Two contests on China’s local ballot

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by Mary Grow

China voters have two contests on the Nov. 3 local election ballot.

For three seats on the board of selectmen, there are five candidates. Incumbents Ronald Breton and Janet Preston seek re-election, and Blane Casey, Brent Chesley and Jeanne Marquis also are running for a seat. Donna Mills-Stevens is not a candidate for re-election.

On the planning board, Chesley is challenging incumbent James Wilkens for the at-large seat. Toni Wall is an unopposed candidate for the District 2 seat she now holds; there is no name on the ballot for the District 4 seat held by Tom Miragliuolo.

For the budget committee, there is no candidate for secretary. Thomas Rumpf, District 2, and Timothy Basham, District 4, are unopposed for re-election.

Voters also have ordinance amendments to accept or reject, to the Solid Waste Flow Control Ordinance and the Solid Waste Disposal Ordinance.

China’s polls will be open Nov. 3 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the former portable classroom behind the town office. Absentee ballots are now available.

China School’s Forest gets ready for students

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China school teachers get the China School’s Forest ready for students. (photo by Anita Smith)

Six animal cutouts stolen from the grounds

by Eric W. Austin
A few weeks ago, a heinous act was committed in the China School’s Forest. Someone snuck into the outdoor learning center and stole six of the animal cutouts that were set up along the trails to teach children about wildlife in the Maine woods.

“Not only did you steal them, you stole the hard work of middle school children and volunteers who made the project happen,” admonished a post added to the China School’s Forest Facebook page on July 22, shortly after the incident. “You stole the grant money that was used to make them. You stole the enjoyment and learning opportunity from hundreds of children and visitors to the school forest. You stole the desire to continue to do projects like this that our whole community can enjoy. You stole the pride our community feels with the entire school forest project.”

Danica Ferris, left, and Anita Smith putting up a crow cutout. (photo by Katie Reed)

The China School’s Forest, founded in 1995, is located behind the China Primary school and is designed to serve as an “outdoor classroom with trails and learning stations to teach children about the Maine forest in a real-life, hands-on setting.” The trails are also open to the general public.

In the current age of COVID-19, the China School’s Forest has become an important place for local teachers to hold classes in a safer, outdoor setting, and the Forest has been scrambling to get ready for the upcoming school year.

Thankfully, since the incident, community volunteers have rallied to help with the work.

“There has been a huge outpouring of volunteerism in the forest this summer,” says Anita Smith, administrator for the China School’s Forest.

Of the six animal cutouts stolen, three have been returned, says Smith. Additional cutouts have also recently been supplied by local residents Jim Burke and Katie Reed.

Katie Reed says she reached out to Joshua Newhall, of Madison, owner of Gridiron Woodworks, to make them. “Scrolling through Facebook, I came across a post from China Forest…[and] my daughter asked me if we could help replace them,” Reed explains. Her daughter, Danica Ferris, is a sixth grade student at China Middle School. “We did this because my daughter loves spotting the cutouts on the trail. You can see anything from a cat, skunk, bears and more,” she says. “[We’re] hoping the community gets to enjoy them for years to come.”

Lydia, left, and Luke Naegely test out the stump stools at the Geology outdoor classroom. (photo by Anita Smith)

That’s just the tip of the iceberg though, in terms of the work community members have accomplished in the last few months. Volunteers have been mowing and weed-whacking. Extra seating has been added to the Geology Station, and outdoor-themed art has been stenciled on the walls of the wooden classroom structures to remind children to practice social distancing.

In addition, Anita Smith says, “Nine new interpretive signs, manufactured by Leighton Signworks, in Oakland, have been installed to explain features from last winter’s harvest and thinning, and a few additional points of interest on the trails.”

The wood from last year’s harvesting is also being cut up and will be donated to local families. “At the end of July, we had a large crew of volunteers from Central Church,” says Smith. “They helped cut up trees that will be used for firewood for those in need this winter. They also stained picnic tables, water-sealed several structures, raked trails, trimmed brush, replaced the roof on the CPS entrance kiosk and donated two new tables to the outdoor classroom spaces.”

Danica Ferris, adding a hare and bunny. (photo by Katie Reed)

A “Firewood for Friends” event held last Saturday drew an additional eight volunteers who cut wood into workable sizes and stacked it for drying. “We got 1.5 cord cut today,” says Smith. “The wood will be distributed through the China for a Lifetime Committee or the town office as needed.”

Smith says another event will be held on Saturday, September 12, from 9 a.m. – noon. “People with chainsaws are needed as well as others to lug and stack the wood,” she notes.

Steve Childs, of SD Childs & Sons Excavation, in Palermo, has also donated gravel, which volunteers used to smooth and cover muddy areas of the trails.

It’s looking like, with the generous help from many volunteers in the community, the China School’s Forest is going to be ready to serve its purpose as an outdoor learning center when China schools open this month.

“I am so proud of our little town and grateful to those who have helped to make the Forest a place that everyone can enjoy and our students can use this fall,” says Smith. “The teachers and I are so appreciative of the help!”

For more information about the China School’s Forest or to find out how you can help, contact Anita Smith by email at chinaschoolsforest@gmail.com.

Contact the author at ericwaustin@gmail.com.

Local seed swap group forming

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Wealth management is a flourishing service provided by professionals who know the ins and outs of finance and investment. You may have noticed ads in magazines, on the internet, and in newspapers that promote investing in the stock market and other ways of growing your lifetime savings. The biggest wealth managers are called hedge fund managers. When times are good, clients and wealth managers both make lots of money. But ordinary people of modest means can expand their wealth in other ways, in times good and bad. They can grow gardens and save seeds for the following year and share them.

So what’s the connection between the stock market and seed saving? Historians and scientists have discovered that agriculture, especially grain production, promoted spikes in human development. Reliable sources of food from agriculture enabled families to grow. As populations grew, cities emerged, and trade developed – within and between cities. Wealth of farmers grew as their granaries swelled with extra grain to trade; entrepreneurs flourished, with their drive and imaginations, to allow them to get richer. Accumulations of assets of land for farmers, and money for businesses are similar. On a smaller scale, the same urge to expand infects gardeners; however, the urge is not to accumulate wealth but to follow their curiosities. These curiosities answer some timeless questions like: how will the new squash variety taste; how will they store and keep? Will the new dahlias grow well in my soil? What do I do with giant 14” radishes (daikon)? Where do I get vegetable seeds that I cannot afford?

Groucho Marx made a weekly offering in the 1950s: “Say the magic word and you get a hundred dollars”. Today’s magic word is VARIETY. One of the big advantages of seed saving and seed sharing is that you can save seeds from plants that you really like and share them with others. On the receiving end, the other advantage is that you can try new things without breaking the bank. Of course, if you are new to all of this, simply save seeds that you might enjoy sharing with others from this year’s crop and then join the China Area Seed Swappers.

This announcement of the formation of the China Area Seed Swappers is to help gardeners pursue your curiosities and save some money, too. The timing is perfect. It is now the harvest season. Veteran gardeners save some of their crops that make seed for the following years’ plantings. If you don’t know how to prepare your own seeds, simply search the internet. Jim Hsiang and Marie Michaud announce the formation of the China Area Seed Swappers, an informal group statement of purpose is: To build community network of gardners who enjoy sharing seeds and recipes, saving money, trying new varieties of flowers and vegetables.

If you are interested in joining the group please contact Jim Hsiang at tojameshsiang@gmail.com.

After signing up, you will receive monthly updates on what’s happening.

China board denies appeal over shoreland wall

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by Mary Grow

By a 3-2 vote the China Board of Appeals has upheld Codes Officer Bill Butler’s denial of Brent and Cathy Chesley’s application for a permit to build what documents call a retaining wall along the shore of China Lake.

The Chesleys and their attorney, David Pierson of Eaton Peabody, told board members at their Aug. 27 hearing that run-off from the property is seeping through the rip-rap that currently is supposed to prevent run-off into the lake. As a remedy, the Chesleys had engineer A. E. Hodsdon, of Waterville, design a wall with steel sheet plates, concrete facing and granite blocks. Written testimony submitted by an abutter says the wall would be 34 feet long.

Brent Chesley is co-owner of a construction firm capable of building the structure. He provided details about materials and construction, which was planned to be done after the water level is lowered in the fall.

The state Department of Environmental Protection issued a Natural Resources Protection Act permit for the wall. One requirement of the NRPA permit is that the project meet all applicable local requirements.

Butler denied an application for a local permit, saying he lacked authority to issue it and the Chesleys needed to apply to the planning board. He also told the board of appeals he believes state regulators made an error when they issued the NRPA permit. During his 24 years as a DEP employee, he reviewed a lot of retaining walls, he said.

The principal arguments were over how the wall should be defined in relation to China’s land use ordinance, and what ordinance section or sections applied to the project. The answers the board majority reached determined that a planning board permit is needed.

Related arguments were over how high the wall is – the Chesleys said seven feet, Butler said nine feet – and whether it is below China Lake’s high-water mark. Butler’s nine feet include granite footings that are below the water level.

If the wall is defined as a permanent breakwater projecting into the water, as Butler argued, it needs a planning board permit.

Attorney Pierson called the project “shoreline stabilization.” China’s ordinance does not regulate shoreline stabilization, he said, so the state permit is all that is needed.

After an hour and a half of discussion, board member Virginia Davis summarized her view: the structure should be defined as a breakwater, because retaining walls are not allowed within 25 feet of water bodies; as a breakwater, its footings extend below the normal high-water line; therefore China’s ordinance requires a planning board permit.

Davis then made a motion to deny the appeal, because the codes officer was correct in saying that he lacked authority to issue the permit. The motion was approved with Davis, Lisa Kane and Anthony Pileggi in favor and Robert Fischer and new member Jeffrey LaVerdiere opposed. Michael Gee was absent, and Chairman Spencer Aitel abstained, as he habitually does unless his vote is needed to break a tie.

Aitel said the board of appeals decision did not require planning board action. The Chesleys can decide whether to seek a permit from the planning board. Their other option, he said, is to appeal the board of appeals’ decision to Superior Court.

China planners discuss proposed ordinance amendment

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by Mary Grow

At their Aug. 25 meeting, China Planning Board members discussed a proposed ordinance amendment that would make a special provision in lot coverage requirements for solar panels.

Their only decision was to continue the discussion, probably at their Sept. 15 meeting. If they recommend an ordinance amendment, it would take effect after selectmen put it on a local ballot and voters approved it. Barring a special meeting, the spring 2021 business meeting would be the earliest opportunity for voter action.

Attorney Tom Federle of Federle Law in Portland proposed the amendment. He represents SunRaise Investments, the company building two solar projects in southern China.

In reviewing and approving the SunRaise permits, planning board members considered the area of the panels as structures, as part of their lot coverage calculations. China’s land use ordinance limits the percentage of a lot that can be covered by structures to 20 percent in rural districts and 15 percent in resource protection, stream protection and shoreland districts.

Federle’s proposed ordinance amendment says in part that, “Provided that pervious ground is retained below solar panels, the area of the solar panels shall not be included in the lot coverage calculation.”

Paved areas, blocks and other bases on which the panels stand and “other impervious structures” (like a small building to house equipment) would still count toward lot coverage.

The proposed amendment would also add “solar energy system” to the town ordinance’s list of definitions.

The point Federle made, with which board members seemed to agree, was that when the meadow area below solar panels is properly maintained with infrequent mowing, the grass will absorb water running off the lower edges of the panels and the installation will not create run-off problems.

State environmental agencies and other municipalities review solar permits on this premise, he said.

He is not arguing that a solar array should be totally exempt from regulation that applies to structures, and he does not ask that the amendment apply to Phosphorus Control Ordinance discussions.

Board Chairman Tom Miragliuolo suggested it not apply in the more restricted resource protection, stream protection and shoreland zones, either.

The next planning board meeting is postponed from the usual second Tuesday of the month to the third Tuesday, Sept. 15, to avoid meeting the day after the Labor Day holiday.

CHINA: Tax bills mailed Aug. 31; first payment due Sept. 25

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by Mary Grow

Town office closed for Labor Day holiday

The China town office will be closed Saturday, Sept. 5, and Monday, Sept. 7, for the Labor Day holiday weekend. The office will be open from 8 to 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 12, to make up for the first September Saturday being a holiday.

The transfer station will be open as usual Saturday, Sept. 5, and closed as usual Monday Sept. 7.

Three notices from the China selectmen’s Aug. 31 meeting:

  • Signed nomination papers for Nov. 3 local elections are due at the town office by 2 p.m. Friday, Sept. 4, for candidates’ names to be on the local ballot. Town Manager Becky Hapgood said as of Aug. 31, no one was circulating papers for the District 4 Planning Board seat or for the positions of secretary and at-large member of the Budget Committee. Tom Mira­gliuolo is the planning board incumbent; the town website lists Trishea Story as the budget committee secretary and Jeffrey Furlong as the at-large member.
  • Tax bills were mailed out Aug. 31 or Sept. 1. The first half payment of 2020-21 taxes is due at the town office by the 2 p.m. close of business Friday, Sept. 25.
  • On Nov. 3, polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., at the town office complex for local, state and national voting. The local ballot will have four questions: election of a moderator (at 6:55 a.m.); local elections for Board of Selectmen, Planning Board and Budget Committee; amendments to the Solid Waste Disposal Ordinance; and amendments to the Solid Waste Flow Control Ordinance.

Selectmen discussed the two sets of ordinance amendments at the Aug. 31 meeting. The main change, proposed by the Transfer Station Committee, would add appropriate provisions about the new RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) system. Selectman Janet Preston pointed out that current hours are not as stated in the ordinance, and recommending not listing hours. Hapgood mentioned minor grammatical changes.

Hapgood and Preston discussed additional possible changes. Hapgood intends to suggest them to the Transfer Station Committee; if additional changes are proposed, voters will see them in 2021.

The current (2017) versions of the two ordinances are on the town website.

In other business Aug. 31, Hapgood and TIF (Tax Increment Financing Committee) member Tom Michaud told selectmen the contractor chosen to build the retaining wall between Causeway Street and China Lake needs to do test borings before designing the wall.

The estimated $8,000 cost is not in the project budget, they said. Their plan is to try to save the money elsewhere in the budget, perhaps by cutting back on work at the boat launch.

Hapgood said a meeting of the TIF Committee should be scheduled soon.

Selectmen reappointed Harold Charles to the Board of Assessment Review.

Hapgood announced two Firewood for Friends days at the China School Forest, Saturday, Sept. 5, and Saturday, Sept. 12, from 9 a.m. to noon. Volunteers who can bring and use chainsaws, bring and drive pick-up trucks and load cut-up wood into the trucks are invited. The firewood will be stored at the public works garage and distributed to residents in need over the winter.

On Codes Officer Bill Butler’s recommendation, selectmen approved a replacement holding tank at 1182 Lakeview Drive.

The next regular China selectmen’s meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 14.

China selectmen set tax rate at 14.9 mils for 2020-21

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by Mary Grow

At their Aug. 24 special meeting, China selectmen, in their capacity as assessors, set the 2020-21 tax rate at 14.9 mils, or $14.90 for each $1,000 of valuation.

Last year’s rate was 16.3 mils, or $16.30 for each $1,000 of valuation.

The lower rate will mean a lower tax bill for some property owners, but not for all. People who have made improvements can expect a higher valuation that could increase the tax. And at the Aug. 3 selectmen’s meeting, Kelly Grotton explained that some categories of property, especially land around lakes, will have higher valuations to meet state requirements.

Grotton is the assistant to assessor William Van Tuinen, who recommended the 14.9 rate as adequate to raise enough local tax money to meet China’s financial obligations this year. The town receives money from many other sources, including state funding, vehicle excise taxes and fees paid for town services.

Town Manager Becky Hapgood said tax bills should be mailed out the week after Labor Day, assuming preparations go smoothly. By town meeting vote, the first half payment is due at the town office by 2 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25.

In other business Aug, 24, selectmen appointed board member Janet Preston as alternate representative to the Kennebec Valley Council of Governments General Assembly (Selectman Irene Belanger is China’s main representative). They appointed Brent Chesley a member of the Tax Increment Financing Committee.

Hapgood reminded the audience that nomination papers for local elective office are due back at the town office by 2 p.m. Friday, Sept. 4, for candidates’ names to be on the Nov. 3 local ballot.

The next regular China selectmen’s meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 31.

Volunteers needed to help set up outdoor classrooms in the China Schools Forest

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photo: China School’s Forest Facebook

Anita Smith, Director of the China Schools Forest, has been preparing the grounds for outdoor learning experiences in time for the beginning to the 2020-21 to year. The China School Forest provides ample space for students to socially distance in a calm, safe atmosphere, while learning. Volunteers have been essential. They have cleared brush, raked gravel on trails, stained picnic tables and water sealed a bridge over a pond. As school is about to begin, we need volunteers to give it one last push to prepare for the kids’ arrival.

Volunteers will be need on Friday, August 28, from 5 – 7 p.m., and Saturday, August 29, from 9 – 11 a.m. Four or five strong people with ladders to tie tarps up in the trees will be needed. The tarps will help protect kids from sun or unexpected sprinkles.

Contact Anita Smith at 207-445-3056 to volunteer. For more information about the China Schools Forest, visit chinaschoolsforest.wixsite.com.

Future needs for volunteers:

Saturdays, September 5 and 12 at 9 a.m., to cut and load firewood to store for neighbors in need. Bring chainsaws, work gloves, and goggles. If you own a pick-up truck, please bring it.

China For A Lifetime also needs more volunteers. We help with projects such as the China Schools Forests and with individuals who may need a helping hand or two. We run errands, rake leaves, shovel snow, basic home repair, minor chores and welcome neighbors. Contact them at 207-200-3704 or at chinaforalifetime@gmail.com.

Area scouts receive recognition for patch design

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Scott Adams, left, head of the Bomazeen Old Timers, of China, presenting check to Zachary LeHay, of Troop #401, from Sidney. (contributed photo)

New design to celebrate 75 years of Camp Bomazeen

Patch is the design from Dalton Curtis that will be used by the Bomazeen Old Timers to fundraise for their efforts to provide ongoing support for Camp Bomazeen.

Scouts Dalton Curtis, of Skowhegan Troop #485, and Zachary LeHay, of Sidney Troop #401, both received $75 prizes from the Bomazeen Old Timers on August 12 during a special presentation at Camp Bomazeen. The Scouts had drawn the two winning patch designs during the camp’s 75th anniversary season celebration.

Initially, they were to receive $75 camperships to attend Camp Bomazeen but when the camp did not open due to Covid-19, Scott Adams, of China, head of the Bomazeen Old Timers, opted to present both Curtis and LeHay with their prize during the annual Kennebec Valley District Scout Leader Re­cog­nition Dinner/ Program Kick-Off.

Curtis had planned to work at Camp Bomazeen’s kitchen this summer and LeHay was planning to attend with his troop. Adams said the patches will be used to help raise money for the Bomazeen Old Timers, which is a group of camp alumni dedicated to help the camp.

Submitted by Chuck Mahaleris

Scott Adams, left, head of the Bomazeen Old Timers, of China, presenting check to Dalton Curtis, of Troop #485, from Skowhegan. (contributed photo)

CHINA: Town business meeting to be conducted by written ballot in 2021

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by Mary Grow

China selectmen have decided the 2021 annual town business meeting at which the budget is approved will be conducted by written ballot, not at an open meeting. They have not set a date; March and June 2021 were suggested at their Aug. 17 meeting.

Until 2020, the business meeting was an open meeting, held recently in the primary school gymnasium on a Saturday morning in late March or early April, with a quorum of 120 voters needed to start the meeting. Pandemic restrictions on large gatherings led to the cancellation of the April 2020 meeting. It was rescheduled as a written ballot on July 14, with approved expenditures retroactive to the July 1 beginning of the fiscal year.

Selectmen do not know what restrictions, if any, will be in effect next spring. They agreed they should be prepared; and if the past is a guide, a written-ballot election will bring more voter participation than an open meeting.

Selectmen to hold special meeting

China selectmen will hold a special meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 24, primarily to set the 2020-21 tax rate. Town Manager Becky Hapgood said their decision should make it possible to mail tax bills early in September. By town meeting vote, the first half payment of 2020-21 taxes is due at the town office by the 2 p.m. closing time Friday, Sept. 25.

A proposal to set a March meeting date was deleted from the decision after Town Manager Becky Hapgood said that preparations for a written ballot require more advance time than preparations for an open meeting. Because of the need to have ballots available well before election day, she estimated selectmen might need to have the entire budget in final form as much as 75 days before the scheduled vote.

Last spring, she reminded them, they were working on the budget into February in anticipation of an early-April meeting.

Hapgood also suggested if the town vote were combined with the school budget vote, which has in normal years been in June, the town would save money. She plans to prepare a timeline to guide board members as they find an appropriate date.

In other business Aug. 17:

  • Hapgood outlined plans to use a $31,360 Covid-19 grant for a variety of purposes, including additional signs and weekly mailings to keep residents informed, touchless hand-sanitizer dispensers and refills for town buildings and personal protective equipment.
  • She described plans to share a counter clerk with the Town of Windsor, with the person working a 40-hour week, half in one town office and half in the other. There would be no additional cost to China, she said, and the new employee would benefit by getting experience faster than by working half-time.
  • Looking at two issues related to codes enforcement, board members unanimously endorsed Codes Officer Bill Butler’s recommendation to approve a holding tank on Fire Road 20, and asked Hapgood to ask Butler to review penalties for codes violations to see if fines should be increased.

After the Aug. 24 special selectmen’s meeting to set the 2021 tax rate, the next regular meeting is scheduled for Monday evening, Aug. 31.

Many take out nomination papers

As of Aug. 17, the following China residents were circulating nomination papers for local elective office.

  • For three seats on the board of selectmen, incumbents Ronald Breton and Janet Preston, plus Blane Casey, Brent A. Chesley, Milton F. Dudley, Peter Foote and Jeanne Marquis. The other incumbent whose term ends in 2020 is Donna Mills-Stevens.
  • For the at-large position on the planning board, Brent A. Chesley, Megan Marquis and incumbent James C. Wilkens; for the District 2 seat, incumbent Toni Wall; and no one for the District 4 seat now held by chairman Thomas Miragliuolo.
  • For the at-large seat and the secretary’s position on the budget committee, no one is circulating papers. Incumbents Thomas A. Rumpf and Timothy Basham are seeking nominations for re-election in District 2 and District 4, respectively.

Signed nomination papers must be returned to the town office by the 2 p.m. closing time Friday, Sept. 4, for candidates’ names to appear on the Nov. 3 local ballot.