Eugene Field retires as Vassalboro public works director

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Outgoing Vassalboro Public Works director, Eugene Field, left, with his wife Debbie, at his retirement party held on December 13, 2024, at Natanis Golf Course. (contributed photo)

by Mary Grow

Back in the early ’80s, Frederick “Rick” Denico, Jr., reminisced, when his father, Frederick Denico Sr., was on the Vassalboro select board, he brought home the report that there was “a young kid working for the town” under the federal CETA (Comprehensive Employment and Training Act) program.

“That was 44 years and six town managers ago,” Denico observed.

The “kid” was Eugene “Gene” Field, and Denico was master of ceremonies at his Dec. 13 retirement party, attended by more than 75 people.

During his 44 years, Field rose to become Vassalboro’s public works director. “We were very lucky to have him for all those years,” Denico said, praising Field for his many skills – preparing and explaining budgets, managing a crew, keeping up with equipment needs, running the equipment himself.

Mary Sabins, the former town manager under whom Field worked longest, called him her “go-to guy for road issues” and praised his willingness to lend his expertise and his crew for other town needs as well.

Denico read a message from current town manager Aaron Miller, recovering from bronchitis, regretting that he had not had more time to learn from Field.

Former budget committee and select board member Lauchlin Titus remembered that Field always presented an annual budget request with “good numbers and reasons.” On the select board, Titus said, he found Field’s reports to board meetings one of the best sources of information about what was going on in town.

State Senator Richard Bradstreet read a letter commending Field for his dedicated service and commitment, with a lasting impact on the town.

Peter Coughlan and Tammy Sobiecki represented the Community Services Division of the Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT). One of its responsibilities is providing training for municipal road crews; they commended Field for his consistent willingness to learn and to send department members to learn. Vassalboro is consistently represented at training sessions, they said.

Sobiecki had a two-page list of classes Field had attended since 1990, and shared some of the titles with her audience. She gave Field a plaque recognizing his excellence in public works.

Coughlan, on behalf of the Maine Chapter of the American Public Works Association, said that group gave Field its 2018 Maine Public Works Leader of the Year award. He read a letter from the organization praising Field’s contributions to Vassalboro and gave Field a copy of the letter and a photo of the earlier award presentation.

After the speeches, public works department members unveiled the highlight of the evening: the new sign to go on Vassalboro’s public works garage, designating the Eugene D. Field Public Works Complex.

Field replied briefly, saying he had enjoyed his 44 years and was looking forward to time off. The audience responded with standing applause.

Town office staff organized the retirement party, held at the Natanis Golf Course clubhouse. It included a generous buffet meal; Field and his wife Debbie headed the line. Tables were decorated with small plastic dump trucks and other road-work vehicles, and with orange traffic cones labeled “No Work Zone Retired 2024.”

Legion Christmas stockings drive

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Contributed photos

The American Legion Post #126, in Vassalboro, thanks all the individuals and groups who donated items and volunteered to fill the stockings. Through their generosity 250 Christmas stockings and 20 Hanukkah dreidels were filled on December 9, 2024, and delivered December 12.

Sophia Labbe named to Lasell University Fall 2024 dean’s list

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Sophia Labbe, a Lasell University student, from Vassalboro, was named to the dean’s list for their academic performance in the Fall 2024 semester, in Newton, Massachusetts.

Judson Smith adjusting well at Maine School of Science & Mathematics

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Judson Smith, center, flanked by his mother Lisa Libby, left, and his father Zachary Smith. (contributed photo)

by Mary Grow

Vassalboro resident Judson Smith, 14, has no regrets about choosing the Maine School of Science and Mathematics (MSSM), in Limestone, as his high school.

Home for Christmas break after his first semester, Smith said adjustment wasn’t easy, but now, “I’m happy with it. I really like the school.”

His parents, Zachary Smith and Lisa Libby, are also pleased with their son’s choice. They appreciate the education, and the frequent contact with the school – the one day their son was ill, they had a conversation with the school nurse who attended him in his dormitory room.

Courses are hard, advanced enough that students can arrange to get college credit at the University of Maine at Presque Isle. Smith is satisfied with his A’s and B’s.

MSSM students take at least four core courses a semester; Smith’s were math, science, English and French. Next semester, maybe six, he said.

Students live on campus. Their dormitory, close to the academic building that also houses Limestone Community High School, has two wings for boys and two for girls, plus common areas: a lounge, a kitchenette, a room with pool tables, a fitness room and a gym. In the academic building is an Olympic-size swimming pool that MSSM and LCHS share, Smith said.

In some ways, Smith makes MSSM sound almost overprotective. Students need a phone app to check out of their dormitories. There are mandatory study hours from 6:30 to 8 p.m., Mondays through Thursdays, with students who have shown a need for supervision expected to report to the library and the rest to study in their rooms or other appropriate places (including picnic tables in mild weather). Students’ bicycles were locked in a storage shed before the first snowfall.

Every student has a campus job, Smith said, though nothing that takes a lot of time away from education.

Students also enjoy a multitude of activities, sports and clubs. The seniors who serve as dorm residents organize activities. Every other weekend offers a shopping trip to Presque Isle, a city half an hour away that’s almost six times the size of Limestone.

The lettuce club intrigues Smith’s mother. Smith explained that the club meets annually: a head of lettuce is put before each student, and whoever eats his or hers fastest becomes club president.

When a student has a birthday, the food service staff bakes him or her a cake.

Most important, Smith said, is the constant support, from teachers, other staff and fellow students. When he found himself ill-prepared for one of his courses, he was able to get almost daily help from his teacher and from other students. By next year, he sees himself helping first-year students.

“It’s definitely a difficult school. They try their best to make it fun, but a challenge at the same time,” he summarized.

Stormwater solution highlights power of collaboration for China Lake

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stormwater runoff before

Submitted by Jennifer Syer

A serious runoff problem that was dumping phosphorus-laden water into China Lake has been resolved, thanks to teamwork that saw private landowners, nonprofits, and government agencies joining forces with the goal of protecting the lake’s water quality.

The issue originated with a culvert that drained runoff under Lakeview Drive from 40 acres of woodland east of the road. In 2015, new owners of what would become The Cottages at China Lake installed an additional culvert to direct runoff from the roadside into a plunge pool near the shoreline. Over time, the pool filled with sediment and vegetation. “The water would rush straight into the lake, untreated and uncontrolled,” said John Perron, a Cottages owner and member of the property’s buildings and grounds committee.

stormwater runoff after

Recognizing the problem, Perron and Cottages’ association president Mike Stillman contacted Scott Pierz – then head of the China Region Lakes Alliance (CRLA), and former president of China Lake Association – who they knew had previously been involved in shoreline protection at the property. “It was really time to take up the task,” Pierz said.

He brought in CLA, which then reached out to the state Department of Environmental Protection and Kennebec County Soil and Water Conservation District for additional help.

“This was a highly collaborative effort,” said CLA President Stephen Greene. “Everyone had the lake’s best interest in mind.”

Eventually, Boyd Snowden, of Snowden Consulting Engineers, was brought into the fold to design a site plan, which was developed over a year’s worth of visits, planning and permit approvals. The final design included a plunge pool, catch basin and vegetated buffer to trap sediment and slow runoff before it reached the lake.

“We didn’t just stop at the basics,” said Snowden, who has been designing storm-water containment systems for more than 30 years. “We added a meadow buffer to provide the best treatment possible.”

Funding came from multiple sources. Maine DEP authorized KCSWCD to allocate $14,000 through a federal grant* aimed at reducing phosphorus in China Lake. CLA contributed $9,321, matched by the Cottages’ 20 owners, while CRLA provided $5,000.

Construction began in October 2024 after permits were secured. Over the course of a week, W.D. Chadwick Construction installed the multi-tiered system, which now filters the runoff, trapping sediment from running into the lake – and fueling algae growth and harming water quality. Fieldstone Gardens, of Vassalboro, supplied plants for the buffer area.

Pierz expressed confidence that the Cottages’ association will maintain the system and continue improving shoreline protections. Greene praised the project as a model for collaboration between private owners, nonprofit organizations, government agencies and contractors.

“This project shows how teamwork and a shared goal can solve complex problems,” Greene said. “The China Lake Association is proud to have been a part of a solution that will benefit the lake for decades to come.”

  * Funding for this project, in part, was provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under Section 319 of the Clean Water Act. The funding is administered by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection in partnership with EPA. EPA does not endorse any commercial products or services mentioned.

Vassalboro transfer station task force continues talks at Lombard Road facility

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by Mary Grow

Vassalboro Transfer Station Taskforce members met Dec. 12 to continue discussion of options for changes at the facility on Lombard Dam Road. (See the Nov. 21 issue of The Town Line, p. 8).

The group began months ago with one main goal: improve safety by eliminating the need for users to back their vehicles to the disposal containers. That safety issue is still vital, taskforce chair (and select board member) Chris French emphasized.

Since discussion began, the town has had an engineer, Jeff Senders (head of Senders science, engineering & construction, of Camden), prepare three possible configurations for a covered, drive-through building that would eliminate backing up except, probably, for commercial haulers.

New station manager, Adam Daoust, has two more goals: improve efficiency and save money. A concept he proposes includes removing the tower and providing two containers, with cover from rain and snow; and allowing two vehicles at a time to dump into the containers, driving by rather than backing up. After the Dec. 11 rainstorm, he emphasized covering all on-site containers, so voters do not pay to truck water to disposal sites.

Taskforce member Amy Davidoff added a third goal: more recycling. Vassalboro now recycles metals and cardboard; Davidoff would like flexibility to add more materials as markets change.

Shannon Conti, an environmental specialist with the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Bureau of Remediation and Waste Management, attended the Dec. 12 meeting. She said any of Senders’ plans appears doable.

Vassalboro has foreclosed on an adjoining property, about five acres with buildings, for unpaid taxes. State law requires the town to sell the property, keep what is owed in taxes and any other charges and give the rest of the proceeds to the prior owners or heirs.

Town officials’ current plan is to sell the house and garage with a minimum lot and keep the rest of the land, perhaps for future transfer station expansion.

Conti provided information on actions that might or might not require DEP pre-approval, and on how to find permit application requirements.

Taskforce members were surprised when Conti said if the town keeps foreclosed land, clears or otherwise changes it, and only afterward makes it part of an expanded transfer station, her division does not care how it is changed. If, however, town officials designate an area for transfer station expansion, they will need a DEP permit to make changes to it.

Daoust would also like to add scales and pave more of the grounds. A new backhoe would be very useful, he added.

French called for taskforce members to reach consensus at their Jan. 9 meeting, to be held in the town office building at 5:15 p.m., before that evening’s select board meeting. Town Manager Aaron Miller summarized their options: do nothing; recommend building Senders’ covered drive-through building; recommend accepting Daoust’s less extensive reconfiguration; or recommend adopting a temporary improvement plan.

Vassalboro conservation committee focuses on town parks

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Vassalboro’s Civil War monument located at the East Vassalboro boat landing. (photo by Eric W. Austin)

by Mary Grow

Vassalboro Conservation Commission members devoted most of their Dec. 18 meeting to updates on two town parks, Monument Park, at the outlet of China Lake in East Vassalboro, and Eagle Park, on Outlet Stream, a short distance north.

At Monument Park, they are working with Jen Jespersen, of the Manchester-based consulting firm Ecological Instincts, on projects to improve China Lake water quality.

Commission member Matthew Pitcher said he met with Jespersen earlier this fall to assess the park’s shoreline buffer. They found no erosion problems, making any changes low priority. But, commission member Peggy Horner said, the buffer should be widened to at least 10 feet.

Commission members decided any new plantings should be low-growing, not bushes that would get tall enough to block the view of China Lake. They plan to use native plants as much as possible, without being totally rigid.

Horner and commission chairman Holly Weidner defined the goal of the plantings as three-fold: erosion control, education (by providing a demonstration lakeside garden) and landscaping the park.

Next steps include deciding on specific plants and developing cost estimates for initial plantings and maintenance.

Commission members reviewed Jespersen’s report on the China Region Lakes Alliance’s 2024 Courtesy Boat Inspection (CBI) program, which stations people at boat landings on China Lake, Three Mile Pond and Webber Pond to look for fragments of invasive plants on boats being launched into the lakes.

No invasives were found. Weidner credited the good record at least partly to the educational effect of the CBI program.

Horner, playing, she said, devil’s advocate, asked whether Vassalboro taxpayers need to continue to support boat inspections, if no invasive plants are detected. Jespersen’s report said the program cost $23,148 in 2024; Weidner found Vassalboro voters appropriated $10,584 as the town’s share.

That amount is a fraction of what it would cost to remove invasive weeds if they were imported, Weidner said. Horner added that a weed-free lake helps keep property values up.

Current Eagle Park issues discussed briefly include the park sign, fencing, handicapped access and the planned pavilion. Weidner said the pavilion’s cement base is done, and she hopes structural work will start early in 2025.

The Vassalboro Public Works Department has been very helpful. Commission members expect to continue to work with new director Brian Lajoie.

Commission member Steve Jones asked whether the public works crew could plow the parking lot for the town forest trail, which begins north of the recreation fields and close enough to the public works garage so that winter trail users park in the public works driveway. Someone from the commission will ask Lajoie.

Commission members briefly reviewed their cooperative arrangement with the Vassalboro Cemetery Committee regarding tree-cutting in town cemeteries. The program Town Manager Aaron Miller presented in October includes:

— Develop a cemetery maintenance plan and an annual budget;
— Each summer, have an arborist and the sexton evaluate trees and recommend any that need to be cut to avoid damaging stones or fences, within budgetary limits;
— Explain to interested committees and residents the recommendations and reasons; and
— Have the cutting done annually after the ground is frozen.

Conservation Commission members scheduled their next meeting for Wednesday evening, Jan. 8, 2025.

Vassalboro select board approves junkyard permits; names Lajoie public works chief

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by Mary Grow

The Dec. 26 Vassalboro select board meeting began with a public hearing on five applications to renew junkyard licenses. Unusually, the hearing drew comments from the audience.

Bill Pullen, owner of a South Stanley Hill Road junkyard, questioned a $10 hearing fee that he said was a new addition to the usual $50 license fee. Town Manager Aaron Miller and select board members said they will consult codes officer Eric Currie.

Audience member Douglas Phillips asked if there were more than five junkyards in town. Pullen thinks there are; Miller said any that were not on the Dec. 26 list could be considered at a later meeting.

Miller said Currie recommended approval of all applications. Select board members unanimously approved 2025 renewals for Pullen; Voit Ritch, on Route 3; Platinum and Core, LLC, on Riverside Drive; Ron’s Parts, on Main Street; and Garnett Motors, on Route 3.

Board members appointed Brian Lajoie, new Director of Public Works, as Vassalboro’s Road Commissioner.

They asked Miller to apply to the Vassalboro School Board for permission to vote at Vassalboro Community School three times in 2025, twice in June (for the open town meeting and local elections) and once in November. November 2024 voting was at the school, instead of the town office; board members want to continue in the larger space.

Miller updated board members on incorporating voting for Vassalboro Sanitary District trustees into municipal voting. Only people living in the area VSD serves will vote for the trustees.

Pullen said he owns a garage and a rental property that VSD serves, but he does not live in its territory; he was surprised that not all bill-payers are also voters. Board chairman Frederick “Rick” Denico, Jr., said that voters do not act on rates; they only choose trustees.

Trustees must be residents of the VSD service area. Miller said nomination papers will be available Feb. 27; he hopes for candidates.

After 20 minutes’ discussion of transfer station manager Adam Daoust’s proposed fee increases, board members decided to seek more information on disposal costs before acting.

Daoust said for some items, like mattresses and furniture, Vassalboro’s fees are the lowest in this part of Maine, leading out-of-towners to try to dump things in Vassalboro, although the transfer station is for town residents only.

“Unfortunately, people lie,” Daoust said.

Returning to plans to have the town-owned Vassalboro Historical Society building painted, discussed Dec. 12 (see the Dec. 19 issue of The Town Line, p. 3), Miller said he received one written proposal. In return for a prompt 25 percent down payment, Miller said, the contractor will schedule work for July or August 2025. Select board member Chris French wanted to see a draft contract.

Phillips said no one seemed to know when the building was last painted. He thought a dozen or so years ago Historical Society volunteers “touched up” three sides.

Also revisited was the application for a handicapped parking space at Hair Builders, on Oak Grove Road, in North Vassalboro. One concern at the Dec. 12 meeting was keeping non-handicapped people from using it; Miller said Vassalboro Police Chief Mark Brown told him all law enforcement officers, not just municipal, can enforce the regulation.

French proposed an annual license, in case the business closes. Denico suggested a one-year trial followed by longer extensions. Miller will consult the town attorney.

The board must hold a public hearing before acting on the request. The hearing will not be at the Jan. 9 meeting.

Board members resumed discussion of Vassalboro’s personnel policy, and will continue again on Jan. 9. Board member Michael Poulin intends to have his suggestions for updating Vassalboro’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) plan ready by that meeting.

French said a resident asked how Miller chooses documents to put on the website with each select board agenda. Miller said he reproduces information sent to board members, omitting things that shouldn’t be public knowledge, like unaccepted bids.

Vassalboro board gets update on student staff wellness team

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Vassalboro Community School (contributed photo)

by Mary Grow

The Vassalboro School Board’s Dec. 10 meeting featured a virtual presentation by two of the three members of the student and staff wellness team at Vassalboro Community School (VCS).

Counselors Gina Davis and Jamie Routhier explained what they and social worker Megan Simmons do, working with students and their families, other staff members and outside groups. They praised the Colby Cares program, which lets Colby students act as mentors to VCS students, and the cooperation with Mid-Maine Technical Center.

Jamie called the threesome “an amazing team,” and VCS Principal Ira Michaud added, “We couldn’t get by without them.”

Superintendent Alan Pfeiffer shared a multi-subject report, beginning with the welcome news that the Maine Department of Transportation has put up proper signage for the school zone. Vassalboro Police Chief Mark Brown is aware of the posted speed limits, Pfeiffer added.

The superintendent described social media as “the biggest social experiment ever,” without guardrails. He urged everyone listening to watch a 90-minute Netflix documentary called The Social Dilemma. It features people who created the various social media platforms warning of the consequences of their inventions, he said.

Board members approved the superintendent’s recommendation for a wage increase for substitute workers in three categories, to bring them to the legal state minimum. Pfeiffer said there might be additional recommended changes after contracts are renegotiated for other personnel.

Pfeiffer, speaking for finance director Paula Pooler, reported that the 2024-25 budget remains on track. He expects the state to set the high-school tuition rate in the next couple weeks, and tuition bills to start arriving soon afterwards.

Board members had planned a workshop session before the Dec. 10 meeting on proposed improvements to the VCS building, with Thomas Seekins, co-president of Portland-based Energy Manage­ment Consultants, Inc. (EMC). The workshop was postponed due to weather. It is now scheduled for 4:45 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025, before the next board meeting.

Pfeiffer will invite Vassalboro Budget Committee members to hear Seekins’ Jan. 14 presentation. Interested community members are welcome to attend.

Vassalboro select board undertakes several ongoing issues

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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.