by Mary Grow

Vassalboro Road Foreman Eugene Field collected a lot of information on estimated costs of plowing sidewalks for the Sept. 22 selectmen’s meeting.  The information did not make board members happy, and they took no action.

The issue came up earlier in September during discussion of a pending Nov. 8 request to voters for funds to put in sidewalks in East Vassalboro.  Selectmen had just learned that the town is supposed to maintain the existing sidewalks in North Vassalboro, including plowing and sanding.  Vassalboro would also be expected to maintain East Vassalboro sidewalks.  (See the Sept. 15 issue of The Town Line, p. 6, for more details.)

Field talked with public works personnel in other Maine towns, researched different kinds of equipment and questioned a local contractor.   A lot of towns do not break out sidewalk maintenance in their public works budgets, he said, making an annual cost hard to get.

One town, he said, reported spending around $3,500 a season for sidewalk maintenance, excluding the operator’s pay.  The local contractor estimated he could do East and North Vassalboro on a three-year contract for a total of around $30,000.

Prices for a trackless sidewalk machine ranged from around $25,000 for a used one to $110,000 or more for a new one.  Alternatives like loaders and tractors are estimated to cost from $35,000 up.   Some of the machines would have other uses, Field pointed out.

Selectmen held lengthy discussions on two other topics at the Sept. 22 meeting, without resolving either.

Kent London and Jan Clowes of the Vassalboro Historical Society would like to renegotiate or at least clarify the 1992 lease between the society and the town that allows the society to use the former East Vassalboro school as a museum and defines responsibilities for the building and grounds.

Town voters have been appropriating $3,000 for the society every June; the town deducts appropriate charges, for example for mowing the grounds, and sends the remainder to the society at the end of the fiscal year.  London commented that the remainder decreased to around $900 last year, mostly because mowing charges increased.      He and Clowes also said that in the 1990s, the recreation department used part of the building and made a contribution in return; the department moved out and its contribution ceased, but, London and Clowes said, most of the grounds are used for parking for the boat landing, a recreational rather than historic activity.

Selectmen asked Town Manager Mary Sabins to talk with Clowes and Field about what they would consider a fair deal for the historical society.

Selectmen, resident Bernard Welch, Codes Officer Richard Dolby and town attorney Alton Stevens discussed a consent agreement between the town and Welch to resolve Welch’s violations of local ordinances.  Welch admits the violations but considers the combined fine and reimbursement for attorney’s fees too high.

Selectmen asked Sabins to continue discussion with Welch and Dolby.

The one decision board members made was to accept Field’s recommendation and buy a new John Deere loader from Nortrax, a Florida-based company with a Maine office in Westbrook.  At a cost of approximately $126,400, including a $3,000 option Field chose, the bid was the lowest of four received.   At the June 6 town meeting, voters authorized spending up to $165,000 for a new loader.

The next regular Vassalboro selectmen’s meeting is scheduled for Thursday evening, Oct. 6.

by Mary Grow

Vassalboro voters will have two local referendum questions and one local election on a Nov. 8 ballot, in addition to state and national decisions.

The referenda ask if voters will approve amendments to the town’s shoreland zoning ordinance and will appropriate up to $58,600 from surplus toward a $293,000 project to build sidewalks in East Vassalboro, with a federal grant covering the bulk of the cost. If the audience at the Sept. 8 public hearings on the two questions was representative of the town, the second question will be the more controversial.

The election is for Vassalboro’s representative on the Kennebec Water District, for three years. Gary Coull currently holds the position. Nomination papers are available at the town office; signed papers must be returned to the town clerk by Monday, Sept. 26, for candidates’ names to appear on the ballot.

Copies of the proposed shoreland zoning ordinance amendments are available on the Vassalboro website. Major changes involve rules for enlarging shorefront camps and houses that are too close to the water to meet current requirements.

Vassalboro now limits expansion to 15 percent of the existing structure, defined by floor area or volume. The proposed ordinance would allow up to 30 percent expansion, defined by floor area only. Depending on and varying with the distance between the building and the water, there are other size and height restrictions conforming to state standards.

At a Sept. 8 public hearing, Codes Officer Richard Dolby and planning board members emphasized that the changes, most of which copy recent changes in state guidelines, would make it easier for many waterfront property owners to enlarge their homes or camps.

“The [planning] board has gone a long way to utilize the allowances that the state thinks are reasonable,” Dolby said.

Veteran board member Douglas Phillips called the proposed ordinance “far less restrictive” than the current one and “a welcome change for people who have shoreland property.”

If voters reject the changes on Nov. 8, the current ordinance will remain as it is.

A second public hearing, on the request for funds for East Vassalboro sidewalks, found the audience of about 30 people divided into three groups. Some people want the sidewalks; some cannot see where they would fit in the built-up area; a few object to spending town money on a project that would benefit only a small section of Vassalboro.

To the last group, sidewalk proponent Holly Weidner replied that more than 2,500 vehicles go through East Vassalboro daily, bringing people from all parts of town and outside to the boat landing, library, Grange Hall and other public buildings. Sidewalks would make the area safer not only for residents but for drivers and cyclists.

Patrick Adams, manager of bicycle and pedestrian programs for the state Department of Transportation, emphasized repeatedly that no decisions have been made about finding space for a sidewalk. His role, he said, is to balance needs of motorists, pedestrians and cyclists to maximize safety for everyone.

The state will rebuild Route 32 in the next few years (the original 2018 date might be pushed back to 2019) and will add five-foot shoulders on each side, creating a wider vehicle pathway that will encourage drivers to go faster, he said.

Residents said drivers already routinely ignore the 25-mile-an-hour limit, leading to a discussion of enforcing speed limits as a complementary or alternative way to increase safety. Enforcement, too, costs money; it is not a permanent solution and would be paid for entirely by the town, Weidner said.

Because houses are close to Main Street on both sides, people were concerned that a sidewalk would come almost to homeowners’ front doors, would eliminate parking space for their vehicles in their driveways and would limit parking at the post office (if the sidewalk were on the east side of the street).

Adams said if Vassalboro voters approve the sidewalk project on Nov. 8, the first expenditures will be for planning. Only then will engineers decide which side of Main Street can better accommodate a sidewalk and how to adjust it to existing conditions. He believes most of the work can be done within the existing road right-of-way.

Vassalboro will participate in design work, and if the result is not satisfactory, “the town” could opt out of the project and the remaining expenditures, Adams said. He declined to define “the town,” saying that deciding if the selectmen, voters or some other body should approve or reject the design was a local decision.

A new issue in the sidewalk debate is maintenance. Vassalboro has not maintained existing sidewalks in North Vassalboro, which long-time local residents concluded date from the 1960s. However, earlier in the day Adams told selectmen the town would be required to plow and sand and as necessary repair East Vassalboro sidewalks.

He explained that because federal money will help with the project and because the federal government is becoming fussier about maintaining projects, the state will also become stricter.

Because selectmen just learned of the maintenance requirement, they had not discussed potential methods or costs, Selectman Lauchlin Titus said. Board members plan to collect information in time to provide estimates before the Nov. 8 decision. According to a fact sheet prepared for the hearing, Vassalboro received a Federal Transportation Enhancement grant in 2013 for safety improvements in East Vassalboro, including sidewalks. The current plan calls for sidewalks on Main Street from the boat landing to the Grange Hall and on Bog Road to the library. (ep)

Federal funds require a 20 percent match from Vassalboro. By piggybacking on the state’s Route 32 reconstruction, the state will pay for the shoulders that would otherwise have been part of the sidewalk costs. Titus said the Vassalboro Budget Committee endorsed the $58,600 appropriation on a 7 to 3 vote at an Aug. 25 meeting. The project has also divided the selectmen; Titus and board Chairman Philip Haines support it, Robert Browne thinks it is a costly non-solution to traffic problems in East Vassalboro.

Completion of the state project will be followed by five-year moratorium on any additional construction, including town projects.

The two public hearings were followed by a short Vassalboro selectmen’s meeting at which the board approved the ballot questions for Nov. 8. Board Chairman Philip Haines thanked planning board members for their work on the shoreland ordinance.

The next regular Vassalboro selectmen’s meeting will be Thursday evening, Sept. 22.

Free Bus Transportation along Route 32 between the North and East every half hour from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The school bus will run between the corner of Canal St. in the North, across from the Olde Mill to the old Red School House on China Lake with stops at the Grange, Town Office, St. Bridget’s, and the Olde Mill.

• VBA Ducky Derby and Raffle tickets on sale at their table !
• Craft Fair at the Olde Mill in the North, from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
• Inflatable Slide and Bounce House and Kid’s Activities, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
• Maine Savings FCU Bean Toss Tent, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
• Face Painting by Connie, 1 – 3 p.m.
• Double Dam Ducky Derby, noon!
• Antique & Classic Car Show on the lawn of the Town Office, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
• Vassalboro Library Book & Food Sale & Silent Auction, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m., at Grange. • Historical Society Open Houses, Displays and Fire House Sale in the East near and across from the Grange, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.
• Boy Scout Bottle Drive for Dempsey Challenge-bring returnables!
• Lemieux’s Orchard corn maze, wagon rides, apple picking, noon – 4 p.m., at 210 Priest Hill Rd.
• D.J.Dudley will be at the Olde Mill from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m., introducing performers and keeping everyone aware of what is going on!

Performers:

*1 – 2 p.m., Vassalboro’s own Abbie Watson!
* 2 – 3 p.m., The Talented Limberger Family of Vassalboro!
* 3 p.m., Jocelyn Begin, winner of Winslow’s 4th of July Idol Competition!

• St. Bridget’s Lawn Party and 90th Birthday Party from 2 – 4 p.m. Visit and enjoy a cup of lemonade, look over pictures and dreams for the future of the building. Donations gratefully accepted for these dreams.
• 6 – 9 p.m., Street Dance at the Olde Mill. DJ Dudley spinning the tunes. BYO chairs! Rain or shine! 50/50 raffle to benefit VBA causes.
Food Vendors for Saturday include Laurie’s Lunch Wagon and the Vassalboro Boy Scouts.

Sunday, September 11

• Noon, Mutt Strut sponsored by the Historical Society: bring your leashed, friendly mutt for a pet parade/walk. Meet at the Historical Society Red School House on the Lake.
• 10 a.m. – 3 p.m., Antique & Classic Car Show on the lawn of the Town Office (only if it rained Saturday!)
• 10 a.m. – 1 p.m., Vassalboro Library Buck a Bag Book Sale at Grange
• 9 a.m. – 2 p.m., Historical Society Open Houses, Displays and Fire House Sale in the East near and across from the Grange.
• Noon – 4 p.m., Lemieux’s Orchard corn maze, wagon rides, apple picking at 210 Priest Hill Rd.
• 2 p.m., Performance by Kennebec Valley Chordsmen at the Historical Society.
• 4 p.m., Second Wind Band, ‘90s Country Cover Band to perform at the Olde Mill (rain or shine) to benefit the Vassalboro Fuel Fund.

BYO Chairs! What a great way to close out a great weekend!

by Mary Grow

Vassalboro School Board members and AOS (Alternative Organizational Structure) 92 and Vassalboro Community School (VCS) administrators spent most of the Aug. 24 board meeting catching each other up on summer activities and plans for the new school year.

While most students were on vacation, school personnel oversaw building repairs and improvements, welcomed new staff members and helped them get settled in and took part in numerous workshops, retreats and other group meetings.

Finance Director Paula Pooler said figures for the fiscal year that ended June 30 will not be final until the annual audit is finished in October, but the school unit “didn’t end the year in the red.”

Fall registration is also not complete, VCS Principal Dianna Gram said – she expects changes for the next two weeks.  AOS staff provided a 10-year enrollment survey which, despite errors and inconsistencies that school board members noted, showed a decline of more than 100 Vassalboro students since 2006.

Gram also reported that VCS’s JMG (Jobs for Maine Graduates) program received a citizenship award for the students’ community service.  AOS Superintendent Eric Haley added that the State of Maine’s JMG program serves as a national model.

School board members unanimously accepted four staff resignations and appointment of seven new staff members – an unusual number of staff changes, Gram said, and Haley said the same had been true in Waterville and Winslow schools.

New staff are: Sarah Leach, fifth-grade teacher; Breeanne Desmond, sixth-grade teacher; John Jefferson, special education teacher; Lisa Arzola, fourth-grade teacher; Destiny Poulin, third-grade teacher; Sheldon Eames, Title I Educational Technician II; and Hilary Martin, Educational Technician II.

Resignations were accepted from fifth-grade teacher William Brooks, Educational Technician II Ashley Gooldrup, fourth-grade teacher Jennifer Isbell and eighth-grade teacher Julie Houston.

The school board’s Sept. 20 meeting will be preceded by an informal gathering with new staff members, scheduled for 5:45 p.m. at the school.  The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m.