China select board agrees to apply to KVCOG Resilience Partnership

by Mary Grow

China select board members unanimously agreed to apply to join the Kennebec Valley Council of Governments Community Resilience Partnership, approving the first step at their May 8 meeting (see The Town Line, April 27, p. 8).

The document they signed included a list of possible projects suggested by residents. Board member Janet Preston said the list is neither mandatory nor final; she described it as containing “ideas to look into.”

Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood asked if select board members want to change the use of income from returnable bottles brought to the transfer station. In 2018, she said, their predecessors voted to have the money added to the recycling budget.

Recently, two local organizations had asked if they could share the money – a total of $5,123.45 as of late April in the current fiscal year, Hapgood reported.

Select board members promptly said no. Without any disrespect to local organizations, they said allocating the money would be too time-consuming; the transfer station budget was a legitimate recipient of the funds; and community groups had other sources of donations.

The May 8 meeting started about 7 p.m., after the public hearing on warrant articles China voters will decide at the polls on June 13. See article in this issue.

The next regular China select board meeting will be Monday evening, May 22. Like the May 8 meeting, its starting time is unknown: it will be preceded by a 6 p.m. public hearing on a request from the China Four Seasons Club to use parts of Bog and Pleasant View Ridge roads as a temporary ATV trail.

Information on the hearing is on the website china.govoffice.com, under a new tab on the left side of the main page called Public Hearings.