VASSALBORO: Erosion control cost estimate higher than expected

by Mary Grow

Vassalboro Conservation Commission members re-discussed a main topic from their Dec. 18 meeting on Jan. 8, after they got a higher than expected cost estimate for their December plan.

They agreed in December to improve buffering along the China Lake shoreline in East Vassalboro’s Monument Park, with the goals of increasing erosion control and providing an educational example of a buffer.

At the Jan. 8 meeting, commission member Steve Jones, owner of Vassalboro’s Fieldstone Gardens, presented a $3,084 cost estimate for about four dozen perennial plants. Commission Chairman Holly Weidner and member Matthew Pitcher pointed out other costs, like special mulch and ongoing maintenance.

Commission member Paul Mitnik urged planting trees instead, spaced far enough apart so they wouldn’t block views of the lake. They’d be less expensive and, he said, as effective.

Mitnik’s idea got more objections than support during a debate that ended with Weidner suggesting he talk with Jen Jesperson, the Ecological Instincts consultant who is advising on China Lake water quality issues.

In other business Jan. 8, commission members agreed they will not apply for a 2025 grant from the state program called Project Canopy to plant trees. The program paid for trees in the town’s new Eagle Park on Route 32 and Outlet Stream.

Pitcher said he does not have time to write a grant application this spring. Peggy Horner said the commission hasn’t chosen places to plant trees. Jones is still angry about some Project Canopy trees that were cut down last spring; he opposes asking for any more “till the town ‘fesses up.”

Project Canopy is a good program, they said, and if the town wants to apply, that’s fine.

Commission members agreed by consensus to partner with the Webber Pond Association as it seeks a grant to deal with blue-green algae, also known as cyanobacteria, in the lake water.

Wiedner said she had a request to support the grant application from Mary Schwanke, whom she later identified as lead biologist on the water monitoring and sampling team for the tri-watershed based management plan project that includes Webber Pond.

Commission members again expressed appreciation for the Vassalboro public works department’s help with Eagle Park landscaping. They need to discuss with Public Works Director Brian Lajoie and Town Manager Aaron Miller how much more work is planned – parts of the ground are still very rough, they said

Pitcher had talked with Rob Lemire, owner of Maine Adirondack Chairs, on Holman Day Road, about picnic tables. He reported Lemire is offering six-foot white cedar tables unfinished for $269, or with a natural finish for an additional $150.

Weidner thinks the to-be-constructed Eagle Park pavilion should have room for up to three tables. Commission members agreed they need to consult with Lajoie, for example about winter storage, and to see how their budget looks.

They had intended to discuss the commission’s 2025-26 budget request at the Jan. 8 meeting, but needed detailed updates on 2024 funding and expenditures first. Weidner intends to have more information at the next meeting, scheduled for 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 12, in the town office meeting room.