China town building issues dominate select board agenda

by Mary Grow

The China select board’s June 3 meeting was mostly spent on building-related issues. Board members totally redesigned the plan for their long-discussed storage vault at the town office, and awarded bids for other town projects.

Over the past several years, board members, building committee chairman Sheldon Goodine and others have talked about adding a fireproof vault in a small building attached to the south side of the present office on Lakeview Drive.

At their March 25 meeting, board members awarded a bid to build the addition to the lower bidder, Ralph McNaughton Construction, of Corinna, for $267,489.20.

At the board’s May 6 meeting (see the May 23 issue of The Town Line, p. 3), Goodine and select board member Blane Casey proposed a different plan: convert part of the large garage behind the old town office into dry storage; move some of the papers from the back storage area in the town office building to the garage; and move miscellaneous items from the present fireproof storage area off the town office’s meeting room to make more space there.

Goodine prepared a draft plan for the garage before the May 20 board meeting, but wasn’t able to be there to discuss it.

At the June 3 meeting, he pointed out how much money the town is likely to save if this plan works. After inspecting the garage, board members voted to ask McNaughton and engineer Keith Whittaker, of B. R. Smith Associates, of Presque Isle, to make their own inspections.

Goodine was honored with a Spirit of America award on May 20, “for leadership in China’s Golden Agers senior program and service to the South China church, library, Masons and American Legion.” On June 3, Casey added Goodine’s 65 years with the South China Volunteer Fire Department.

Board members awarded the 2024 roadside mowing contract to Pierce Works, LLC, of China, for $10,300 for two mowings, plus $4,280 for roadside brush-cutting. Mileage is listed as 47.29 miles. Hapgood said the company has had the contract in the past and the work has been satisfactory.

Construction bids were awarded as follows.

— To install a PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) water testing and water filtering system at Frank Soares’ near the China transfer station, EverClean Water & Radon Technologies, of Fairfield, $4,940, after a discussion of options with company owner Shane Reitze. State testing found Soares’ water contaminated, presumably from leachate from the closed landfill just north of the transfer station.
— To reroof the barn near the town office, Williams Construction Company, of Brewer, for $16,630.
— To reroof part of the town office building, again William Construction Company, for $23,560.

Williams’ figures are to be negotiated, since the company has two projects on the same site.

In other business, Hapgood read two letters. One was from someone having a new home built in China, praising the town office staff. The other was a letter of introduction from China’s new summer economic development intern, Gracie Stagnito.

The next regular China select board meeting is scheduled for Monday evening, June 17.