Four Seasons Club fishing derby revived

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The China Four Seasons Club (CFSC) and The China Village Volunteer Fire Department (CVVFD) are pleased to announce the first China Lake Ice Fishing Derby to be held on Sunday March 1.

It has been over 18 years since the town of China held an ice fishing derby. The derby, a town favorite, was previously organized by volunteers in China Village.

The China Four Seasons Club has become more active and wanted to bring back this local event. After talks with the China Village Volunteer Fire Department. It was decided that this year China will once again have an ice fishing derby.

The event is open to all legal waters in Maine but both clubs hope participants come join everyone on the local lakes. Tickets are on sale at many local stores, bait dealers, and available through members of both the China Four Season Club and the CVVFD. Entry tickets also serve as raffle tickets to win door prizes from local vendors. Ticket sales will end at noon on the day of the derby.

Food will be available for purchase from inside the China Village Fire Department along with coffee and hot cocoa to get help people get warm and enjoy fellowship.

Fish weigh in will be held at the Fire Department at 4 p.m. Many were very excited to hear of the return of this popular event and there are already plans to expand on it for next year. Families are encouraged to attend this great outdoor activity. The CFSC will also be giving sleigh rides behind their groomer.

This event is a great way for the community to come out and enjoy the frozen lakes, outdoor weather and celebrate winter. Please see the Facebook posts from the fire department and CFSC for more information, or contact a local member from either organization.

Three needed expenses discovered; China selectmen review final, final warrant

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by Mary Grow

China selectmen thought they approved the final warrant for the April 4 town business meeting at their Feb. 18 meeting (see The Town Line, Feb. 20).

Afterwards, Town Manager Dennis Heath discovered three needed expenditures that had been overlooked. The selectmen and budget committee therefore met Monday evening, Feb. 24, to approve the final, final warrant.

Both boards quickly accepted the revised figures, which added $35,500 to the amounts previously recommended. Heath explained that the figures were on the budget sheets selectmen and budget committee members reviewed, but the program that translates budget sheets into warrant articles overlooked them. Heath and town office staff spotted the omissions as they did one last warrant review.

The total municipal budget voters will approve or amend is well over $4.3 million, with the selectmen’s and budget committee’s recommended expenditures differing by a little over $2,000 and, Heath emphasizes, sources other than local taxation providing significant income.

At the Feb. 18 meeting, the other major action was approval of a new employment agreement with Heath, after a discussion in executive session. The vote to approve was 3-1, with Wayne Chadwick voting no.

Chadwick later explained he wanted more time to review the contract. He thinks it “has potential long lasting liability for the town,” and he would have liked to ask the town attorney questions about some of the clauses.

In other business Feb. 18, selectmen unanimously signed a new contract with town attorney Amanda Meader, retroactive to Jan. 1.

Heath said he used the new communications network to notify residents during a recent ice storm and during the Spectrum outage. The network has two capabilities, he said. Hyper-Reach sends messages to residents who have signed up, by the medium of their choice, all over town. Accu-Reach automatically calls people in a specific area affected by the emergency, both people who have signed up and people who have a landline with a listed number.

Selectman Donna Mills-Stevens said she has a landline but did not get any calls.

Residents who would like to sign up for emergency notifications should start by clicking on Emergency Preparedness on the left side of the town website and follow instructions under “Sign up for Emergency Alerts from the Town of China.” (Or click here to go directly to the sign-up.)

Selectmen’s seat at stake Tuesday

On Tuesday, March 3, in addition to the state primary elections and referendum vote, China holds a local election to fill the vacant seat on the Selectboard. Candidates are Christopher Hahn, Janet Preston and Kevin Rhoades. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the former portable classroom behind the town office.

The 2020 town business meeting begins at 9 a.m. Saturday, April 4, at China Middle School, with doors open for check-in at 8:30 a.m. A quorum of 118 registered voters must be present to open the meeting.

Revising earlier bookkeeping (see The Town Line, Feb. 6), Heath transferred expenditures for installing three-phase power at the transfer station from the contingency fund to the transfer station reserve fund. The result is that the $55,000 contingency fund, which voters authorized selectmen to spend for unanticipated expenses, has a balance of more than $46,000, instead of less than $4,000. Selectmen and budget committee members recommend voters approve the same amount for the 2020-21 fiscal year.

The manager reported progress on two ongoing projects:

  • The state has donated 64 ten-foot planks to be used to upgrade the boat launch at the head of China Lake’s East basin, and the Tax Increment Financing construction subcommittee is preparing to solicit bids for work in the area.
  • The Broadband Committee continues to work on plans for a town-wide broadband survey.

At the Feb. 24 joint meeting with the budget committee, after swift agreement on the revised figures, selectmen spent another half hour discussing how the warrant articles should be written.

All but five ask, “To see what sum of money…,” so-called open articles that voters can approve, decrease or increase at the town meeting. Below each article the selectmen’s and budget committee’s recommendations are printed.

The other five – for town administration (Art. 3), fire and rescue services (Art. 9), social services (Art. 13), community support organizations (Art. 14) and Tax Increment Financing expenditures (Art. 19) – ask “To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate” a specified amount. These articles are called capped; voters can approve or reduce them, but they cannot increase the stated appropriation.

Chadwick wants the five capped articles rewritten as open articles. He emphasized that he does not want more money spent, but thinks voters should have the option.

“I hope they don’t vote to raise any of them. I’d encourage people to vote lower numbers. But they ought to have a choice; it’s their money,” Chadwick said.

Breton objected to making the changes, fearing the minority who attend town meetings would increase expenditures enough to raise taxes substantially.

Budget Committee Chairman Robert Batteese observed that for the last 25 years all but one article have been open. Last year, he said, voters added $13,000 to recommended amounts – “That didn’t break the budget.”

After a sometimes acrimonious discussion among selectboard members, Chadwick’s motion to uncap the five articles failed on a 1-1 vote, with Chadwick in favor, Breton opposed and Mills-Stevens and Irene Belanger abstaining.

The next regular China selectmen’s meeting is scheduled for Monday evening, March 2.

Dozens of people attend China selectmen candidates forum

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Candidates for China’s vacant selectmen’s seat are, from left to right, Christopher Hahn, Janet Preston and Kevin Rhoades. (photo courtesy of Sandra Isaac)

by Mary Grow

All three candidates in China’s March 3 special election for selectman, and an audience of more than three dozen people, turned out for the Feb. 23 candidates’ forum at the Albert Church Brown Memorial Library in China Village.

The candidates, in alphabetical order, are:

  • Christopher Hahn, a specialty contractor who does skylights and is, since 2009, the owner of Three Level Farm (the former French farm), on Vassalboro Road, and therefore a farmer and maker of goat cheese. He serves on the China for a Lifetime Committee and talked about plans, not yet near implementation, to make it easier for people to continue to live in China as they age.
  • Janet Preston, Neck Road resident for 30 years, former school committee member and still school volunteer, former member of the Lake Access Committee and still active in the China Lake Association.
  • Kevin Rhoades, who cheerfully called himself “the dump guy” because he works at the transfer station, a China native who previously worked in construction. If elected a selectman, he said, he will recuse himself from any decisions that might affect his position as a town employee.

All three candidates plan to do their best to serve townspeople, and all three realize that the Selectboard cannot please all the people all the time. Hahn sees becoming a selectman as an extension of his committee service. Preston promised “thoughtful, informed decisions,” called for compromise and more than once declined to commit herself on an issue until she had more facts. Rhoades said he likes politics, likes people and likes a fight.

A major topic, referred to more than once, was whether China’s tax rate is too high and if it is, what to do about it.

Rhoades’ preferred solution is to expand the tax base by encouraging more construction in town. To do so he recommends loosening China’s land use and construction standards where they are stricter than state requirements.

Asked later if he was concerned about the tax increase in the proposed 2020-21 budget, he said no. “We’ve been behind,” and if residents want services they have to pay taxes.

Preston thinks taxes should be considered in relation to the services provided – higher taxes should provide more or better town services. She lives in a lakefront house and therefore pays comparatively high property taxes, but she does not think her taxes are excessive, especially because, in her opinion, China has an excellent school system.

Hahn expressed hope for “a realistic budget balancing taxes and needs.”

Law enforcement is a service that residents will be asked to vote on expanding at the April 4 town business meeting. The warrant includes the annual budget for part-time local police coverage to supplement county and state coverage, and two additional proposals: hiring one full-time policeman in addition to existing coverage, or contracting with the Kennebec County Sheriff’s Department.

Rhoades thinks China does not need a full-time policeman. Hahn leaned toward the same opinion but wanted more information; and Preston declined to commit herself without more information.

A question to Hahn about the China for a Lifetime Committee revealed a difference of opinion among the candidates. Hahn said nothing is likely to happen for years, and town resources would be welcome if voters so decide. Preston remembered prior discussions of building a retirement community, an idea she supports. Rhoades said making life safe and convenient for older people is an individual responsibility, to be entrusted to family members and neighbors, not to government.

Rhoades also disagrees over whether the town should provide public lake access. He says no; the other two say yes.

Several audience members wanted to argue about the multi-month dispute between town officials – specifically, the town manager and selectmen – and volunteer fire departments. No candidate was asked specifically which side he or she was on, and none volunteered the information.

Nor did any disagree with what seem to be three principles involved: town officials are obliged to do what voters direct them to do; town officials are obliged not to do anything that is or is alleged to be illegal; when these two obligations conflict, town officials have the primary responsibility to sort out the situation, including deciding when to seek new direction from voters.

This topic will also be on the April 4 meeting warrant. Selectmen have deleted $40,000 that was previously considered money for stipends – or recruitment and retention, as the firefighters call the account – from the fire and rescue appropriation. They have added $40,000 to the community support organizations’ budget for the fire departments and rescue to use as they please, subject to reporting requirements the town treasurer says are required by law.

Both those articles are written so that voters cannot increase the total amount. None of the three candidates approved of this “capping” expenditure articles.

The Feb. 23 discussion began and ended with the topic of communication, specifically how selectmen and other town officials can keep residents better informed of planned actions and collect input. To inform everyone of every significant action is impossible, the candidates agreed. They and audience members recommended the Town of China website; the town Facebook page that Hahn said the China for a Lifetime Committee started; watching selectmen’s meetings on line; The Town Line newspaper; the Tuesday school notices, which Preston said most parents read; notices at the transfer station (“We do that,” Rhoades interjected) and the post offices; and more frequent direct mailings, Hahn’s suggestion that others pointed out would be expensive.

China’s local voting March 3 will be in the former portable classroom behind the town office, with polls open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. As during last November’s election, the driveway from Lakeview Drive will be blocked; access will be from Alder Park Road.

Whichever of the three candidates is elected will serve only until November 2020, finishing Jeffrey LaVerdiere’s unexpired term. All three indicated they are likely to run again in November, whatever the outcome March 3.

China/Vassalboro fifth graders help with revegetation program

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Students at VCS helping with the revegetation project at the Masse Dam Site.

Fifth grade students from China Middle School and Vassalboro Community School are continuing the work started two years ago by fellow students helping with the revegetation project at the Masse Dam site, in Vassalboro. They are learning the connections between alewives, native plants and the restoration of Maine waterways back to their original state. The restoration of Maine waterways, also known as the Alewife Restoration Initiative, will allow river herring, an anadromous fish, to return to freshwater to spawn.

The site of Masse Dam, which was removed in 2018. (photo by Eric Austin)

Matt Streeter, from Maine Rivers, shared what has happened and is happening as dams are being removed allowing alewives and blueback herring to return to China Lake and Outlet Stream. Nate Gray from the Maine Department of Marine Resources provided information on alewives as a keystone species and what that means to our local environment. Anita Smith, a Maine Master naturalist, clarified the difference between native and invasive plants and why we need to focus our restoration efforts with native species.

This year’s seed collection were ones that would do well in wet to medium wet soils. Some of the seeds planted were Swamp Milkweed, Swamp Smart Weed, New England Asters, Wild Bergamot, Black-eyed Susan and Golden Alexander. Next fall students will go to the Masse Dam site to plant their young plants along the outlet stream. There is also a plan for the fifth graders to visit the site this spring. In the spring they will learn more about the history of the site, identify critters from the stream to determine if the stream is healthy or not, as well as plant shrubs along the stream’s edge.

Seeds for this project were provided by the China Lake Association.

Article and photos submitted by Elaine Philbrook of the China Lake association.

Students at CMS helping with the revegetation project at the Masse Dam Site.

China’s Anita Smith cited by statewide group

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From left to right, is Olivia Grist, executive director of the Maine Environmental Education Association, Anita Smith, and Linda Woodard, of from the Maine Audubon Society. (contributed photo)

Anita Smith, of China, was recently presented the 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Maine Environmental Educators Association at the Maine Audubon headquarters located at Gilsland Farm, in Falmouth. This award recognizes Mrs. Smith’s many years of service promoting the benefits and rewards of being outside in nature. She has worked all over the state with schools, teachers, children, families, colleges and anyone curious about the wonders that can be found in nature.

Anita Smith is best known locally for her years of teaching in the China schools and her on-going work with the China School Forest, an “outdoor classroom” with trails and learning stations owned by the Town of China.

Along with her work in China, she is a facilitator and board member of Maine’s Project Learning Tree (PLT). Maine PLT uses the forest and trees as “windows” into the complex natural world. As a facilitator, Smith has presented a number of workshops to teachers throughout the state using the Project Learning Tree’s preK-12 curriculum materials. Helping educators make the connections to move a classroom from inside four walls to outside into the real world.

She is a trained Maine Master Naturalist. Her training increased her knowledge of the natural world so she could better help others understand the inner workings of nature. She currently is a mentor to this year’s participants in the Maine Master Naturalist program. This training enables participants to volunteer as teachers of natural history and encourage the stewardship of Maine’s natural environment.

Smith is a true believer of the importance of connecting not only children with the natural world but everyone. Knowing that as we become more knowledgeable of the inner workings of our natural world we become better stewards of the Earth and can make decision based on our experiences.

Congratulations to Anita Smith on her 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Maine Environmental Educators Association recognizing her commitment to provide positive experiences for our community and giving us with a sense of wonder of our natural surroundings.

JMG announces students of the quarter in China

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JMG team members Hailey Estes, left, and Alexia McDonald. (photo courtesy of Ryan Sweeney)

JMG is proud to celebrate two eighth graders who were named students of the quarter for the second quarter. JMG team members, Hailey Estes and Alexia McDonald, earned the recognition for their hard work and dedication. Hailey felt that she managed her time well, kept herself organized and completed all assignments on time. “Whenever there was a free moment, I would take advantage of the time and work on assignment.” Alexia reflected on her willingness to be open minded to learn new topics and to ask questions in all classes. “I try to approach all I do with a positive.”

LETTERS: How to control municipal spending

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To the editor:

We have entered the 20th year of the 21st century with a flood of information at our fingertips. We can now watch local government at work with video streaming, pay our taxes online and ask questions with email.

The current open meeting limits voter participation to 3 – 4 hours on a Saturday. A secret ballot would allow town registered voters the ability to vote absentee 30 days prior. The elderly and disabled would find it easier to vote. People could vote early due to a conflicting obligation or if they’re on vacation on that Saturday.

In the past, the normal attendance at our town meeting has been between 120 – 150 registered voters. This is usually after calling neighbors to meet the required quorum of 4 percent. The recent secret ballot governor’s race in China had 2,065 at voters. The petition I’m circulating requires at least 10 percent of that number or 207 registered voters turned in by March 10 when the town office would verify the names. Finally, at the March 16 selectboard meeting, it will be submitted for placement on the June 9 primary ballot.

How do we control municipal spending? Individually…… in the voting booth.

Neil Farrington
South China

China Budget Committee makes final budget recommendations

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by Mary Grow

China Budget Committee members and selectmen have made their final recommendations on the warrant for the April 4 town business meeting, agreeing to disagree on two of the 28 articles.

Pay for three town employees was a major discussion topic at several meetings of each board. Town Manager Dennis Heath recommended making Town Clerk Becky Hapgood and Transfer Station Manager Tim Grotton salaried managers rather then hourly employees, with upward pay adjustments.

He also recommended a substantial raise for Public Works Manager Shawn Reed in recognition of his managerial responsibilities. Because Reed incurs so much necessary overtime driving a plow truck, Heath did not recommend putting him on salary.

After discussion of appropriate pay, considering responsibilities and length of service with the town, the two boards agreed on compensation for Hapgood, which is included in the administration budget, and for Reed, in the public works budget.

They disagreed on how much Grotton should earn. Heath said at the Feb. 18 selectmen’s meeting the budget committee recommended a 10 percent increase in total earnings (including benefits) and the selectmen a 6 percent increase. The result is a difference of a little over $2,000 in recommendations on the transfer station budget.

The other question on which the two boards do not agree is Heath’s proposal to hire a full-time town policeman, whose work would supplement the current part-time coverage at an additional cost of more than $113,000. Selectmen recommend the new position on a 2-1 vote; the budget committee recommends against it on a vote of 1 in favor and 5 against.

Most budget committee recommendations were unanimous, with more abstentions to avoid conflict of interest than dissents. The town meeting warrant records votes on each article, so voters will have a chance to ask who disagreed or abstained and why.

China’s 2020 town business meeting opens at 9 a.m. Saturday, April 4, at China Middle School on Lakeview Drive.

Solar farm group reveals plans for Windsor Road project

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by Mary Grow

China Planning Board members heard more information about the proposed solar development off Windsor Road, plus comments from neighbors, at their Feb. 11 meeting. They scheduled a Tuesday, Feb. 25, public hearing on the proposal to let more residents weigh in; the hearing will be at 6:30 p.m. in the town office.

Spokespeople for SunRaise Development explained the plans. They included project manager Joe Harrison; Joe Marden, of Sitelines, a Brunswick engineering and surveying firm; attorney Tom Federle, of Federle Law, in Portland; and Lisa Vickers, Senior Project Manager with Atlantic Environmental, in Woolwich.

The solar array will consist of 17,800 panels, about 3-by-5 feet each, slanted to catch maximum sunlight, with spaces between them. They will occupy a leased portion of Michael Willette’s 51-acre lot accessed from Windsor Road. The lot is mostly meadow; about two acres of timber in one corner will be clearcut. The field under the panels will be mowed no more than twice a year.

An access road will run through the middle of the solar array, seldom used, because the facility is unmanned and needs inspection and perhaps repairs only a few times a year. There will be 10-foot buffers around the edges of the property, and a high fence will keep out unauthorized people.

The solar array is expected to produce about seven megawatts of electricity and to have a 20-to-30-year lifetime. After its lifespan is complete, the panels, supports and other structures will be removed.

The developers and some planning board members have a major disagreement that was not resolved: whether or not solar panels are structures. If the panels are considered structures, then under China’s land use and phosphorus control ordinances, they must conform to lot coverage and phosphorus runoff limits.

Planning Board Chairman Tom Miragliuolo said by China’s ordinance definition, and according to planning board precedent (the 2015 approval of the smaller solar array at Three Level Farm, on Vassalboro Road), he thinks the panels are structures. SunRaise has been dealing with state Department of Environmental officials; Federle, Harrison and Marden all said by state rules, only the concrete footings count as impervious surface.

Miragliuolo reminded them they need to meet local ordinance requirements as well as state rules.

Two couples living close to the site had a variety of questions about possible impacts, from groundwater pollution risks (very slight, Vickers said) to the effect on property values (no data available, Vickers and Harrison said; Harrison added some people would welcome such a neighbor, others wouldn’t).

In the only other action at the Feb. 11 meeting, planning board members agreed unanimously that the planned Phase Two of the causeway project at the head of China Lake’s east basin is a separate project from Phase One and will need a new application. Phase One was construction of the new bridge; Phase Two involves shoreline work, mostly east from the bridge.

China resident is Maine’s Conservation Officer of the Year

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Maine Game Warden, David Ross

by Eric W. Austin

David Ross – China resident, local game warden, and Maine’s nominee for Conservation Officer of the Year – is worried. Fewer Mainer’s are enjoying the great outdoors, especially the younger generation.

“The youth – they’re not out there. It’s my age and up,” says Ross, who is in his mid-30s. “Whether that’s parents not passing down traditions, or kids not wanting to be outdoors – too many distractions? – I don’t know what the answer is.”

Traditional pastimes like hunting, fishing and trapping in particular have seen a slow decline in recent years. That’s a problem because much of the funding for Maine’s conservation efforts comes from the sale of licenses for those activities.

On the other hand, extreme vehicle sports, including snowmobiling and riding ATVs, are increasing.

Ross, a native Mainer who grew up in the Wiscasset area and went to Unity College, spent three years as a Maine Marine Patrol Officer before moving to the warden service ten years ago. In 2012, Ross and his wife, who works for Maine’s Attorney General office, relocated to China. They have two children, six and four, who attend St. Michael’s parochial school, in Augusta. As a game warden, Ross serves six towns around central Maine: China, Windsor, Palermo, Liberty, Montville, and Freedom. His territory also includes the lakes of China, Sheepscot, and St. George.

Although Maine game wardens are law enforcement officers with the power to arrest, investigate and enforce the law, Ross sees his job as different than the typical police officer.

“[On] the direct law enforcement side, they’re primarily reactive. They get a call and they go,” he says. “I’m a pro-active law enforcement officer. I like to prevent things from happening.”

Many of the calls Ross receives are a response to residents’ interactions with local wildlife, but sometimes people panic for no reason. “Seeing a fox during the day – that’s not a big deal,” Ross advises. “You’re looking for the behavior. If you see a fox during the day that’s running in circles, chasing its tail, falling over for no reason, running into trees – aggressively attacking you – that’s cause for alarm. But seeing a fluffy-tailed fox siting on a rock, sunning itself – not a problem. That’s wildlife in Maine.”

Still, if you ever have a question, Ross is easy enough to contact. Just call the state police non-emergency dispatch at 624-7076 and ask for Warden Dave Ross. He’ll call you right back.

If you need to have a wild animal removed from your property, such as a raccoon that has gotten stuck in your garage, your best bet is to call a certified Animal Damage Control Agent instead of a warden. You can find a list of them, fully licensed by Maine’s department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, by searching Google for “Maine Animal Damage Control Agents.”

Ticks are also a growing problem in Maine and they are having a detrimental effect on residents’ ability to take advantage of the state’s best asset – the Great Outdoors.

“I’ve talked to a few hunters [about] turkey season in the spring,” Ross says. “They’re not going to go, just because of the ticks.”

The milder winters we’ve had the last few years have been a boon to the tick population. Usually, Maine’s harsh winter cold is enough to kill off the ticks each year, forcing them to reestablish their population the following spring, but as the climate warms, that’s not happening, which means we can expect ticks to become a worsening danger in the years to come. On the plus side, the milder winters mean we’re seeing other animal species expand their range into central Maine, such as opossums, which feed on ticks.

Ross deals with the tick menace by treating his clothes with Permethrin before venturing out into the woods.

When he’s not roaming the woods of central Maine looking for poachers or lost hunters, Dave Ross is at home on his hobby-farm in China where he raises chickens, pigs and tends bees.