Selectmen sign warrant for June 3, 11 town meeting

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by Mary Grow

At their May 2 meeting, Vassalboro selectmen signed the warrant for the June 3 and June 11 town meeting and discussed a proposal it includes asking voters to spend $1,000 to improve Soldiers Memorial Park in East Vassalboro (Art. 27).

Selectman John Melrose came up with the park plan as part of the 2021 observance of Vassalboro’s 250th anniversary.

The tall granite statue of a Civil War soldier on a field between the East Vassalboro boat landing and the former East Vassalboro schoolhouse, now the historical society museum, would remain the centerpiece of the park. The soldier stands on a platform listing names of Vassalboro’s Civil War veterans. Melrose still hopes someone knows where the soldier’s missing rifle is and will help the town reclaim it.

Melrose’s plan calls for a handicapped-accessible walkway from Route 32 to the statue, a circular walkway around it, gardens on both sides and storyboards commemorating Vassalboro residents’ service in wars from the Revolution to Vietnam.

The process of removing dead and diseased trees and planting new ones on the school and park grounds has started, with help from Fieldstone Gardens, the public works crew and volunteers (including local beavers). Melrose plans to continue to collaborate with interested town organizations, businesses and individuals.

There was a brief discussion of moving the two monuments in front of the old town office in North Vassalboro to the park, if North Vassalboro residents are willing. The older monument recognizes Vassalboro men who served in the War of 1898 and World War I (identified as “The World War 1914-1918”), with names listed. The younger and smaller, put up by Ronco-Goodale American Legion Post #126, honors “All veterans from Vassalboro.”

The other two selectmen support Melrose’s plan.

Discussion of the land encompassing the boat landing, park and former school touched on three related issues: state plans to rebuild Route 32, including the need to define road right-of-way boundaries before planting roadside trees in the park; ARI (Alewife Restoration Initiative) plans to install a fishway at the China Lake outlet dam; and boundaries between town-owned land and land owned by the Kennebec Water District (KWD).

The June town meeting warrant includes a request to authorize selectmen to approve modifications to the dam to restore passage for alewives into China Lake.

Town Manager Mary Sabins said she and KWD officials are still negotiating renewal of the agreement under which KWD has managed the dam in return for a $1,200 annual payment from the town. KWD, under new managers, now wants to double the payment and lessen its duties.

Vassalboro’s include accepting the KWD proposal, perhaps with modifications; taking over dam management and paying KWD nothing; or, as state law allows, abandoning the dam. The assumption is that if Vassalboro abandoned the dam, self-interest would require either KWD or the Town of China to take it over, the former to maintain water levels and quality, the latter to protect the taxes paid by shoreline owners.

In other business May 2:

  • Sabins reported replacement of Vassalboro’s streetlights with LED lights is tentatively scheduled for July, August or September of this year.
  • The manager said Central Maine Disposal, the company contracted to haul Vassalboro’s trash and supply porta-potties around town, has merged with Pine Tree Waste-Casella, effective May 1. She was told there will be no immediate changes.
  • Volunteer Fire Department spokesman Michael Vashon said the value of replacing the worn-out boiler at the North Vassalboro fire station with heat pumps is questionable. He reported that with help from J. J. Wentworth of the public works department, firefighters had their hoses and ladders tested; they need to replace some hose sections and repair their longest and least-used ladder.

The next regular Vassalboro selectmen’s meeting will be Thursday evening, May 16. The annual town meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. Monday, June 3, at Vassalboro Community School, where voters will act on the first 63 warrant articles, including municipal and school budgets. The last three articles – local elections, confirmation (or rejection) of the school budget and a decision on continuing the school budget ratification vote for three more years – will be presented for a written-ballot vote on June 11. Polls at the town office will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Vassalboro honors World War II veterans

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Earl Brown (right) accepts his commemorative certificate from American Legion Commander Tom Richards (left). (photo by Eric Austin)

by Eric W. Austin

The fire at Notre-Dame Cathedral, in France, was still burning on Monday evening, April 15, as a small group gathered at St. Bridget’s Community Center, in Vassalboro, to celebrate the service of the soldiers who had freed that country from Nazi occupation 75 years earlier.

Legion Chaplain Pearley Lachance opens the ceremony in prayer. (photo by Eric Austin)

The devastation unfolding in Paris was clearly on the minds of everyone, as Pearley Lachance, American Legion chaplain for Bourque-Lanigan American Legion Post 5, in Waterville, opened the ceremony in prayer. “We are witnessing, via television, the destruction by fire of Notre-Dame, in Paris,” the chaplain intoned solemnly. “Paris was liberated by our brave troops in 1944. Many of them came home with memories of having visited this holy site. To the remaining veterans of that great war, we are grateful, and pray that God protects them until their final hour. Amen.”

Later, Jim Kilbride, Adjutant for Vassalboro American Legion Post 126, explained the impetus for holding this celebration honoring local World War II veterans. “We were having meetings,” he said, “and realized that for a lot of our older veterans, it was getting harder for them to come to the meetings. We decided we needed to do something before they were all gone. When we originally started researching it, we thought we had seven [veterans of World War II], only to find out that two had passed away recently.”

Although the Legion eventually identified five Vassalboro World War II veterans still living, three of those men, James W. Gray (US Army), Roland Lapointe (US Army), and Robert Roux (US Navy), could not make it to the ceremony for health reasons. Earl Brown (US Army) and Willard Sleamaker (US Navy) were in attendance, however.

Willard Sleamaker (left), US Navy, accepts his certificate of recognition from Commander Tom Richards. (photo by Eric Austin)

Willard Sleamaker was only 17 when he joined the Navy, and was stationed on an island repair station in the Philippines during the war. “We maintained a little island that became the ship repair center for the Pacific,” he explained. “My job as a kid was to operate equipment, grease it and keep it maintained.”

Earl Brown was drafted into the Army right out of high school, shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and served as a field medic in the 79th division. He remembers participating in the liberation of Paris in August 1944, and visiting Notre-Dame Cathedral after the fighting ended. “That’s why I’ve been watching all day,” referring to the fire still burning in the Gothic church.

(Earl can usually be found at Bee’s Snack Bar, in Winslow, around 10 a.m. each morning, so be sure to drop by to say hello and thank him for his service.)

Richard Bradstreet, Vassalboro resident and state representative for District 80, also spoke briefly at the ceremony. “It’s an honor and a privilege to be here,” he said. “We honor our people who served their country.” Then, referring to Tom Brokaw’s 2004 book, The Greatest Generation, which he had recently finished reading, he said, “It was really eye-opening to me what the Greatest Generation went through in service to our country. I appreciate all the work that you’ve done, and appreciate our World War II veterans especially. They are part of the Greatest Generation, and I’m gratified to be here. Thank you.”

Richard Bradstreet, State Representative for District 80, speaks at the commemoration ceremony. (photo by Eric Austin)

Perhaps the most poignant moment of the evening came when Post 126 Adjutant Jim Kilbride read a certificate originally sent by the State of Maine to the families of soldiers killed in World War I. “In 1920, the State of Maine sent this certificate to the families of those that passed away during World War I,” he told the audience. “I have never seen a statement that better covers what it means to serve your country.” He then read from the century-old document: “’War means sacrifice. Every man or woman who enters the service lays at the feet of his country his hopes, his ambition, and his life. This is fully understood and yet it lessens not but little the sense of loss when that supreme sacrifice is made.’” After a pause, he looked up at the audience again, his eyes tight with emotion. “That is what it means to serve your country — to put your life, your hopes, your ambitions, your dreams on the line for your country,” he said, and then asked for a moment of silence, “for the men and women who have passed away in war, combat or in active service, and to remember those who are serving now.”

Legion Adjutant Jim Kilbride speaks at the gathering to honor WWII veterans. (photo by Eric Austin)

After the ceremony, Adjutant Jim Kilbride and Commander Tom Richards spoke about the current state of the American Legion. “We don’t have that many members,” Richards admitted sadly. Younger veterans aren’t joining the Legion as they have in the past, and he is worried the Legion won’t be around for the next generation.

Kilbride thinks the Legion is a victim of its own success. Because of the important work of the American Legion, the VFW and other organizations, veterans’ benefits, as well as the public perception of returning soldiers, has improved tremendously – a marked contrast to the days after the Vietnam War. But, he warns, those gains were only accomplished through strength of numbers. “What we try to get younger veterans to understand is, without their membership, we have a very hard time working with Congress and the Senate on veterans’ issues,” Kilbride said.

Waterville American Legion Post 5 chaplain, Pearley Lachance, who was recently named 2019 Legionnaire of the Year, is also doing his part to keep the memories of local veterans alive. For years he has collected the names of area veterans, particularly from the first two world wars. “What happened with this project,” he said, “it just got out of hand. I now have over 8,000 names of people from central Maine.” Lachance began compiling the list by poring through more than a thousand newspaper articles saved in an old scrapbook by a local teacher from the 1940s, which is now archived at the Waterville American Legion. Then, two or three years ago, he realized, “Those [names] are just words on a page.” He then began tracking down photos to go with every name. He’s gathered 400 pictures so far, 15 of which are from Vassalboro.

If you have a grandfather or grandmother who served in either world war, and a photo you’d be willing to share (he’ll scan it and get it back to you), you are encouraged to contact him at 873-0358 or through the American Legion Post 5, in Waterville.

Each veteran honored at the ceremony was presented with two certificates, one from the State of Maine, thanking them for their service during World War II, and the other from the American Legion, thanking them for their years of service with the American Legion.

The American Legion Post 129 meets every other month at St. Bridget’s Community Center, in Vassalboro.

Quilts for the children

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Photo courtesy of Rachel Kilbride.

Ladies from Rachel Kilbride’s Sew for a Cause group, in North Vassalboro, that meets at St. Bridget’s Community Center recently presented 30 quilts to Project Linus, a nonprofit that donates blankets to disadvantaged children. Marlene Sanborn, from Project Linus, spoke to the group about the program when she picked up the quilts.

Vassalboro budget committee, selectmen agree on suggested expenditures

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by Mary Grow

Vassalboro Budget Committee members went through most of the proposed 2019-2020 municipal budget at their April 11 meeting, agreeing with the selectmen’s suggested expenditures. There was no dissent on any recommendation.

Before any votes were taken, Lauchlin Titus, chairman of the board of selectmen, explained some of the issues selectmen had discussed as they reached their recommended figures, issues like what to do about the elderly town grader, whether the police officer needed a vehicle and to what extent the town should assist the Vassalboro Sanitary District’s costly connection to Winslow and Waterville.

The last issue remains up in the air, Titus said. Selectmen intend to provide Tax Increment Finance (TIF) money to the Sanitary District, as they have done in the past; residents might also add by petition a request for tax dollars, or a rejection of using TIF money for the Sanitary District, or both.

After the voting, Titus introduced additional topics. Budget committee members unanimously endorsed matching funds in case grant applications were successful and establishment of an accrued compensation fund. The latter would cover costs if an employee retired with the town owing him or her compensation for unused vacation pay or other benefits.

With the committee’s usual two-hour deadline exceeded and Titus prepared to add five or six more items, further discussion was postponed to an April 16 meeting.

Vassalboro selectmen are scheduled to review the draft warrant at their April 18 meeting, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in the town office. Voters will make the final decisions on 2019-2020 expenditures at the June 3 town meeting.

Vassalboro library annual meeting scheduled

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photo: vassalboro.net

The annual meeting of the Vassalboro Public Library Association will be held on Wednesday, April 17, at 6 p.m. The public is welcome to attend this meeting. If you are interested in joining the association, dues are $10 for an individual and $20 for a family. Please contact the library for more information at 923-3233.

Maine Author Laurie Graves will be at the Vassalboro Public Library on Wednesday, April 17, at 2 p.m. Laurie will be reading from the her book Library Lost on the topic of “Heroes and Villains. Library Lost is the second book in The Great Library Series. She will offer a sneak preview of the third book in the series as well.

Books will be available to purchase and she will sign books as well. This program is free and open to the public. If you have questions please contact the Vassalboro Public Library at 923-3233.

Vassalboro nomination papers deadline is April 12

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In preparation for Vassalboro’s June 3 annual town meeting and June 11 local elections, signed nomination papers for positions on the board of selectmen and the school board are due at the town office by noon Friday, April 12.

Selectmen are scheduled to review the proposed warrant for the June 3 open meeting at their April 18 meeting and to sign the final warrant at their May 2 meeting.

If residents intend to put a question on either ballot by petition, the signed petition must be in the town office by the respective deadline.

Selectmen to ask MDOT for new sidewalks

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by Mary Grow

Vassalboro selectmen decided at their April 4 meeting to ask the Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) to include new sidewalks in North Vassalboro as part of the Route 32 (Main Street in North and East Vassalboro villages) rebuilding project.

Lauchlin Titus and John Melrose voted yes; Robert Brown abstained. Only Titus lives on Main Street (North Vassalboro), and the sidewalk no longer reaches his house.

The reason for hesitation is that although the MDOT will pay for the sidewalks, the town is obligated to plow and sand them. The same rule applies to the existing sidewalks, which are at least 50 years old, audience members said, and have not been a high priority for maintenance.

Melrose, a former MDOT commissioner, said state law allows the state to plow sidewalks when a town doesn’t and to bill the town – but he never heard of the state invoking the law. Later in the evening, he told Budget Committee members that as far as he knows, no other Maine town has turned down state-funded sidewalks.

Before voting to sign the agreement promising to maintain state-provided sidewalks, Titus asked, “Can we in good faith sign something that says we’ll maintain them when we know we might not?”

Reasons for including new sidewalks are that state highway officials and some residents think curbed sidewalks are safer for pedestrians than a paved shoulder, and if Vassalboro decides after the Route 32 project is done to add them, the town will pay construction costs.

Since the project is scheduled for two or three years in the future, Titus said town officials have time to decide whether winter maintenance should be done by the town public works crew or contracted out.

North Vassalboro residents also raised again the issue of increased Vassalboro Sanitary District (VSD) fees.

The VSD needs money to complete its connection to the Winslow-Waterville sewage disposal system. Users have proposed a town meeting warrant article asking taxpayers for money; selectmen declined to add the article and advised on the procedure for putting an article before voters by petition.

Two other funding sources are in the works. Melrose said a decision should be made soon on a state Department of Environ­mental Protection grant; and Titus and Town Manager Mary Sabins said part of Vassalboro’s Tax Increment Finance (TIF) money is likely to be recommended for the VSD by the time the Budget Committee finishes pre-town-meeting deliberations. Almost $300,000 in TIF money has gone into the expansion project already, Titus said. When a resident said Sanitary District officials told him the district’s client list is not public information, Sabins suggested filing a Freedom of Information Act request.

In other business April 4, selectmen agreed to create a small working group to join discussion of rearranging the transfer station. Interested residents should contact town office staff.

Sabins said selectmen agreed to add to the June warrant an article concerning a solar array to generate electricity, without designating a location.

They asked her to seek legal advice on what new arrangement, if any, the town should seek concerning the Riverside fire station, currently used under an old agreement by which it would revert to the lessor – deceased, town officials believe – if the Riverside Hose Company no longer needed it.

Selectmen followed their April 4 regular meeting with an April 8 budget workshop. Melrose proposed three topics: reconsidering the appropriation for solid waste hauling in the transfer station budget; considering additional uses for TIF funds; and making the Public Works Department request for money for grader repairs more flexible, since the grader’s condition and therefore what to do about it are unknowns.

After more than an hour’s discussion, selectmen voted unanimously:

  • To recommend $10,000 less for solid waste hauling, based on the contract price for the service and manager George Hamar’s updated information on the number of trips;
  • To ask Sabins to find out what kinds of town activities and projects are eligible for TIF money; and
  • To ask Sabins to draft a town meeting warrant article asking voters to appropriate money for grader analysis, with anything left over to go toward paving as much as possible of the town garage driveway.

Sabins presented a new proposal, to share membership with China in ITN (Independent Transportation Network), at a cost of $1,000 to $1,250 per year. The organization relies on volunteer drivers to provide rides to senior citizens, with, apparently, freedom for participating towns to set some of their own rules and standards.

Sabins said Christopher Hahn, head of the China for a Lifetime Committee, proposed the joint project to Friends Advocating for Vassalboro Older Residents (FAVOR). Selectmen are interested but would like more information before recommending funds.

The next regular selectmen’s meeting is scheduled for Thursday evening, April 18.

Vassalboro school superintendent presents zero percent budget

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Vassalboro Community School. (source: jmg.org)

by Mary Grow

“I can’t remember the last time I brought a zero percent budget in,” Vassalboro Superintendent Alan Pfeiffer told budget committee members and selectmen as they assembled to review results of March 19 and March 26 school budget discussions.

He added that the proposed budget is still subject to change. Possible causes for an increase – or conceivably a decrease — include eighth-graders changing their minds about which high school they’ll attend in September, a final decision on the price of 2019-2020 fuel and legislative action affecting state school funding, minimum wages and other topics.

The main reason for Pfeiffer’s draft no-increase budget is that 60 Vassalboro students are leaving high school and only 44 seniors are entering, Pfeiffer and School Board Chairman Kevin Levasseur said.

Tuition will cost Vassalboro about $1.9 million in 2019-2020, the second highest expenditure category. Running Vassalboro Community School (VCS) for students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade is projected to cost about 3.445 million. Special education at $1.446 million is the third major expenditure category.

Tuition rates vary from one high school to another. For schools the majority of Vassalboro students attend, Waterville’s $8,969 is lowest, Erskine Academy’s $11,770 highest. Pfeiffer explained that because private schools are ineligible for state construction funding, Erskine is allowed to charge what is called an insured value factor (IVF) to finance capital improvements. State law allows a maximum 10 percent IVF, Pfeiffer said; Erskine will charge 6 percent.

If Principal Megan Allen’s enrollment statistics don’t change too much, the tuition break will continue for two more years. As of mid-March, VCS had 43 seventh-graders and 37 sixth-graders before a jump to 51 fifth-graders.

Given the effect of tuition rates on the school budget and local taxes, school board members at their March 19 meeting wondered if it is time to poll residents again on whether they would prefer the board to contract with a single high school, instead of giving students a choice. They might discuss the issue at a summer meeting.

Allen and Pfeiffer pointed to a steady decline in student enrollment. Having fewer students reduces costs, but also reduces state subsidies that are based on student numbers. As of March 26 Pfeiffer had not contracted for fuel for the 2019-2020 year because, he said, he keeps expecting a price drop, based on increased United States production.

The proposed budget includes few new items. Pfeiffer summarized them for the budget committee: a change from a half-time contracted social worker to a full-time staff social worker; floor and wall repairs in the kindergarten-grade two wing at VCS; a change from the income-based pre-kindergarten program to what he called a universal pre-k with no income limits; and a request for state funding for two new buses.

Levasseur added that the superintendent’s salary has been increased to pay Pfeiffer, theoretically Vassalboro’s one-day-a-week employee, for one and a half days, since he usually works for the town seven days a week anyway.

Much of the VCS budget consists of salaries that are governed by contracts. Allen said most staff members are in the second year of a three-year contract.

Vassalboro voters will make final decisions on 2019-2020 school and municipal budgets at the June 3 town meeting.

The budget committee’s next meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday, April 4, after a 6 p.m. selectmen’s meeting; both are at the town office. The next regular school board meeting is at 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 9, in the VCS library.

Giving a helping hand

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Photo courtesy of Frank Cole

Eagles in Seven Mile Stream, on the Mill Hill Road in Vassalboro. For a number of years some of the local schools raised salmon eggs until the salmon were about two to three inches long. The students released them into the Seven Mile Stream behind Harland Robinson’s house hoping they would return. For the last few years they have returned in large numbers in mid-May. The eagles stand in the shallow areas of the stream and feast on the salmon as they make their way upstream.

Selectmen discuss proposed sewer fee increase with residents

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by Mary Grow

Vassalboro selectmen spent most of their short March 21 meeting talking with residents about the proposed hike in sewer fees, a topic that came up again in the following discussion with the budget committee.

More than a dozen Vassalboro Sanitary District customers came to protest the higher rates needed to fund the connection with the Winslow sewer system. When the project is completed, sewage from East and North Vassalboro will run through Winslow to the Waterville treatment facility, and the Vassalboro District will close the aged sand filter beds currently treating the villages’ sewage.

Christina O’Rourke, from North Vassalboro, and others said Vassalboro already has the highest sewer rates in Maine, before the proposed increase almost doubles them. Many of the 192 customers are behind on their bills.

The increase will cause some residents to consider moving while making their houses harder to sell, people said.

They asked for an article in the June town meeting warrant requesting tax money to help the Sanitary District. Selectmen explained the petition procedure to put an article on the warrant.

In past years, selectmen have given money from Vassalboro’s TIF (Tax Increment Finance) fund toward the Sanitary District project and toward ARI (Alewife Restoration Initiative). The TIF fund collects the tax money from the gas pipeline that runs through Vassalboro and sets it aside in a state-regulated program that allows it to be used only for economic development projects.

When the budget committee met, ARI representatives Landis Hudson and Nate Gray asked its members to continue supporting ARI, which is intended to allow alewives access to China Lake. This year’s projects are building fishways at the Ladd and Box Mill dams in North Vassalboro.

ARI has already overseen removal of the Masse dam, in East Vassalboro, and the Lombard dam between the two villages. Only the Morneau dam, which Hudson said is under discussion, and the China Lake Outlet dam, where a fishway is planned, remain as obstacles.

Alewives currently running into and out of Webber Pond are harvested each spring and sold for lobster bait. Town Manager Mary Sabins said until last year the town had been earning around $18,000 annually; last year, a higher price increased the amount to more than $25,000. Gray predicted the run into China Lake would be significantly larger, so once state officials are satisfied that it is self-sustaining, Vassalboro can expect more income.

Selectman Lauchlin Titus suggested taking funds for ARI, if voters approve them, from alewife income, leaving more TIF money for the Sanitary District.

Budget committee members also heard from representatives of the Vassalboro volunteer fire department, the Cemetery Committee and the China Region Lakes Alliance (CRLA).

Firefighter Mike Vashon said the department’s two-year reroofing project at the Riverside fire station will slightly exceed the $25,000 budgeted, judging by preliminary information. A bid opening is scheduled for Wednesday, April 3.

Vashon said the department is applying for grant money to buy new Scott air packs and a new fire truck. Some of the department’s current air packs are old enough so they could fail when a firefighter is inside a burning building, and a 38-year-old fire truck has already cost a lot of money for repairs and now needs a new radiator.

The department welcomes donations to be used as matching funds if a grant is awarded, Vashon said. The Sukeforth Foundation has already assisted.

Cemetery Committee spokesperson Jane Aiudi said the committee’s increased budget request is intended to cover tree removal, not done for the last four or five years, and purchase of a software system to inventory and maintain cemetery records. She and Sabins agree that an $8,000 system is most suitable.

CRLA President Scott Pierz presented a four-page document explaining the organization’s request for $14,000 from Vassalboro. Part of the money would support CRLA’s operational costs; the majority would fund a survey around Three Mile Pond to identify gravel roads contributing run-off into the pond, Youth Conservation Corps projects on Webber Pond and Seaward Mills Stream and the Courtesy Boat Inspectors at the East Vassalboro boat landing, whose job is to protect China Lake from invasive plants.

The next budget committee meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday, April 4, at the town office, after that evening’s 6 p.m. selectmen’s meeting.