Vassalboro ballfields discussed, final action possible Nov. 12

by Mary Grow

Vassalboro selectmen got rid of one item of continuing business at their Oct. 28 meeting: they learned that the Vassalboro Conservation Commission seems on the way to reviving itself, and decided they did not need to discuss its future again.

An issue raised at their Oct. 15 meeting, use of the town ballfields during the coronavirus epidemic, was rediscussed, with final action possible at the Nov. 12 selectmen’s meeting.

Town Manager Mary Sabins had drafted a policy for selectmen’s review. Board members suggested three changes, including making it clear that management of school fields is up to school officials, even though the school is now a town department.

Melrose, who had been listening to news on his way to the meeting, shared information on the alarming increase in Covid-19 cases in Maine provided during a hastily-scheduled Oct. 28 news conference by Dr. Nirav Shah, director of Maine’s Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and Governor Janet Mills.

At Sabins’ request, board members reviewed the draft request for bids on the Gray Road culvert prepared by Calderwood Engineering of Richmond. Most questions they left to Sabins and the firm’s representative to resolve.

An issue of particular local importance is how long the Gray Road will be closed. The bid specifications say 30 days; board Chairman John Melrose wondered whether giving the chosen contractor less time would be possible, and if possible, would increase the price.

Current plans are to seek bids early in 2021, with the work to be done in the summer. State regulations limit in-stream work to the period from mid-July to the end of September, Sabins said.

Sabins’ financial report for the first quarter of the fiscal year that began July 1 indicated the town is “doing okay,” with revenues slightly higher than expected, Melrose summarized.

Melrose raised two issues related to plans for Vassalboro’s 2021 semiquincentennial (250th) anniversary celebration. Fellow board members Robert Browne and Barbara Redmond endorsed his plan to look for a safe place for a fireworks display. No one could suggest a historic place, he said, because no one could remember a public fireworks display in town.

The Vassalboro Historical Society has talked with a craftsman who will begin restoring the damaged statue of a Civil War soldier in the East Vassalboro park beside the Historical Society building (formerly the East Vassalboro school), Melrose said. Historical Society members have a design for the project and a source of matching granite (in Rhode Island). Melrose said they plan a fundraising campaign and probably a request for town funds in the 2021-22 municipal budget.

Sabins presented the initial schedule of selectmen’s and budget committee meetings leading up to the 2021 annual town meeting, scheduled for Monday evening, June 7, and Tuesday, June 8. June 8 will also be the state voting day; in Vassalboro, voters will elect local officials, approve or reject the school budget approved at the open meeting the night before and act on any local referendum questions selectmen might propose.

If coronavirus restrictions remain in place, public meetings with 10 budget committee members, three selectmen and the town manager, plus a potential audience, might have to be virtual.

As selectmen prepared to adjourn, Melrose asked if Sabins, Browne and Redmond are comfortable with in-person meetings. The answer was yes, with the hope they can continue to open windows in the town office meeting room when the weather gets colder.

The selectmen’s meeting, held – unusually – on a Wednesday afternoon, was followed by a tour of the town’s two fire stations.

Grant request made for school generator

The day after the Vassalboro selectmen’s Oct. 28 meeting, Town Manager Mary Sabins submitted a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant request for a generator at Vassalboro Community School. The purpose is to make it possible to use the school as an emergency shelter when needed due to extreme weather or other disruptive events.

Sabins said the expected cost of a generator large enough to power the entire building is $115,000. Vassalboro will be expected to provide 25 percent of the cost, or $28,750. Voters at the June 2019 town meeting appropriated $28,000 for the project; Sabins said the money is still available, and the additional $750 could be taken from elsewhere in the budget or from the $15,000 contingency fund voters grant selectmen each year.

The town manager expressed thanks to Anne Fuchs, Director of Mitigation, Planning, and Recovery/State Hazard Mitigation Officer at the Maine Emergency Management Agency, for help in preparing the application.

Sabins does not know when she will hear whether FEMA has awarded Vassalboro a grant.