VASSALBORO: Action postponed on rate increase for large items at transfer station

by Mary Grow

Vassalboro select board members disposed of three issues on their lengthy Jan. 9 meeting agenda.

By unanimous votes, board members:

— Agreed that the state-required wage deduction to support the new paid family medical leave program will be split 50:50 between employees and the town; and
— Agreed to buy new propane tanks for the town office and the Riverside Fire Station from M. A. Haskell, of China, the only bidder.

Board members also finished reviewing the town’s personnel policy, half of an agenda item that also calls for updating Vassalboro Recreation Committee bylaws. Town Manager Aaron Miller will have a revised personnel policy draft ready for their Jan. 23 meeting.

Select board members and transfer station manager Adam Daoust again considered whether to increase fees charged for some of the large items, like mattresses, that residents can dispose of at the transfer station. Board members postponed action.

From the audience, Douglas Phillips said the Vassalboro Historical Society has traditionally had transfer station fees waived. A year ago, he said, the select board renewed the waiver for one year.

The current board promptly and unanimously repeated the action.

The request for a handicapped parking spot at Hair Builders, a business on Oak Grove Road, first came up at the board’s Nov. 13, 2024, meeting, when Miller said he needed time for research:

After receiving guidance from the New England Americans with Disabilities Act Center, as well as legal advice, Miller recommends a “pretty simple” ordinance amendment.

The manager plans to have legally approved language ready for review at the board’s Jan. 23 meeting. Assuming acceptance, the mandatory public hearing could be held at the Feb. 6 board meeting.

Another previously-discussed issue is combining elections for the Vassalboro Sanitary District (VSD) board of trustees with municipal elections. At previous meetings, board members believed only voters living in the area VSD serves could vote for trustees.

On Jan. 9, however, Miller said VSD’s attorney said all town voters could vote for the trustees, just as they vote for select board members.

Board chairman Frederick “Rick” Denico, Jr., thought the limitation on voters was state law. If it is, he said, a town cannot broaden a state mandate.

Board members asked Miller to get another legal opinion.

Board member Chris French recommended increased funding for Vassalboro First Responders in the 2025-26 budget and future years, looking ahead to the time when the group would need a rescue vehicle.

Currently, members use their private vehicles; if transport is needed, Waterville-based Delta Ambulance responds. French is concerned about Delta’s long-term financial stability.

Board member Michael Poulin proposed amending Vassalboro’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) policy to allow additional uses of TIF money. The TIF account is fed annually by taxes paid on the gas pipeline that runs through Vassalboro from Augusta to Winslow.

Vassalboro’s current TIF ordinance (found online under Documents) establishes a 9.5-acre TIF District along Route 201, where the natural gas pipeline runs, and along VSD lines, including a connection to Winslow. It limits major projects to the expansion of Vassalboro’s sewer system to connect with Winslow, which has been done, and “eventually” contributing to a phosphorus removal plan for China Lake, in collaboration with other groups.

Poulin recommended adding more projects with which TIF funds could assist, including work on the Webber Pond dam and the Mill Hill Road bridge replacement. Discussion will continue.

Miller reported he met with representatives of Maine Rivers and other groups working on the Webber Pond dam. They have funding for a major rebuilding planned for the summer of 2025, he said.

The current plan, being discussed with residents, requires closing the north end of Dam Road, near Webber Pond Road, from mid-July through September, rerouting traffic from Hannaford Hill Road over McQuarrie Road, Miller said. That way, large equipment, like an excavator and a crane, can work at the dam site.

The next regular Vassalboro select board meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23.