China selectmen reschedule town meeting to June 6

by Mary Grow

China selectmen made three major decisions at their April 13 virtual meeting. All were by unanimous vote of the four board members participating; Irene Belanger was absent.

The action voters need to know about first is that the annual town business meeting, initially scheduled for early April, is postponed for the second time. The new date is Saturday, June 6.

Planned informational meetings to answer voters’ questions about warrant articles are also rescheduled, to Sunday, May 31, and Wednesday, June 3.

China’s fiscal year ends June 30, and the budget approved at the 2019 town business meeting expires. Town Manager Dennis Heath said if town voters have not approved a new budget by July 1, the current budget continues in effect until voters act on a new one.

Voters could approve the 2020-21 municipal budget any time after June 30, Heath said, adding the words “retroactive to July 1” to spending authorizations.

That information led to a discussion of China’s open town meeting with a quorum of 118 registered voters needed to begin it. On the theory that people may continue to be reluctant to assemble in large groups, board members talked about trying again to eliminate the quorum requirement and about former Selectman Neil Farrington’s petition to hold future town meetings by referendum (written ballot, with polls open all day).

When voters were asked in November 2018 to eliminate the quorum requirement, they rejected the idea by a more than two-to-one margin, 505 in favor to 1,241 opposed.

Heath said he will find out whether Farrington’s petition has been submitted with enough signatures to put it on a local ballot.

The selectmen’s second decision was to authorize Heath to spend up to $25,000 from the equipment reserve fund to upgrade the telephone and computer systems at the town office complex, including the office building and two former portable classrooms behind it, one in use and one to be moved in.

Heath and Scott Fossett, president of Gardiner-based API Technology, explained the improvements, the ways they will simplify interconnections (and, Heath said, make working from home easier) and the ways the new system will save money. For example, the men said, the current system requires paying for upgrades when needed; the new system charges a monthly fee ($12.50 per user per month; Heath has signed up 17 town employees) that includes updates as Microsoft introduces them.

The third decision was to authorize an appeal of a Superior Court decision against the town regarding the former Gilman property and the abutting LaMarre property on Lakeview Drive. To summarize Heath’s summary, in 2018 former China codes officer Paul Mitnik approved what he considered a recreational vehicle on the former Gilman lot; the LaMarres appealed; Superior Court Justice William Stokes ruled the item was not a recreational vehicle and should be removed.

Heath said the decision was made without hearing oral arguments from China’s attorneys. He believes had they been heard, Justice Stokes might have interpreted the definition of “recreational vehicle” in China’s land use ordinance differently.

The manager reported town employees are working near-normal hours during the shutdown, but working together as little as possible. Town office staff take turns working in the office; public works employees do as much as they can alone, like checking road conditions and working on equipment; no more than two people are on duty together at the transfer station.

Residents who need town services, or who want to participate in one of the selectmen’s virtual meetings, should send advance requests to the town office at 445-2014 or info@chinamaine.org. Anyone can observe the meetings, in real time or afterward, on the live stream on the town website.

The next regular China selectmen’s meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday, April 27.