CHINA: Special town meeting planned for August 18, 2025

by Mary Grow

China voters have a special town meeting scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, Aug. 18 (place to be announced).

They will be asked to take one action: discontinue an easement at the head of China Lake’s east basin, so select board members can transfer the property it covers to the abutter.

The area in question, Town Manager Rebcca Hapgood and attorney Amanda Meader explained at the July 28 select board meeting, is the strip that used to be a piece of Route 202 and is now the front driveway of The Landing restaurant. The area has no value to the town, and the restaurant owner needs the land in order to make needed improvements.

Hapgood plans detailed public information in August.

In other business, the manager led a discussion of a major, and potentially expensive, subject: the future of emergency services for China residents. She had shared with select board members a 29-page report on fire and rescue services in Sidney; she plans to request a similar one for China.

The report was prepared by KV EMSTAT, Kennebec Valley Emergency Medical Services Technical Assistance Team. Hapgood asked board members to send her questions they would like considered in a report for China.

China Lake Association President Eric Lind reported briefly that China Lake’s water level is in compliance with the state lake level order, and as far as anyone knows, the lake has no invasive plant species. The Kennebec Water District monitors the lake and times the annual fall drawdown by temperature, to maximize the outflow of phosphorus, Lind said.

Hapgood reported that the new kiosk from which people can rent kayaks and paddle boards was scheduled to be installed near the causeway at the head of the east basin on Tuesday, July 29.

Nomination papers available

Nomination papers for China’s annual local elections have been available at the town office since Monday, July 28, and must be returned by Friday, Sept. 5, for candidates’ names to be on the Nov. 4 local ballot.

To be elected Nov. 4 are two select board members – Wayne Chadwick’s and Jeanne Marquis’ terms end this year – and one Regional School Union (RSU) #18 director – Dawn Castner’s term ends this year.

The manager said state Department of Transportation staff will review Danforth, Dutton and Pleasant View Ridge roads in the coming week, in response to residents’ requests for lower speed limits (see the June 19 issue of The Town Line, p. 2).

Board members spent almost an hour spent discussing recreation responsibilities with Martha Wentworth and Ed Brownell, of the seven-member town Recreation Committee, and Mike Sullivan and David Gower, of the seven-member Recreation Sports Committee.

Under China’s 2015 Recreation Committee Ordinance, the town committee is responsible for the town-owned ball fields near China Middle School. Its members are directed to review and make recommendations on repairs and maintenance and “coordinate field usage and maintenance.”

Sullivan thinks his committee members should take over these responsibilities. They spend more time on the fields, know what they need and recognize their importance in presenting China’s image to surrounding towns, he said.

Sullivan and Gower cited examples of inadequate maintenance of fields and associated buildings. Wentworth, who chairs the town committee, shared a copy of Brownell’s July 2025 field report that also summarizes maintenance needs. She plans to share a separate report on building needs.

Wentworth said what her committee does depends mostly on its annual budget. On-going maintenance includes contracts with companies that clean the fields of grubs and keep the buildings free of vermin.

Gower said fields have been damaged by skunks digging for grubs. Brownell agreed there was damage last year. This year, he wrote, “The grubs seem to be gone.”

Sullivan and Brownell reported mice in buildings. Wentworth said the extermination company’s quarterly reports claim all is well.

Select board members agreed better maintenance should be a priority. They invited Sullivan to submit a prioritized list of suggested work.

The next regular China select board meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, Aug. 11.