VBA offers scholarship

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The Vassalboro Business Association has announced that it will offer $500 scholarships to at least three Vassalboro students who plan to attend a Post-Secondary Program of Study in the fall of 2017.

Students must have been  residents in Vassalboro for the past two years, provide evidence of community service in that same two year period, and be enrolled in a post-secondary two to four year program of education or training.

Applications are available by emailing lindatitus@hotmail.com or calling 873-2108.  They should also be available in local guidance offices. The deadline to return the completed form is April 15, 2017.

VASSALBORO NEWS: 26 parcels due for foreclosure for unpaid taxes

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by Mary Grow

Vassalboro has an unusual number of taxpayers whose taxes are seriously overdue, Town Manager Mary Sabins told selectmen at their Feb. 9 meeting.

With the foreclosure deadline for 2014 taxes – the date on which the town acquires the property if taxes are not paid – that night at midnight, Sabins said 26 parcels were on the verge of becoming town-owned. The blizzard that started as selectmen met that morning did not make her optimistic about people coming in at the last minute.

Town office staff made repeated efforts to reach people through mailings and telephone calls to make sure everyone was aware of the deadline, she said.
For the current tax year, the third quarterly tax payment is due Monday, Feb. 27, by town meeting vote. Voters also agreed to charge interest for taxes paid after the deadline.

In other business at a short meeting, selectmen again talked briefly about changing the town’s streetlights to more energy-efficient LED lights and agreed they need not rush to a decision. They have heard proposals from two private companies, but are waiting for information from Central Maine Power Company.
Selectmen were scheduled to begin discussion of the 2017-18 budget at a Feb. 13 workshop, but canceled it because of bad weather.

VBA offers scholarship

/0 Comments/in , /by

The Vassalboro Business Association has announced that it will offer $500 scholarships to at least three Vassalboro students who plan to attend a Post-Secondary Program of Study in the fall of 2017.

Students must have been  residents in Vassalboro for the past two years, provide evidence of community service in that same two year period, and be enrolled in a post-secondary two to four year program of education or training.

Applications are available by emailing lindatitus@hotmail.com or calling 873-2108.  They should also be available in local guidance offices. The deadline to return the completed form is April 15, 2017.

Vassalboro News: Selectmen OK letter to KWD seeking support for Alewife Restoration Initiative

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by Mary Grow

Vassalboro selectmen heard two requests and one proposal at their Jan. 26 meeting. They granted one request and took the other two items under advisement.

Board members approved Frank Richards’ request that they write a letter to the president of the Kennebec Water District (KWD) Board of Trustees asking the district to support the project to restore alewives to China Lake, known as ARI (Alewife Restoration Initiative).

Richards is Vassalboro’s new representative on the board. One reason he sought the position, he said, was to try to get KWD to support ARI financially.
The current KWD position, as stated by General Manager Jeffrey LaCasse (see The Town Line, Jan. 19, 2017, page 8), is neither for nor against alewife reintroduction. KWD officials do not believe alewives are responsible for water quality improvements; neither do they believe the small fish will harm water quality.

Richards praised state Representative Timothy Theriault, of China, for introducing a bill, LD 55, co-sponsored by legislators from Winslow and Fairfield, that would impose a fee on KWD customers to go toward China Lake water quality restoration. (For another perspective on LD 55, see The Town Line, Jan. 26, 2017, p. 3. )

Selectmen agreed that board Chairman Lauchlin Titus and Town Manager Mary Sabins will draft a letter to KWD Board President Al Hodsdon.
The second request was from Holly Weidner, who asked selectmen as they prepare 2017-18 budget recommendations to reconsider the policy of flat-funding out-of-town social service agencies. Weidner argued that many of the agencies, like those dealing with sexual assault and domestic violence, perform valuable public safety functions and should be more generously supported. Selectman Phil Haines said selectmen and budget committee members constantly balance between the needs presented to them and the need to keep the local tax rate as low as possible.

Agency requests are included in the town meeting warrant, Sabins pointed out, giving voters the option to appropriate the full amount an agency wants when town officials recommend a lower amount.

Selectmen are scheduled to begin review of the proposed 2017-18 municipal budget at a workshop scheduled for 1 p.m., Monday, Feb. 13. The budget committee’s tentative schedule has social service agency requests to be considered the evening of Thursday, March 9.

The proposal at the Jan. 26 meeting, submitted by a representative of Maryland-based RealTerm Energy, was to replace current street lights with LED lights.

Paul Vesel, the company’s northeastern director of business development, gave selectmen and audience members a 33-page document describing plans for the change and projected cost savings.

In April 2016 selectmen heard another proposal on the same topic from Pemco & Company, LLC, of Florida.

In other business Jan. 26, Sabins reported on two initiatives from Vassalboro’s Senior Citizens Working Group. Members are still discussing provision of bus service in Vassalboro, she said, and they are planning a May 25 Senior Citizens Services Fair at which area organizations whose responsibilities include assisting seniors will be invited to distribute information about their services.

Selectmen approved a liquor license renewal for Natanis Golf Course, with board member and Natanis owner Rob Browne abstaining on the vote.

The next regular Vassalboro selectmen’s meeting is scheduled for Thursday evening, Feb. 9.

Part-time curator sought by Vassalboro Historical Society

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This position requires experience in grant writing, and membership development and/or volunteer recruitment and supervision. In addition the curator will:

  • be responsible for accessioning, storing and displaying of Museum holdings, including documents, photographs, books & three dimensional objects.
  • Provide advice to Building and Grounds Director regarding storage and display needs.
  • Carry out research requested by individuals who contact the museum.
  • Using Past Perfect museum software, enter description and photos (if available) of all accessioned items and backup software regularly.
  • Direct volunteers in a variety of tasks including cleaning, accessioning, etc.
  • Work with the President and the Board of Directors to continue maintenance and development of the Society and its programs

If you are interested please contact Jan Clowes, VHS President by e-mail at vhspresident@hotmail.com or by leaving a message at the museum at 207-923-3505.

Vassalboro News: Selectmen to look into addressing speeding through East Vassalboro

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by Mary Grow

With the local marijuana referendum behind them – voters on Jan. 9 approved banning commercial non-medical marijuana businesses in town – and 2017-18 budget work not beginning until February, Vassalboro selectmen had a short and routine meeting Jan. 12.

Town Manager Mary Sabins has not forgotten the discussion of speeding through East Vassalboro on Route 32. She showed selectmen a solar assisted battery light borrowed from the state Department of Transportation and proposed buying two to go atop new warning signs at each end of the village.

Total cost for two lights and two signs would be less than $500, and, Sabins said, if the lights proved ineffective or annoying to neighbors, the town public works crew could use them to warn of construction work, downed trees and other temporary issues.

Selectmen unanimously approved. Because of Dig Safe requirements and frozen ground, the new warnings might not be installed until spring.

Board members renewed the agreement with Kennebec Water District for management of the China Lake Outlet Dam and approved a slightly revised contract with the town assessors and a minor revision to the town personnel policy.

They approved reports from Sabins on town finances; Road Commissioner Eugene Field, listing a lot of overtime plowing and sanding; new Police Chief Mark Brown; and the Vassalboro First Responders.

The First Responders’ report included concern about the high price of EpiPens, a tool members like to carry with them for immediate treatment of allergic reactions and similar conditions. They fear they will have to limit themselves to keeping an EpiPen in each Vassalboro fire station.

The next regular selectmen’s meeting is scheduled for Thursday evening, Jan. 26. Board members adjusted their February schedule to avoid meeting during school vacation week; at this point, they plan a meeting Thursday evening, Feb. 9; a budget workshop Monday afternoon, Feb. 13; and a meeting Thursday afternoon, March 2.

Vassalboro News: Voters overwhelmingly approve ban on recreational marijuana facilities

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by Mary Grow

Vassalboro voters lopsidedly approved a ban on recreational marijuana facilities in town at their Jan. 9 special town meeting. With more than the required quorum of 125 voters in the Vassalboro Community School cafeteria, the “Ordinance Prohibiting Retail Marijuana Establishments and Retail Marijuana Social Clubs in the Town of Vassalboro” was debated for almost half an hour. Although speakers divided fairly evenly for and against the ordinance, when Moderator Richard Thompson called for a show of hands, 100 or more people voted for the ordinance and only about two dozen voted against.

The new town ordinance, allowed under the state recreational marijuana law approved Nov. 8, says: “Retail marijuana establishments, including retail marijuana stores, retail marijuana cultivation facilities, retail marijuana products manufacturing facilities, and retail marijuana testing facilities, and retail marijuana social clubs, are expressly prohibited in this municipality.” The ordinance does not apply to “any lawful use, possession or conduct pursuant to the Maine Medical Use of Marijuana Act.”

Jim Pfleging, a former California law enforcement official, was the first and one of the most vehement supporters of the ban. He called marijuana shops and social clubs “attractive nuisances” that would promote money-laundering and theft, lead to more instances of impaired driving and increase demands on the town police chief.

Because the business has to be conducted in cash, he said, there would be no records and therefore minimal tax benefits to the town.

Pfleging was later challenged by a medical marijuana caregiver who said he was able to use banks and credit cards. Medical marijuana is different, state Rep. Richard Bradstreet said; he agreed with Pfleging that banks “won’t touch” recreational marijuana dealing as long as it’s illegal under federal law.

Most of those opposed to the ordinance wanted to see what regulations the state creates before closing off what could be an opportunity for new businesses in town. They felt a ban was too hasty, given the lack of knowledge about what effects the new state law will have.

Bradstreet was among critics of that point of view, saying his support of the ban was motivated “by what I do know about marijuana, not by what I don’t know.”

Selectman Lauchlin Titus’s motion that the vote be by written ballot “because some people are going to be uncomfortable” voting publicly was overwhelmingly defeated. After the ban was approved, voters passed over the second ballot item, which asked for a moratorium on marijuana facilities and, selectmen explained, was included as an alternative if the ban were rejected. The meeting adjourned less than an hour after it started.

Girl Scouts bake pies for dinner

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page6pict3

The Arnold Trail Girl Scouts gathered on November 22 to  bake 188 pies for the Messalonskee High School Thanksgiving dinner.  The troop donated all the supplies to make the pies. Approximately 1,000 people attended the dinner. The following troops were represented: #1783 Belgrade, #2204 China, #9, #15 and #906 Oakland, #375, #376, #1523, #1776 and #1785 Sidney, #2044 Vassalboro, and #1254 and #1557 Waterville.

Contributed photo

Vassalboro News: Planners approve two of three applications

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by Mary Grow

Vassalboro Planning Board members approved two of the three permit applications on their Dec. 6 agenda.

By unanimous votes, they issued site review permits to:

  • Leo Barnett for an indoor growing facility for medical marijuana in a building to be put up on Old Meadow Road off Riverside Drive; and
  • Daniel Charest for three additions for commercial storage on his multi-use building at 8 Cushnoc Road.

The board was unable to grant an after-the-fact permit for Brenda Pinkham’s deck on her camp at 119 Pleasant Point Road, because the building is already closer to the high-water mark than allowed and, board Chairman Virginia Brackett said, expansion toward the water is therefore prohibited. Board members agreed that a stairway no more than four feet wide can be built to allow water access, with a permit from the codes officer. They let remain the roof on a side deck, also added without a permit, with the condition that the deck is not to be enclosed.

Barnett’s application generated discussion about whether it was for the building only or for the business for which the building is designed. By the end of the discussion, Brackett and fellow board member Douglas Phillips, who have both been on the board for many years, told Barnett the permit covered the proposed business.

Neighbors again attended the meeting to voice concerns about possible effects. Board members found Barnett’s project meets all criteria in Vassalboro’s ordinance. For both Barnett and Charest, the board required a fence around any dumpster on the property, in an effort to keep children from getting hurt.

Vassalboro News: Special town meeting likely for January on marijuana issue

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by Mary Grow

Vassalboro residents need to keep their eyes open for notice of a special town meeting likely to be scheduled in January 2017 to vote on recreational marijuana in town. About 30 people attended the selectmen’s Dec. 1 public meeting to talk about how town officials ought to respond to the state vote approving the recreational use of marijuana. The Marijuana Legalization Act allows residents to cultivate, manufacture, distribute, sell and test retail marijuana products and to open marijuana social clubs. Lauchlin Titus, chairman of the board of selectmen, suggested three possible options. Vassalboro could prohibit recreational marijuana use within town boundaries; it could create a moratorium for up to 180 days, which could be extended for another 180 days, to provide time to develop local regulations; or it could take no action.

Either the first or second option requires a decision by voters, not selectmen, Titus said. Selectmen concluded that it would not be advisable to wait until the June 2017 town meeting to seek voter action.

Most of those who spoke at the Dec. 1 meeting favored a ban or at least a moratorium. New state Representative Richard Bradstreet pointed out that a majority of Vassalboro voters opposed legalization on Nov. 8.

Jim Pfleging, a retired lawman from California, urged a ban and was promptly supported by four or five others.
Pfleging said the problem is not so much marijuana as what comes with it. Because business is transacted in cash due to federal prohibitions that make it impossible to use the banking system, marijuana operations become “money-laundering facilities,” likely to underpay taxes and attract thieves and other criminals.

Several speakers explored the connection between medical marijuana, legal under existing law and regulations, and recreational marijuana. No one was able to say whether Vassalboro’s crime rate had gone up since the town acquired medical marijuana facilities. There was consensus that a ban or moratorium would not affect currently licensed medical facilities; how such action would relate to their hypothetical future expansion was another unknown.

If Vassalboro is to hold a special town meeting to act on a ban or a moratorium, a quorum of 125 registered voters must be present, Titus said – more voters than attend some of the June town meetings. Audience members thought the topic would bring people out.

The Marijuana Legalization Act is currently subject to a ballot recount; assuming the yes vote stands, it will probably take effect early in January. The Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, the state licensing authority, has up to nine months to adopt rules for regulation and control of activities covered by the law, including developing licensing procedures, qualifications for licensure, security requirements for licensed premises and appeal procedures if a license application is denied. Titus and fellow Selectman Philip Haines doubt a state agency can adopt major rules in so short a time. Within 30 days after the rules are adopted the department is to begin accepting applications.

At the short selectmen’s meeting that preceded the marijuana discussion, Town Manager Mary Sabins said Mark Brown has taken over as police chief, after a period when he and retiring chief Richard Phippen worked together to transfer responsibilities. Selectmen again expressed interest in changing Vassalboro’s streetlights to LED lights. They asked Sabins to find out whether Central Maine Power Company is planning a change; if not, they have information from other companies.

The next regular Vassalboro selectmen’s meeting will be Thursday evening, Dec. 15.