China select board sets tax rate at 11.7 mils

by Mary Grow

Lower than last year, but property owners should expect larger tax bills

China select board members set the 2024-25 tax rate (in their role as town assessors) and lined up several local referendum questions for Nov. 5 at a busy Aug. 12 meeting.

The tax rate they chose, based on assessor William Van Tuinen’s figures and recommendation, is 11.7 mils, or $11.70 for each $1,000 of valuation. This rate is lower than the 2023-24 rate, which Van Tuinen said was 12.26 mils.

However, local property-owners should expect their 2024-25 tax bills to be larger than last year’s.

Van Tuinen explained that town expenses will be higher in three areas: the Kennebec County tax, the municipal budget voters approved at the June town business meeting and the Regional School Unit #18 school budget.

The assessor did a comprehensive upward revision of property values, land and buildings, this spring. Because the values are higher, a lower tax rate will raise enough more money to cover higher expenses.

Tax bills should go out promptly. By town meeting vote, the first half payment is due at the town office by the close of business Monday, Sept. 30.

Potential Nov. 5 referendum issues include amendments to China’s Land Use Ordinance; an amended Tax Increment Financing (TIF) document; an amended Budget Committee Ordinance; and a map of the development district in South China (to complement the description voters approved in June).

Depending partly on the outcome of an Aug. 26 public discussion, there might also be a question requesting a moratorium on high-voltage power transmission lines through China. Board members received a petition to discuss the moratorium; they invite interested residents to participate at their Aug. 26 meeting, which will be in the town office meeting room at 6 p.m.

Many have requested nomination papers

As of Aug. 12, China Town Clerk Angela Nelson reported the following people had taken out nomination papers for local elective office:

— For the select board, incumbent Brent Chesley, Edwin Bailey, Tod Detre and Thomas Rumpf. Incumbent Janet Preston has announced she is not seeking another term; Blane Casey’s term also ends this year.
— For the budget committee, District 4 incumbent Timothy Basham. The other openings on the budget committee are for the secretary (currently vacant), District 2 (northeastern China; incumbent Taryn Hotham) and the At-Large position (incumbent Elizabeth Curtis).
— For one of China’s two seats on the Regional School District #18 board of directors, no one. Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood said at the Aug. 12 select board meeting incumbent T. James Bachinski does not intend to run for another term.

Signed nomination papers must be returned to the town office by Friday, Sept. 6, for candidates’ names to appear on the Nov. 5 local election ballot.

In other business Aug. 12, select board members and Recreation Committee chairman Martha Wentworth discussed a proposed dog park on the town-owned lot south of the town office, near the red barn.

Wentworth had an estimate of $7,648.52 for 150 linear feet of fencing, with double gates, from Maine Fence of China. The recreation budget can cover the cost, she said.

Board and audience members considered whether the park would be large enough. Wentworth proposed asking local dog-owners for donations and seeking grants for a larger area.

Wentworth said since dogs already use town trails, there would be no extra insurance considerations. Maintenance would include mowing and trash pick-up as needed; dog-owners would be expected to clean up after their pets.

She presented the dog park as a place for residents and their dogs to socialize. Her committee proposes moving the ice rink to the same lot, and she talked of picnic tables and areas for cornhole and similar games.

Select board chairman Wayne Chadwick, a dog owner himself, questioned the need for a dog park in a rural area where most people have room for their dogs to play. He was also concerned about disease transmission among dogs. And he said he was opposed to creating another town park without voter approval.

After 40 minutes’ discussion, board members voted 4-1, with Chadwick opposed, to authorize Wentworth to continue to plan and to seek additional funding, with the understanding they were not making an appropriation for the project.

Other Aug. 12 decisions included:

— Authorizing a little over $14,000 for Provost Monuments, of Benton, to repair headstones in the Branch Mills cemetery;
— Accepting a bid from S. D. Childs & Sons Excavation, of Palermo, for $12,850 for trail work in Thurston Park;
— Accepting bids for PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) remediation at the transfer station and public works garage, from Radon Technologies and EverClean Water, in Fairfield, for $9,530, after discussion of water usage and options. Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood praised the company’s earlier installation of a system in a nearby private home and said the remedial technology should eliminate the staining and odor that have bothered staff at the facilities.
— Appointing resident Dwaine Drummond to fill a vacancy on the planning board until Nov. 5; board member Blane Casey, the town’s alternate representative to the Kennebec Valley Council of Governments (board member Janet Preston is the representative); and codes officer Nicholas French to represent the town at China Region Lakes Alliance board meetings, in response to a request from CRLA.

Hapgood reported on Maine’s blue envelope program, which provides legal-sized blue envelopes for drivers for whom encounters with police might be challenging – those diagnosed with autism, Down Syndrome or anxiety, for example. The China town office has envelopes to distribute.

The next regular China select board meeting will be Monday evening, Aug. 26, with the agenda including the discussion of a power line moratorium.