Planning Board Meeting - October 23, 2019
MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE VIENNA
PLANNING BOARD HELD OCTOBER 23, 2019
The meeting convened at the Town House at 7:00 PM. Regular members present were Waine Whittier, Alan Williams, Creston Gaither, Ed Lawless, and Tim Bickford. Mark Rains was also present. Creston had invited the Ordinance Review Committee to this meeting but they did not attend.
Mark inquired as to steps necessary to construct solar electric panels in his meadow. He was advised of Shoreland Zoning Ordinance setback and permitting requirements. He said the prospective site might also lie within the floodplain. The Board said it would have to review the Floodplain Management Ordinance in order to say what the administrative requirements would be. No formal action was taken.
It was suggested that the Board combine its November and December meetings into one meeting on December 11 and make this a public hearing on a proposed setback ordinance. Creston will advertise this as such.
Waine will draft a first draft of said ordinance.
Creston will bring Paul Fontaine’s SZO permit to the next meeting.
The meeting adjourned at 7:40 PM.
Creston Gaither, secretary
Planning Board Meeting - December 11, 2019
MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE VIENNA
PLANNING BOARD HELD DECEMBER 11, 2019
Regular members Creston Gaither and Ed Lawless met briefly and informally with Sue Burns, at the Town House at 7:00 PM. Tonight’s meeting having been advertised as a public hearing on the proposed Setback Ordinance. Lacking a quorum for a Planning Board meeting, the public hearing began at 7:10 PM. Sue said the draft Ordinance may not have sufficient “boilerplate language,” i.e. indicating legislative authority,etc., to hold up legally, and suggested that the Ordinance should clarify that if a right-of-way line can be determined, the required setback should be 15 feet from that line. She agreed to provide suggested revisions for the Board’s consideration.
Alan Williams arrived at 7:15 PM and was elected Acting Chair in Waine Whittier’s absence.The Board’s meeting began at that point, a quorum now being in place. Minutes of the October 23 meeting were read and accepted. The public hearing, and discussion of the proposed Setback Ordinance resumed at 7:20 PM.
It was suggested that the word “on” in paragraph 3 in the draft should probably be “or.”
Creston suggested that the Ordinance needs language regarding enforcement, and suggested that it replicate the Notification of Construction Ordinance language in that regard.
It was agreed that final edits on the Ordinance could wait until the Board’s next meeting.
The meeting adjourned at 7:50 PM.
Creston Gaither, secretary
2020 nomination papers are available
Nomination papers from the Town Clerk are available for the following:
- 1st Selectman - 3 year term
- RSU #9 School Board Representative - 3 year term
Deadline for filing is Jan 28, 2020
Planning Board Meeting - April 24, 2019
MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE VIENNA
PLANNING BOARD HELD APRIL 24, 2019
At 6:00 PM regular members Waine Whittier, Alan Williams, Creston Gaither, Ed Lawless, and Tim Bickford met with builder Eric Kinney at Becky Davis’s Kimball Pond property, depicted on 2019 tax map 3 as lot 8-K, to discuss a proposed addition on the south side of the cabin on the parcel; he was advised that the addition would not be permissible as the cabin’s existing footprint lies in part less than 25 feet from high water mark. Rules for expansion of non-conforming structures were briefly outlined but no formal action was taken.
At 7:00 PM the regular members listed above convened the Board’s regular meeting at the Town House. Jim Meader and Dave Gifford were also present. Minutes of the March 27 meeting were read, corrected, and accepted. Dave’s Flying Pond application (see March minutes) was reviewed. His written soil erosion control plan was reviewed. The Board had visited the site in March and has received Dave’s site plan and SSWD permit.
Based on its site visit and on Dave’s verbal representations and his sketch, and a subsequent examination of the pertinent flood hazard map, the Board determined that the project as outlined in March:
- Will maintain safe and healthful conditions;
- Will not result in water pollution, erosion, or sedimentation to surface waters;
- Will adequately provide for the disposal of all wastewater;
- Will not have an adverse impact on spawning grounds, fish, aquatic life, bird or other wildlife habitat;
- Will conserve shore cover and visual, as well as actual, points of access to inland waters;
- Will protect archaeological and historic resources as designated in the comprehensive plan;
- Will avoid problems associated with floodplain development and use; and
- Is in conformance with the provisions of Section 15, Land Use Standards.
It was voted 5 – 0 to authorize Creston to issue the usual permit by letter for this proposal; he had prepared a draft of the permit and it was issued at this time.
The meeting adjourned at 7:30 PM.
Creston Gaither, secretary
Planning Board Meeting - August 28, 2019
MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE VIENNA
PLANNING BOARD HELD AUGUST 28, 2019
The meeting convened at the Town House at 7:00 PM. Regular members present were Waine Whittier, Alan Williams, Creston Gaither, and Ed Lawless. Minutes of the July 24 meeting were read and accepted. Also present were Paul Fontaine and, briefly, Lew Emery.
Paul Fontaine appeared regarding his Flying Pond property depicted on tax map 11 as lot V-19-21. He would like to build a 4’ x 25’ staircase there between the road and the pond. The Board visited the site on June 26 and thus felt that no new site visit was necessary. Paul presented a sketch of the proposal and the Board briefly reviewed Section 15.B.(6) of the Shoreland Zoning Ordinance (SZO) and found that the staircase would be permissible if limited to 4 feet in width.
Based on its on-site observations and Paul’s sketch and verbal representations, and a subsequent examination of the pertinent flood hazard map, the Board determined that the project as outlined above:
- Will maintain safe and healthful conditions;
- Will not result in water pollution, erosion, or sedimentation to surface waters;
- Will adequately provide for the disposal of all wastewater;
- Will not have an adverse impact on spawning grounds, fish, aquatic life, bird or other wildlife habitat;
- Will conserve shore cover and visual, as well as actual, points of access to inland waters;
- Will protect archaeological and historic resources as designated in the comprehensive plan;
- Will avoid problems associated with floodplain development and use; and
- Is in conformance with the provisions of Section 15, Land Use Standards.
The Board then voted 4 – 0 to authorize Creston to issue the usual SZO permit by letter for this work.
The Zweigbaum situation was discussed (see July minutes). It has been reported that a recreational vehicle (RV) is in place on the gravel pad. Should it become clear at some point that the RV has been in place for more than 120 days it was agreed that the Code Enforcement Officer should be notified as per SZO requirements.
Alan suggested that the Board present an ordinance to the Town to create uniform setback requirements throughout the Town so that we don’t have different requirements in the shoreland zone and in subdivisions and elsewhere. Creston will email the Ordinance Review Committee and invite them to the Board’s September meeting to discuss this informally.
Waine will miss the next meeting.
The meeting adjourned at 7:35 PM.
Creston Gaither, secretary
Planning Board Meeting - September 25, 2019
MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE VIENNA
PLANNING BOARD HELD SEPTEMBER 25, 2019
The meeting convened at the Town House at 7:00 PM. Regular members present were Alan Williams, Creston Gaither, Ed Lawless, and Tim Bickford.
Alan was elected Acting Chairman in Waine Whittier’s absence. Minutes of the August 28 meeting were read and accepted.
Larry Bacon’s email of Sept. 22 was read aloud and discussed. The Board then voted 4 – 0 that the propane tank enclosures he describes should be considered a “structure” as defined by the Shoreland Zoning Ordinance and would thus require both a SZO and a Notification of Construction permit. Creston will advise Mr. Bacon of this.
Ed reported on the Broadband Committee. Consolidated and Spectrum have offered to present options but as yet have not done so. 6 Towns are on the Committee but some of them seem to have diverse concerns. A consultant is to give a report in a few months providing specifics on services and cost. Advantages of satellite service over fiber to the home were discussed. Ed suggested that Vienna and Mt. Vernon consider forming a small co-op to do broadband on their own.
The meeting adjourned at 7:30 PM.
Creston Gaither, secretary
How's your Hearing -- What??
How’s your Hearing—What??
Dan Onion, MD, MPH
Mt. Vernon/Vienna Health Officer
293-2076; dkonion@gmail.com
December, 2019
This column is largely about public health issues, i.e. issues that have a general population health impact. Most often those involve the prevention of diseases with direct or indirect effects beyond the individual to at least portions of the rest of the population, as immunizations do. Last month I wrote about sleep, which has only indirect public health implications resulting from sleepy people driving home from work or elsewhere, or generally not being their best. Mt. Vernon’s John Olson thanked me for the insights it gave him and suggested I might write about hearing loss as a sequel. The only public health issues there are in the possibilities in preventing or diminishing the afflictions; nevertheless, I suspect hearing loss is of interest to many, so here goes!
Deafness is a relatively rare condition until people reach retirement age. Sure, a few youngsters suffer it, but by the time people reach age 70, nearly half of them are significantly deaf by formal testing. Deafness rapidly develops in most of the other half over the next 2 decades; well over 90% over 90 suffer have hearing loss, according to epidemiologic statistics. That number seems a little high to me, but many with the disease hide it well; for instance, they start agreeing with me after the first repeat, even though they have no clue what I just said. So, my impression of how many have significant hearing loss, is undoubtedly an undercount.
Almost all deafness is due to injury or blockage of both ears. Thank the Lord we are given two ears by evolution, so knocking out one ear is only a minor inconvenience. Here is how hearing works. Each ear is made up of 3 parts:
•External ear, the ear lobe and canal
•Middle ear (the ear drum, ear bones, and the air-filled space drained by the Eustachian tubes to the back of the throat
•Inner ear, very complicated, containing:
-Semi-circular canals, like 3 small gyroscopes lined with hair-cell, which, via the 8th cranial nerve, alert the brain where little sand grains inside each canal land, in 3 dimensions, to tell you where you are in relation to gravity
-Cochlea, another long, coiled tube like a snail shell, also lined with hair cells that are twitched by each different frequency in the normal hearing range, low to high, roughly 0.5-2.5 cps [cycles per second, or “Hertz”)
Deafness is caused predominantly by presbycusis, Greek for “old hearing”, which means the cumulative effects of aging on hearing, almost always from recurrent exposure to loud (at or over 85 decibels) noise, be it music, chain saws, or many other things you can imagine. That level is a consensus of professionals, although there are no national standards or clinical trials (not surprising, since who would volunteer to be a subject in a study where they might be subjected to high decibel noise daily for many years, to see what happens!) Loud noise repeatedly hitting the middle C hair cell in the cochlea, causes that cell eventually to be damaged. The high-pitched hair cells above high C are the most sensitive to such injury. So, high pitch hearing is usually lost first. And because consonants provide a major part of word meaning, the loss of their whispery, high pitched sounds severely impacts a person’s ability to interpret other’s speech. Vowel sounds are in the 0.5-1.5 cps range and hence are lost much later. Manifesting very similarly is much rarer interference or damage to the auditory nerve from medicines, like the reversible ear-ringing caused by aspirin in moderately high doses (over 1 gm daily), permanently from some medicines, classically antibiotics, like streptomycins, or other diseases like Menniér’s Disease. These types of losses are all categorized as a Sensory-Neural (S-N) hearing loss.
The second most common contributor to presbycusis is ear wax in the external ear. Usually this normal mixture of dead skin, sweat and oil stays soft and leaks out of the canal on its own or with the help of warm water in dry climates like winter. But if it does not, it can build up into very firm, dark -brown plugs. Ineffective efforts to dislodge it with fingers, Q-tips or other tools can pack it even more firmly against the ear drum causing a “conductive” hearing loss. Ironically hearing aids do this very well too. Older people have less oily skin secretions and hence get this condition more easily. Usually it can be prevented by simply running warm water into the ear canals while bathing or showering. And for people with recurrent wax impaction and resultant conductive hearing loss, a family member can gain the skill of looking in there weekly or monthly to prompt more room temperature water irrigation with a bulb syringe and frequent ear drops to soften the impacted wax.
Clinicians can distinguish between S-N and conductive hearing loss by looking in the ear and with simple tuning fork tests called Rinné and Weber.
So, what can we do to help/cope?
First, prevention:
•Avoid loud noise damage. Ear protectors work fine, though they can be uncomfortable on a hot summer day. Wear them or ear plugs, which I think are a little less good because they are harder to get a good fit. Make your nearly adult kids to protect their hearing at concerts or using machines; they may thank you decades later.
•Be sure you are not given medicines that can cause permanent damage unless you must have it to survive.
•Run bath water into your ear canals while bathing
Second, accommodate:
• If wax impaction occurs, regularly check for impacted wax and irrigate the ears clear.
•Speak in low frequencies to presbycusis sufferers. Men’s voices work better than women’s; women can speak in their lowest voices. Don’t shout; that diminishes the clarity of consonants, which are crucial to understanding speech. Look at the person, so they can see your lips move; use confirming gestures. They can begin to learn lip reading that way.
•Hearing loss accompanies dementia often, and each makes the other worse. Isolation can be due to either, and accommodating hearing loss can slow progression of dementia.
•Hearing loss also causes depression; sufferers withdraw from contacts because of frustration with not being able to participate in conversations. Find ways to engage anyway.
•Many users experience “recruitment,” which is a condition where the useful loudness of sound lies in a very narrow decibel range. You may have spoken louder and louder to a deaf person who suddenly says “quieter, you don’t have to shout”; you know then that you overstepped their narrow range. The same can happen with a hearing aids.
•Use assistive devices, just as you would a cane with a bad set of knees. A cheap stethoscope in the sufferers’ ears and held toward you can markedly improve their understanding. Electronic devices are often available at churches, as they are for TV sets and telephones.
•Explore hearing aids, though beware, there are a lot of shysters out there. Get an evaluation at a hospital audiology center (MaineGeneral centers in Augusta and Waterville, and elsewhere). The problems with hearing aids are that they are moderately hard to keep working, especially with concomitant cognitive problems. They magnify all sounds, not just the ones you want to focus on. Aids can be very expensive, in the many $1000s.
So, practice prevention starting now, wherever you are on the hearing spectrum. Prevent ear wax build up if you or family members have a problem. Use assistive devices sooner rather than later.
Did I help, John?
Planning Board - Announcement - Nov/Dec 2019
The VIENNA PLANNING BOARD
Has cancelled its regularly scheduled meetings for November and December in view of the holidays. However, the Board will hold a make-up meeting on Wednesday, December 11 at 7:00 PM at the TOWN HOUSE on TOWN HOUSE ROAD; at which the Board will hold a
PUBLIC HEARING
to consider an Ordinance regarding setbacks from roads and property lines, on which the Board has been working. We expect to have draft copies available at that time.
--Creston Gaither, secretary, Vienna Planning Board
Voting - November 5, 2019
The Polls are open at the Vienna Community Center from 8AM to 8PM.
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Questions Appearing on the November 5, 2019 Ballot
Question 1: Bond Issue
An Act To Authorize a General Fund Bond Issue To Improve Highways, Bridges and Multimodal Facilities
Public Law Chapter 532
Do you favor a $105,000,000 bond issue to build or improve roads, bridges, railroads, airports, transit and ports and make other transportation investments, to be used to match an estimated $137,000,000 in federal and other funds?
Question 2: Constitutional Amendment
RESOLUTION, Proposing an Amendment to the Constitution of Maine Concerning Alternative Signatures Made by Persons with Disabilities
Constitutional Resolution Chapter 1
Do you favor amending the Constitution of Maine to allow persons with disabilities to sign petitions in an alternative manner as authorized by the Legislature?