VASSALBORO: Local referendum questions well publicized

by Mary Grow

Vassalboro’s three local referendum questions for Nov. 5 have been well publicized, thanks to information from select board members and Town Manager Aaron Miller on the town website and elsewhere.

The three questions ask voters if they want to:

— Appropriate $360,000 from the Tax Increment Financing fund or the undesignated (surplus) fund, as select board members choose, to match a Department of Transportation grant for which town officials have applied;
— Amend the TIF document to allow TIF money to be used for environmental improvements in town; and
— Amend the charter of the Vassalboro Sanitary District.

Select board member Chris French explained the first two questions, which are related, in a letter published in the Oct. 17 issue of The Town Line (starting on p. 11 and continued on p. 14). The goal is to provide funds from existing accounts to match a large grant to replace the Dunlap bridge on Mill Hill Road, without adding to local property taxes.

Should voters approve the questions and the town not receive the grant, French explained, the money would cover the cost of an alternative bridge design.

The amendments to the Sanitary District charter are with the ballot and available at the town office. The main purpose is to change the way trustees are chosen, so that beginning in 2025 they will be elected in June along with town officials.

To find the local ballot on line, go to Vassalboro.net, the town’s website. At the upper right, click on MORE; below, click on Elections; on the left-hand side of the page, scroll down to General Election November 5 2024, with SAMPLE BALLOTS immediately below: click on the last two words of “Town of Vassalboro Municipal Election Sample Ballot.”

Vassalboro’s Nov. 5 voting will be at Vassalboro Community School, on the north end of Webber Pond Road at the Bog Road intersection. Polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.