Solar energy, Vassalboro transfer station fixes top agenda

by Mary Grow

In addition to the 2020-21 budget, Vassalboro selectmen made progress on two other ongoing issues, solar energy and transfer station improvements, at their April 16 meeting.

Plans to add a large amount of solar energy to the town’s energy mix started as a voter-approved proposal to develop a solar array in town. After only two companies reached the point of submitting specific proposals, and one proposal was not to build in town, the plan changed to buying energy from an out-of-town project.

The decision where to buy energy has been and still is an administrative decision, selectmen said, and they can proceed without asking voters’ endorsement of the plan.

Consequently, on April 16 they unanimously authorized Town Manager Mary Sabins to sign an agreement to buy power from a planned development engineered by ReVision Energy, once the proposed contract has been reviewed by an attorney, the school board has agreed to participate and the Solar Committee has approved.

ReVision representative Andrew Kahrl said the contract the town will sign will be with the project owners/financiers, not with Revision. ReVision will build the solar array and will continue to be a contact for power buyers.

Vassalboro reschedules town meeting

Vassalboro selectmen have rescheduled the annual town meeting from Monday, June 1, to Monday, June 22, with municipal elections to follow Tuesday, June 23, instead of Tuesday, June 9. Selectmen might postpone both parts of the meeting again if the state shutdown has not ended by June 22.

The June 22 open meeting includes electing budget committee members and acting on policy issues and 2020-21 school and municipal budgets. The June 23 elections are for one seat on the board of selectmen – Barbara Redmond is unopposed – and two seats on the school board – Zachary Smith and incumbent Erin Loiko are unopposed.

The June 22 open meeting includes electing budget committee members and acting on policy issues and 2020-21 school and municipal budgets. The June 23 elections are for one seat on the board of selectmen – Barbara Redmond is unopposed – and two seats on the school board – Zachary Smith and incumbent Erin Loiko are unopposed.

The next project in line is planned in Skowhegan, he said. Output will be sold on a first-come basis, and several other municipalities are considering contracting. Kahrl hopes the Skowhegan project will be producing power early in 2021; if Vassalboro does not join, the next opportunity will probably be in production by the summer of 2021.

On his advice, Vassalboro will buy enough solar power to cover about 80 percent of local needs, to avoid buying an oversupply if needs decrease. The plan is to include the school’s electrical needs as a separate account, an arrangement acceptable to ReVision.

Kahrl said the proposed contract, which board Chairman Lauchlin Titus called “mind-boggling,” has been reviewed by attorneys for other municipalities.

Estimated savings over a 20-year contract are projected at around $600,000, and Kahrl said power production should continue beyond 20 years. Titus estimated more than half the savings would accrue to the school department, based on education’s share of the total town budget.

Selectmen expected the school board to give final approval within a few days, so the contract could be signed the week of April 20.

Also joining the April 16 virtual meeting was engineer Al Hodsdon, of Waterville, to confirm his assignment: develop a plan for the transfer station that would focus on a new trash hopper on a secure footing, to replace aging components and improve efficiency.

Auxiliary assignments, if possible within the maximum $100,000 budget, would be to design a place for the old compactor to become a back-up and consider moving the entrance onto Lombard Dam Road farther east, to improve sight distance. The $100,000 includes the new compactor and Hodsdon’s fee for engineering.

Selectmen took two other non-budgetary actions:

• They voted unanimously to postpone interest on taxes unpaid after the April 27 deadline (the fourth 2019-20 quarterly payment) until the end of the state emergency declaration or June 30, whichever comes first. Normally, interest begins to accrue seven days after each quarterly due date, by town meeting vote.
• They appointed Meridith Cain a member of the Trail Committee.
  The next regular Vassalboro selectmen’s meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 30. It is expected to be another virtual meeting that can be viewed at vcsvikings.org.