Vassalboro planners OK one application, no action needed on another

by Mary Grow

Vassalboro Planning Board members approved one application on their July 1 agenda and decided the second one needed no action.

They unanimously approved the planned replacement fishway at the Webber Pond dam, which has been discussed repeatedly at Vassalboro select board meetings.

Matt Streeter, of Maine Rivers, presented a detailed application, with plans prepared by Acadia Civil Works, of Leeds. He said preparatory work will start promptly and the project should be completed by the end of September, if not earlier.

The replacement fishway is needed, Streeter explained, because the 2009 one is too small to accommodate all the alewives that try to get into Webber Pond every spring. The new fishway will be 114 feet long by six feet wide and six feet deep.

The project already has its permits from the Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

The major local disruption will be closing Dam Road, approved by the select board at its June 26 meeting. Streeter said the Webber Pond boat launch area will not be significantly affected, except that construction vehicles may use some of its parking space.

The project will include repaving the bridge, making the dam gates easier to operate, adding a small “shed” on the dam and installing a dry hydrant for use by Vassalboro firefighters. Streeter intends to return to the planning board for approval of follow-up projects that are not included in the July 1 permit.

After the unanimous vote to approve the fishway, planning board member Paul Mitnik commented, “All the alewives are gonna be happy.” Streeter agreed.

The second application was from the Kennebec Water District (KWD), represented by Water Quality Manager Robbie Bickford and General Manager Roger Crouse. It is a follow-up to a permit board members approved in July 2024.

The 2024 permit allowed KWD to run a pipe under Route 32 from the water treatment plant on the west side of the road toward Outlet Stream. The pipe will be used to transport used filter-cleaning water from the plant to the stream. KWD officials wanted that part of the project done before Route 32 was repaved.

The 2025 application is to finish the job, by extending the pipe, building a concrete headwall and running an eight-foot-wide riprap channel to Outlet Stream. Bickford again assured board members the quantity and quality of the discharged water will not affect water quality, wildlife or downstream uses.

The project has ACE and DEP permits, he said. KWD officials plan to start work in August and be done by the end of September.

Board member Douglas Phillips expressed appreciation for the information. Board members voted unanimously that they did not need to issue another permit.

When board chairman Virginia Brackett remarked to Bickford and Crouse that board members would see them again for a planned solar project on their property, Crouse said it has been canceled.

In other business July 1, Phillips asked whether the Vassalboro Historical Society could plan an addition to a barn it owns on Main Street, in East Vassalboro, beside the Grange Hall. The barn is in the Outlet Stream shoreland zone.

Board members concluded an expansion “wouldn’t be unreasonable.”

They also discussed amendments to Vassalboro’s junkyard ordinance, and instances of town ordinances being ignored, matters that Codes Officer Eric Currie is looking into.

The next regular Vassalboro Planning Board meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 5.