by Mary Grow

Vassalboro select board members discussed many ongoing issues at their Dec. 12 meeting, and settled five.

— They appointed public works department employee Brian Lajoie as the new department director, succeeding Eugene Field, who has retired.
— Vassalboro First Responders Assistant Chief Josi Haskell reported the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation gave the unit a $25,000 grant, subject to select board acceptance, to buy a Lucas device. This is a mechanical chest compression (CPR, cardiopulmonary resuscitation) machine for patients in cardiac arrest.

Board members were not sure the First Responders needed their approval, but in case, they gladly voted to accept the grant. Haskell expects the Lucas device to arrive in six to eight weeks. First Responders will be trained to use it, she said.

— At the Nov. 13 select board meeting, Town Manager Aaron Miller recommended switching the bulk of the town’s funds to Bar Harbor Bank & Trust (see the Nov. 21 issue of The Town Line, p. 3). Board member Chris French asked for more choices to consider, and the board postponed a decision.

Miller reported after reaching out to other banks, he still recommended Bar Harbor. Board members approved unanimously.

— Jody Kundreskas, for the Vassalboro Cemetery Committee, asked approval to waive the town’s procurement policy so the committee can again have the services of an expert stone restorer, Joseph Ferrannini, from the Maine Old Cemetery Association. Select board members approved by consensus.
— Board members unanimously chose Brandon Olsen, from Friendship, Maine, for a five-year contract to harvest alewives in Vassalboro, on Miller’s recommendation.

In other business, Douglas Phillips told board members the former East Vassalboro schoolhouse, now the historical society museum and headquarters, needs external repainting. Capital improvements for the town-owned building are the town’s responsibility.

Timing is a problem, Phillips said: if funds aren’t available until after voters act at the annual town meeting in June, area painters’ 2025 schedules will undoubtedly be filled, and the work won’t get done until 2026.

Phillips had obtained two proposals, in the $15,000 to $17,000 range. Board members considered what existing funds might be applied. Phillips suggested requesting proposals soon, with the understanding having the work done would depend on June funding.

No decisions were made. French commented that the town has not set aside money to maintain infrastructure.

Board members returned to another topic briefly discussed at their Nov. 13 meeting, the request for a designated handicapped parking space at Hair Builders, at 653 Oak Grove Road in North Vassalboro.

Becky Morse, speaking for owner Beth Morse (no relation, she said) explained that many customers are older or handicapped, making parking across the street difficult and unsafe. Board members and Miller were sympathetic, but could not act Dec. 12 because, Miller said, Vassalboro’s parking ordinance requires public notice and a public hearing.

Board chairman Frederick “Rick” Denico, Jr., asked how the town would enforce the ordinance, with Police Chief Mark Brown working only part-time. Morse did not expect problems.

Board members plan to discuss the issue again at their Dec. 26 meeting, and if they decide to proceed, to schedule a public hearing for Jan. 9, 2025.

Another question postponed Nov. 13, and postponed again Dec. 12, was continuing to hold elections at Vassalboro Community School, instead of at the town office. Board members plan to talk with school officials and to consider the question again in January 2025.

Decisions about propane tanks at the town office and the Riverside fire station – how large, whether to lease or buy – were again postponed for more information.

On the board’s Jan. 23 agenda will be plans for integrating voting for Vassalboro Sanitary District trustees with voting for other town officials, with the difference that only voters in the area VSD serves can choose trustees. Miller had asked the VSD’s attorney for advice; French advised consulting the town’s attorney; Denico recommended asking Town Clerk Cathy Coyne how VSD voting was handled by the town up to a few years ago.

As the Dec. 12 meeting ended, Miller announced that that the Vassalboro town office will close at noon Tuesday, Dec. 24, for the annual staff Christmas party.

by Mary Grow

The East Village Project Team, the group working to better manage traffic through East Vassalboro Village, met Dec. 9 to talk about the three-month traffic-calming experiment that ended Nov. 1, how to evaluate it and what else might be done.

The village extends along Route 32 from the China Lake outlet dam, with a boat landing that is heavily used despite limited parking, northward through a mostly-residential district. At its center is the four-way intersection with Bog Road, which runs west past the public library, and South Stanley Hill Road, which runs east around a sharp curve and past the Friends Meeting House.

The team is a response to residents’ complaints about fast traffic that raises safety issues for pedestrians and makes getting out of a driveway a challenge. Speed limits vary from 35 miles an hour on Bog Road to 20 miles an hour around the South Stanley Hill Road curve.

For three months, tall stanchions were set up on all the roads. Most were in sets of three, with a white one on each white line along the side of the road and a yellow one on the center line.

Brian Lajoie, from Vassalboro’s public works department, said a yellow stanchion was hit by a vehicle almost every day, generating many complaints from the drivers who hit them. He used up all spare yellow stanchions during the trial period.

White stanchions were hit less often. Only two needed to be replaced.

Team chairman Holly Weidner said she had talked with many people about their reactions to the stanchions. Almost all said they slowed down the first time they saw them, but not after they got used to them.

Team members have two ways to get data they hope will help them find out whether the stanchions noticeably slowed traffic. One is from small speed warning signs the state Department of Transportation (MDOT) has placed on speed limit signs on Route 32.

These signs notify motorists of their speed and record the speed. Team members have not yet requested data from MDOT. They discussed whether this year’s extensive road construction on Route 32, mostly farther north, had affected traffic patterns enough to make data not typical.

The second evaluation is to come from a survey of town residents and others who drive through East Vassalboro. Weidner shared a draft that asks questions of drivers – did you slow down? – and of residents – did you notice traffic was slower? Others offered suggestions; Weidner plans to prepare a final version.

In addition to fast traffic, parking, especially at the boat landing, is a concern that was briefly addressed by team members. Lajoie said during China Lake bass tournaments, fishers now park at the public works garage on Bog Road and are shuttled to the landing, a system that seems to be working well.

Crosswalks were mentioned as another way to slow traffic. Crosswalks require sidewalks; in 2016, Vassalboro voters refused to contribute $58,600 toward a proposed East Vassalboro sidewalk project. Weidner was open to renewed discussion at a future meeting.

The next East Village Project Team meeting will be scheduled after information from MDOT signs has been received and considered.