’ monthly fees; to create a fund to help low-income subscribers; to reduce property taxes; or for some other town purpose.

Detre asked Ouellette what would happen if Axiom went bankrupt, and partly answered his own question: since the town would own the broadband infrastructure, town officials could offer it to another service provider.

Ouellette added that, unlike some larger companies that are serving or have served China residents, Axiom has not gone bankrupt nor changed ownership in its 17 years of existence, and doesn’t plan to. It is a Maine-based company, serving towns all over Maine.

Axiom does not have the national reach of larger companies, but loss of scale leads to an increase in customer relationships, he said. After all, he pointed out, here is the company president participating in a zoom meeting on a Sunday afternoon.

More information is available on the CBC website, chinabroadband.net.

Erskine Academy announces National Merit Scholarship students

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Aidan Larrabee, left, and Sarah Praul, right.

Erskine Academy has announced that Aidan Larrabee, son of Carrie and Jeremy Larrabee, of China, has been named a semifinalist in the 67th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. Larrabee has an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $30 million that will be offered next spring. To be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the finalist level of the competition. About 95 percent of the semifinalists are expected to attain finalist standing, and approximately half of the finalists will win a scholarship and the Merit Scholar title. National Merit Scholarship winners of 2022 will be announced beginning in April.

In addition, Erskine Academy has announced that Sarah Praul, daughter of Erika and Darryl Praul, of China, has been named a Commended Student in the 2022 National Merit Scholarship Program. Praul is among approximately 34,000 Commended Students throughout the nation who are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise. Although Praul will not continue in the 2022 competition for National Merit Scholarships, Commended Students placed among the top 50,000 scorers of more than 1.5 million students who entered the 2022 competition by taking the 2020 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. Commended students receive a Letter of Commendation from their school and the National Merit Scholarship Program in recognition of this honor.

New China committee looks at additional space for town office

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by Mary Grow

At their Sept 23 meeting, members of the China Building Committee officially named themselves the Municipal Building Committee (MBC) and proceeded with preliminary plans for recommending additional space at the town office.

Their main focus is on storage space, but as they looked ahead three decades they also considered whether more, or differently arranged, office and work space should be part of a recommendation to selectmen.

Committee Chairman Sheldon Goodine had sketched a plan for a separate building south of the present building, reached by a corridor from the meeting room on the west end, as a starting point for discussion. He considered it more attractive than a right-angled extension.

Another suggestion, from Codes Officer and committee member Jaime Hanson, was a three-sided “bump-out” on the south side.

Town Clerk Angela Nelson explained which records town officials are required to keep forever and which they are allowed to discard after a certain number of years. Related issues were which materials need to be in a climate-controlled area, which require fire-proof storage and how much security is required.

Committee members considered the possibility that paper records will become obsolete. They do not foresee an immediate change to all-digital record-keeping.

The town office also stores voting machines, decorations and supplies for holidays (like Christmas and China Community Days) and other miscellaneous things.

Goodine and Hanson gave themselves assignments as the next step in drafting a plan. They will estimate the present storage space and the volume of material in it; Hanson will measure and photograph the building as it is and will locate underground lines and pipes; and Goodine will interview office staff members individually to get their suggestions.

Hanson will also look into legal requirements. For example, he said, building codes require a certain amount of natural light. If the requirement applies to a storage facility, a windowless space, as Goodine suggested for security, would be illegal.

Committee members set no deadline for presenting a recommendation to the selectmen. As of Sept. 23, they do not anticipate asking for building money in the 2022-23 town budget.

They scheduled their next meeting for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 28.

China Transfer Committee discusses raising transfer station fees for Palermo residents

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by Mary Grow

China Transfer Station Committee members held a special Sept. 21 meeting to talk about increasing fees charged to Palermo residents. The meeting was consistently cooperative and courteous, with each town’s representatives expressing appreciation to the other’s.

According to the discussion, the 17-year contract allowing Palermo residents use of China’s transfer station was signed in June 2016 and was effective Jan. 1, 2017. It prescribes an annual $18,000 payment from Palermo to China; sets fees for Palermo mixed solid waste, which must be in bags that China buys and Palermo residents pay for; and includes China’s right to increase fees charged to Palermo, with at least six months’ notice.

China cannot increase fees by more than the cost-of-living increase (a prescribed measurement and time period are in the contract), except as needed “to cover any ‘pass-through’ costs (such as increases in tipping [disposal] fees) and federal or state mandated policies” that increase transfer station costs.

Representatives of both towns had calculated the consumer price increase since the beginning of 2017. They presented similar figures: China Committee Chairman Lawrence Sikora figured about 13.3 percent, Palermo representative Bob Kurik about 12 percent.

The two men agreed the consumer price increase would justify a recommendation to increase the price of a large trash bag from $2 to $2.25.

China Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood observed that the large bags now used are 33 gallons, not the 30 gallons specified in the contract. There are also 15-gallon bags, priced in the contract at $1.25; they are so little used that over the years the price has been reduced, Kurik and Hapgood said.

There was a long discussion of pass-through costs before committee members agreed that they include four components: tipping fees; transportation; state or federal mandates (no one was aware of any); and higher costs for the Town of China buying the bags.

They do not include pay increases for transfer station staff, because those are defined as part of operating costs that China pays.

Committee member Ashley Farrington had reviewed records from 2017 to Aug. 1, 2021, to prepare information on tipping fees and trucking costs. Committee members did not translate them into a figure to be recommended as an increase.

The trash bags are used for mixed solid waste, the stuff that goes into the hopper at the transfer station. Another component of trash is larger items like furniture and carpets. Sikora and Farrington had collected information to start a discussion of fees for such items, but committee members made no decisions.

Sikora prepared a table based on average weight of different items, as listed in an on-line guide for moving companies. It appeared that if the transfer station charged the new 10-cents-a-pound fee for demolition debris that selectmen approved Aug. 30, disposal fees for some items would increase significantly.

The most conspicuous example was a sleeper sofa, for which a transfer station user is now charged $10. If the typical one weighs 275 pounds, as the guide said (committee members had doubts), the new disposal fee would be $27.50.

These fees for special items apply to China and Palermo residents equally.

Committee member Mark Davis warned his colleagues not to recommend fee increases so big that residents would resort to roadside dumping.

He extended his comments to ask whether the transfer station is supposed to make a profit, or to provide a service to residents. Sikora reworded the issue; it is not a question of profit, but of seeking the appropriate balance between defraying costs and providing service.

Transfer Station Committee members scheduled their next regular meeting for 9 a.m., Tuesday, Oct. 12.

CHINA: Land parcel sale back to square one

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by Mary Grow

As of Sept. 27, China selectmen’s effort to sell a 39-acre piece of land on Lakeview Drive is back where it was before they agreed on a buyer at their Aug. 30 meeting.

On Aug. 30, China realtor Lucas Adams told selectmen they had two bids, $10,000 from the local People’s Park group headed by Lindsey Harwath and $80,000 from former China residents Austin “Gerry” and Lynda Ogden. Selectmen authorized Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood to negotiate with the Ogdens. At their Sept. 13 meeting Hapgood said the Ogdens bought the property for $83,000.

At the Sept. 27 meeting, Adams said he had not known China subdivision approvals expire if work is not underway within five years. The land, therefore, is no longer legally a subdivision, and the Ogdens have withdrawn their $83,000 offer.

Adams revised his valuation of the lot from $80,000 upward to $55,000 upward. There are currently three bids, he said: the People’s Park has again bid $10,000, the Ogdens have bid $40,000 and resident Troy Bulmer has bid $40,000.

Adams told Selectman Janet Preston that Bulmer does not want to see the land developed. Lindsey Harwath, President of the People’s Park group, said she had talked with him.

After half an hour’s discussion, selectmen voted unanimously to authorize Adams, with whom they have a six-month contract, to market the property at $59,000, with bids due by their next meeting, which will be at 4 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 12 (rescheduled due to the Oct. 11 Indigenous People’s Day holiday); and meanwhile to negotiate for higher bids from the three current bidders.

Adams said he would keep Hapgood informed.

Audience comments on the issue included a prepared statement by resident Marie Michaud urging selectmen to leave the land undeveloped to protect its varied wildlife and avoid more run-off into China Lake. In addition to potential run-off from developed areas, a stream on the lot “flows directly into China Lake,” she said.

Michaud reminded selectmen that in two town visioning sessions held as part of the process of updating the town’s comprehensive plan, residents had indicated a preference for preserving green spaces, open land and farmland. Selectmen are “currently not following what your constituents said they want,” she said.

Harwath, Stephen Greene and Brent Chesley had questions about Adams’ research and marketing.

Adams told Chesley the property had been listed online, and he had received telephone inquiries. He agreed with Chesley’s comment that no sign was posted on the ground until late in the process.

Adams said wetlands lower the property’s sale value. He and Selectman Wayne Chadwick discussed whether it has a septic system easement for the condominiums on the west side of Lakeview Drive, or whether all such easements are on an abutting lot.

In other business at the Sept. 27 selectmen’s meeting, board members chose, conditionally, a supplier for heat pumps for town buildings and agreed with Regional School Unit (RSU) #18 on a bus parking area on the town office grounds.

At their Sept. 13 meeting, selectmen looked at five bids for heat pumps for the transfer station and the town office. They postponed a decision while Hapgood confirmed which venders are “Efficiency Maine commercial qualified partners” eligible for rebates (if state funds are available).

Hapgood said all but one bidder is so qualified. Selectmen therefore awarded the bid to the lowest qualified bidder, Rod’s HPAC Installs, of Windsor, for $14,520. The decision is contingent on Selectman Blane Casey’s being satisfied with the proposed scope of work that he will review and compare with at least one other bidder’s.

RSU #18 Transportation Director Lennie Goff explained that the RSU needs room to park from three to occasionally five buses. Hapgood said she and Goff had considered school and town properties and agreed on an area off the back entranceway to the town office complex, between the buildings and Alder Park Road.

RSU #18 will create and maintain a gravel parking lot and provide electrical service to it, and will take care of snow removal at the same time as school grounds are cleared. Goff and Hapgood both will look into any possible insurance needs.

Hapgood said the area will have minimal impact on the office buildings. She and Goff agreed that the buses will be moved temporarily to the school grounds if the town needs extra parking, for example during an election.

Selectmen unanimously accepted the agreement.

They also approved exploring options and getting cost estimates to repair the dry hydrant on Routes 202 and 9 at the head of China Lake, between the blinker at the Route 137 intersection and the Circle K gas station and convenience store.

Hapgood said the new hydrant installed at the causeway froze over the winter, leading firefighters to ask about repairing the old one. No one knows whether it is plugged or whether a pipe is broken.

The manager said costs would be paid from the volunteer fire departments’ reserve fund.

In other business, selectmen appointed a list of ballot clerks for the Nov. 2 election and appointed Terry Demerchant secretary for the Municipal Building Committee.

They authorized Hapgood to sign American Rescue Plan Act funding documents. She is still accepting suggestions for ways to spend ARPA money.

CHINA: Follow-up on land sale story from last week

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The property in question, from Google Streetview.

Lucas Adams, head of Adams Realty in China, has provided additional information to supplement the story on the People’s Park group in the Sept. 23 issue of The Town Line.

China selectmen agreed at their Aug. 30 meeting to sell about 39 acres of town-owned land on the east side of Lakeview Drive to Austin “Gerry” and Lynda Ogden. The Ogdens bid $80,000, and after negotiations with Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood agreed to $83,000.

The only other bid was from the People’s Park, a group headed by Lindsey Harwath hoping to acquire the land for a public park. Their offer was $10,000.

Adams confirmed Harwath’s report that she and the Ogdens met at his office on Sept. 15 and the Ogdens offered to sell the back (eastern) part of the property to the People’s Park group for $110,000.

The Ogdens also offered to put in a road and an electric power connection to the eastern area, at an estimated cost of $30,000, and to follow through at their expense if the cost estimate turned out to be low, Adams said.

And, he said, the Ogdens were willing to wait until next spring for payment, to give the People’s Park group time to collect donations.

His conclusion is that with those conditions, the $110,000 price is “a very fair offer.”

The Ogdens’ initial plan was to keep two of the lots designated in the former Candlewood subdivision, on the north side of the proposed, but unbuilt, access road. They later decided to keep a third lot, Adams said.

They offered to the People’s Park group two lots on the south side of the access road and all the property east of the former Wiscasset, Waterville and Farmington railroad track that is now a recreational trail.

Adams said he had not “discouraged” anyone else from buying the land from the town. He had talked with one person who decided not to buy, he said. He told China selectmen on Aug. 30 that he had received only the two offers; he surmised interest was low because much of the parcel is wet.

Adams said Ogden has not been associated with Adams Realty since the 1980s.

“Gerry’s an investor,” who owns property all over the State of Maine, Adams said.

History of Candlewood Camps property

The about 39 acres the Town of China has just sold was part of the Candlewood Camps property owned for years by Lucas Adams’ grandparents, Albert and Muriel Adams.

After the Adamses retired, Wachusetts Properties acquired and subdivided the land. At the Sept. 8, 2015, planning board meeting, then Codes Officer Paul Mitnik reported that he thought the subdivision permit had expired, until he found a modification approved in June 2015 that extended its life.

China’s Subdivision Ordinance says that a subdivision plan approved by the planning board becomes “null and void” if “substantial construction” has not started within five years. When a plan expires, the planning board is to have a notice placed in the state Registry of Deeds,

When Wachusett Properties failed to sell subdivision lots, they offered the land to the Town of China. Voters accepted the gift at the polls on Nov. 8, 2016. That fall, town officials considered using the property for a new China Village fire station or holding it for later resale.

In March 2017, voters amended China’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) program to add the Lakeview Drive lot to areas eligible for TIF-funded development projects.

In November 2018 they approved $5,000 from the TIF account for “concept drawings” for an emergency services building and community center on the lot. The emergency services section was intended to include a new China Village fire station; space for a police office and vehicle; and perhaps room for one of Delta Ambulance’s vehicles (since China Rescue cannot provide transport).

In June 2019, however, voters refused to take $25,000 from unexpended fund balance (also called surplus) to develop engineering plans and cost estimates for the building. The vote, as recorded in the June 13, 2019, issue of The Town Line, was not even close: 72 “yes” votes to 332 “no” votes.

Selectmen therefore asked at the June 8, 2021, town meeting for authorization to sell the land, with proceeds “to be put into an assigned fund to reduce the mil rate in the fiscal year following the sale.” Town meeting voters approved.