CAMDEN — The four candidates seeking election for the two open Select Board seats in Camden gathered May 14 in the French Meeting Room at the Camden Town Office, where PenBayPilot.com hosted a Candidates’ Forum.

It was an informative two hours as the candidates — Susan Dorr, Stephanie French (incumbent), Ken Gross and Sophie Romana (incumbent) thoughtfully addressed a variety of topics, ranging from EMS service and sewer systems to the Montgomery Dam, Megunticook River Project, the future of the Snow Bowl, climate resiliency, and what they all hope to accomplish if elected.

Below, are excerpts of answers the candidates delivered after each question, either prepared or asked from the audience, which filled the seats in the meeting room. 

At the start, Moderator Vicki Doudera, of Camden, asked each candidate to provide their own personal background and why they have stepped forward to run for a seat on the Select Board.

Susan Dorr

Susan Dorr served on the Camden Select Board for two terms, “back in the last century,” she said, followed by two terms in the Maine Legislature. She enjoys retirement, and her, “grandmother status.”

“But several people whom I really respect and regard highly asked me if I would consider running for this seat and after meeting with a number of people and just giving it a lot of thought, and talking with my family, I decided that I would step forward,” said Dorr.

Dorr’s background includes a Peace Corps assignment in southern Africa, a Camden business venture with Serendipity, attainment of a master’s degree in English to speakers of other languages, and has volunteered on Camden municipal committees.

“I’m thinking about legacy now,” she said. “I think that we're in a community that has remarkable assets and attributes, and changes that are afoot that we need to consider.” 

But, “what's really on my mind is how do we leave the best possible conditions for our up-and-coming generations?”

Stephanie French

Stephanie French has been in Maine since she was born.

“ I'm a complete Mainer,” she said, adding that she grew up in Appleton, and has been a Camden resident for 16 years.

She is seeking reelection on the Camden Select Board following one term.

“There isn't much that goes on in town that I'm not a part of,” she said.

French is a member of the Camden Rotary,  was a member of the downtown business group and was a supporter of the connect-over -coffee for the last five years. She is also a member of the United Way.

Ken Gross

Ken Gross worked for 20 years at the Camden Public Library, retiring last year from his position as Program Director, which he helped to develop.

“It was a perfect match for me because I was already producing such events is concerts for the Quasimoto Chorus and I was on the team of the Rockport Folk Festival,” he said.  “Do any of you remember the Rockford Folk Festival,” a question that earned a laugh from the audience.

“I took me awhile to realize when I started what a tremendous tool I had in the Camden Public Library if my goal was to make Camden a better place to live,” he said. “I tried to track Camden's strengths and needs so that the programs we offered at the library could fill in the gaps. It has been a great training for visioning or envisioning what Camden could be and I'd like to say I have seen a lot of changes in Camden.”

Gross said: “I’ve got enough years behind me now. I just turned 70. Remember when 70 sounded old,” he asked, earning another round of laughter.

“Now, I have enough years behind me that I can throw decades around like kindling history matters,” he said. “…. History matters but change matters. Some changes are good and some not so much. I really really missed the elm trees. I miss having the high school in town, but I also remember seeing toilet paper and other stuff floating back and forth in the low tide at Laite Beach. That was before we had a sewage treatment plant.”

“The demographics of Camden have changed a great deal. When I was a kid the mill was the biggest employer in town and I remember walking home up Washington Street and the guys in the mail were hanging out the windows. I don't know how they get anything done, there was always guys hanging out the windows.”

He said, “Camden is absolutely blessed by being full of people who have actively chosen to live here. You do pay an economic penalty to live in Maine and an extra premium to live in Camden but all of you have made that choice and you all make Camden a better place.”

He hopes to  contribute to keeping it that way 

Sophie Romana 

Sophie Romana is finishing her first term on the Select Board. She and her husband moved to Maine a few years ago, “after he told me on our third date that he wanted to retire here.”

They arrived from New York City and Romana became involved with town government, first on the Camden Budget Committee,

She owns a consulting group that works on women's economic issues, mostly in developing economies. As such, she travels extensively.

In addition to being on the Select Board, she has also created a network of local solo entrepreneurs,  “so that we can help each other grow our businesses, create jobs and create growth in in Camden.” 

She is an officer of the Camden Yacht Club, “because my husband and I sail and we love using the harbor…. I really have been enjoying tremendously the work of the Select Board. It is a very fulfilling role.”

A group of Camden and Rockport residents have been advocating that the two towns convene a citizen-led committee to study how the municipalities might work together to resolve differences over the current sewer system.

What is your opinion on this issue, and should the towns work together, or go their separate ways with individual sewer systems?

Sophie Romana

“I love this question because it touches on many things that I'm really passionate about,” said Romana. “The first one is regionalization and working together….  All the towns around here, Rockport, Rockland, Lincolnville, Hope — we all face the same challenges, the same shortages of resources and if we pull our resources together I think we can come with better solution together.

She considers the wastewater treatment issue to be complicated, and not easy to solve. But, she suggested pooling resources, perhaps partner with Rockport, “maybe add capacity to Camden as well so that if we can all work together to raise more money, have a better collaborative approach, and increased capacity so that the system benefits everyone every ratepayer.

“Both rate payers and taxpayers are impacted by those projects,” she said. “It’s one of the key infrastructure we have to invest into… so I would absolutely welcome working with Rockport on this really nasty problem."

Ken Gross

“I agree with Sophie,” he said. “We are increasingly in a regional economy…. expensive projects such as sewage treatment are challenges in every town, it only makes sense to investigate whether there is a cooperative approach.

“I think that the technical discussion will probably guide us to a solution,” he said. “…. Definitely we should pull our resources and cooperate with our neighbors.”

Stephanie French

“Ditto and ditto,” she said. “Our communities are so so tightly knit together that not collaborating, not pooling our resources on many different areas, especially wastewater is just incomprehensible to me. We need to find out a way to do it. Camden is great in that we have a lot of unique people who live here and we have a lot of people here that have the technical knowledge….I think that there is wide room to work together on the wastewater problems.”

Susan Dorr

There is no reason in the world why this one cannot be sorted,” Dorr said. 

Citing Camden’s problem with infiltration to the sewer system, she said the issue, “is huge,” and "then Rockport also has some potential growth on the drawing board, which has been there for some time, so there's no telling how soon projects will be considered.”

In the short term, she said, “I think what's challenging is that these infrastructure issues are complicated and they're difficult ones for us as the governing body.” 

She said it is the work of the Select Board or prospective leaders to communicate, “as well as we can to the citizenry what we feel is the best strategy forward but we're inextricably bound together.”

Ocean storms and rainfall totals have increased, causing erosion on the waterfront, infrastructure damage to roads, culverts and bridges, and threatening public health with raw sewage from a compromised sewer system running into the harbor. What does Camden need to do proactively address the effects of climate change on a coastal community?

Ken Gross

Sea-level rise is certain, said Gross, and he cited recent projections, “whether it's the 2050 sea level rise or whether it's the 2100 sea level rise,… The solution will be to raise the public infrastructure, all the way around the harbor.”

That includes seawalls on the public landings.

He said perhaps the town can make joint initiatives with private owners, “but perhaps the private property owners will be on their own. That remains to be researched. Camden needs to research whatever federal and state funds there may be to mitigate the costs.”

Those public works adjustments may be, “very expensive in the near-term when perhaps the solution will be to to build for the near term the near term being 30 years as opposed to 70 years and it may be more economical to build for a two or three levels…. That's my Yankee sense of doing things.”

He cited a request for proposals that Camden’s planning office has circulated, saying it, “seems to be right on the money and going right in the right direction.

“The goal is to develop a resilience plan for all public and private property in the Inner Harbor and to conduct a robust community planning process with the goal of building consensus on resilience,” he said.

The good news is that while the recent three 100-year storms produced an enormous amount of water, it was, “swiftly and efficiently drained from Megunticook River and from Goose River. There was no over-bank flooding. I hope that relieves some anxiety and relieve some of the pressure to do something in the short term…. The bad news is, of course, there were three 100year storms in the last year…. Let’s keep our eye on the ball.”

Stephanie French

Jeremy [Martin, Camden’s planning and development director] already put out an RFP on this so Camden looking at it.”

“It's such a big problem,” she said. “How are we going to keep our property from the sea, engaging the community and keeping that conversation going in a way that people want to continue to come in and speak on it, and come in and talk about it again to the point that we're sick and tired of talking about it, again.”

She said, “there's a lot of different things that can be done and I think right now we are definitely taking the steps forward.”

Susan Dorr

“I think that a lot of these issues are all of a piece and need to be addressed comprehensively, doing a kind of a deep dive into the various plans around the river,” she said. “You can't separate the different components and address them independently. The frequency and intensity of storms is becoming the new normal and there's no way around incorporating that into the vision around wastewater management, around sea level rise, around protecting our landmark jewel properties that really make Camden the place that we love.”

She referenced a New York Times article about the insurance industry.

It focused on the states subject to epic storms.

“Maine was not one of the states that was in a grouping that where homeowners insurance are dropped and insurance has stop writing… but there was an interactive aspect, so I clicked on Main and the profitability of homeowners insurance has been up up up up and then last year dropped down to nearly no profitability. The reality is that if homeowners insurance writers stop writing in our state we're in a heap of trouble.”

She said, “forward-thinking on these kind of global issues has got to concern everyone of us whether we're living on a waterway or whether we're directly impacted. This is bottom line for all of us.”

Sophie Romana

“I started working in international development 20 years ago, looking at issues of climate change and how they affect agricultural production livelihoods,” said Romana. “Climate change is a fact. The conversation has shifted.

“….I have neighbors who have nicknamed the the condos on Bayview Surfside and it's a really sad nickname,” she said. It is, “because they're seeing the impact that those astronomical tides and downpours have, and again our aging infrastructure.”

She said the federal government has grants to assist.

“No town like ours has a budget to undertake that infrastructure upgrade we need to do but the federal government can help us so I'm optimistic but I think it's the priority number one.”

The Camden Snow Bowl has yet to complete its redevelopment initiated in 2014, when Ragged Mountain was subjected to tree clearing to expand and reconfigure ski trails and install a new lift. Still, a planned new lodge has yet to be constructed and a full four-season vision yet to be crafted.

What do you consider the next steps should be for the Snow Bowl and the Ragged Mountain Recreation Area?

Stephanie French

“The Snow Bowl is one of my my key projects that I have decided, whether I move forward with the Select Board or not I'm going to engage more in.”

She attended the last community engagement meeting at the Snow Bowl concerning trails. 

“I remember stories from my father-in-law telling us how much they did out there. They felt that that piece of property was so important. That’s what they put their time into…. That's dedication. That is the heart and soul of what our town was built from so I think that the way that the town is going about it engaging the community, engaging other people to come in and try to make this a four season hill and area is the exact way to do it and I am all for it.”

Susan Dorr

"I know the the Snow Bowl has always been a polarizing facility in town and I am not a believer that town-owned facilities need to be profit centers.

She commended interim director Holly Anderson for having a grasp on the budgeting.

“Several of my family members are very involved out there,” she said. “My brother-in-law and my nephew are on the snow-making team and absolutely love it and they had a hell of a time this year where they made all kinds of snow only to have it wiped out by rain more than once. It was heartbreaking but they did just tremendous work and managed to be open on time and stay open as long as they possibly could.

“That said, the we've lost several really important venues for events — Point Lookout, High Mountain Hall. There are opportunities for events at the Snow Bowl. It is such a draw to the community.”

She cited the Toboggan Championships, “they come from all over the country — the multiplier effect into this economy of people who come for that long week.”

Sophie Romana

“It is a really complicated issue because it's a little bit of a race against time,” said Romana. “I think it has immense value for our town for all the reasons all three colleagues mentioned, but also for kids. I know a lot of kids get scholarships to go to good universities and colleges because they're racers.

“I always keep in mind that [a ski moiuntain] in Vermont makes more money in the summer than they do in the winter and it's a it's a shocking figure.

“….I think ultimately the question is with the voters though. What do we want to do with the Snow Bowl. What is the expectation of the Snow Bowl? I do believe that the expectation that the Snow Bowl makes a profit is is not super realistic…. We value the opera House for all the cultural events they put together.

“The Snow Bowl, Opera House, Harbor and the Library are the four key jewels of of Camden and we need to protect them but we also need to be very realistic about the investments that are required to continue enjoying them.”

Ken Gross

“I grew up at the Snow Bowl and my kids did, too, and so I have a great impression of what the Snow Bowl can mean to families in Camden,” said Gross. “I also have read Jack Williams’ History of the Snow Bowl and it is remarkable on looking through the history of the Snow Bowl since we started it in 1930s.”

He said the 2014-2015 redevelopment built new infrastructure for a new power supply, a new septic system, geothermal heat, new lighting and new ski trails, making, “the basis for what could become a Four Season destination….” 

Gross said the Ragged Mountain Foundation is a private group of fundraisers, “and they've been very generous in providing over half of the funding to do the Ragged Mountain development.”

There is less than $1 million to finish the project, which is to build a lodge.

“I understand they do intend to do some fundraising to to go towards the new Lodge and we we should probably not call it a lodge,” said Gross. “We should call it a community center but of course we're going to call it a lodge. It's going to be the new Lodge as opposed to the old Lodge.”

That earned laughter from the audience.

Gross visualized that the old lodge, an A-frame, would remain and a new lodge would be built beside it. 

Management of the Snow Bowl, “will need to take into account climate change but in the meantime we should really celebrate the incredible facility in the family supportive center we have.”

He said the town should continue to investigate four-season use.  

Gross also said that recreational facilities do not turn a profit. That includes Laite Beach, Barrett’s Cove, the Opera House and the Library.

“We get tremendous value out of the Snow Bowl and it's a highly unusual attraction that Camden has that nobody else has,” he said.

What do you think the future of EMS service in Camden should look like?

Susan Dorr

Susan Dorr described the changing face of EMS care and its business model, and then she said:  “I will say I will go to the wall for any first responder. I think we have a level of first responders in this community that is second to none and they will get my complete support.”

As for acquiring an ambulance for Camden Fire and Rescue, Dorr said she was aware it was a function of, “how the staffing goes… and that's all to be sorted but if the numbers work and it is viable to have an ambulance in Camden and enable us to have even better emergency care than what we have now, then I will be delighted to explore that to its fullest.”

Stephanie French

“This is where I have a lot of passion….,” said French, adding that the recent budget discussion concerning fire and EMS included a phased plan: “I think that there are a lot of elements of that plan that are really good.” 

“Do we need an ambulance here,” she asked. “That's a question that is kind of up in the air.”

After listening to, and talking with, “a lot of people in the community, they want one but they're also wondering how can all of these areas complement each other.”

French said there is a need for, “hard talks,” and until they are had, questions remain.  

“I think we have a really great foundation in the area, not just in Camden, not just in Rockport, not just in Rockland,” she said. “I think it is a it has to be a complementary system where everybody works together and what that looks like has yet to be seen, but I know that we can get there if we just work together.”

Ken Gross

Gross said: “I'm not sure what I can add to what Stephanie just said but that won't that stop me. I don't have expertise in this field and one of the things I've learned is that I'm going to have to do a lot of listening. But I did talk with a member of the Rockport Fire Department.”

Rockport is building a new fire station in West Rockport, he said.  

“As I said, I have a lot to learn but I will also bear in mind that an EMS team and its ambulance are frightfully expensive,” he said. “We’re just a small town on the coast of Maine. What level of service can we afford? That will be part of the discussion.”

Sophie Romana

EMS is a platform on which to build more cooperation between towns, said Romana. It make sense to work with Rockport and Rockland, citing existing mutual aid agreements.

She also said it is, “the responsibility of the county to help us shape the future of the EMS services.”

Romana commended volunteers for fire department service, “but we really need to professionalize that activity or else we won't be able to deliver on the expectations, which are increasing everyday of our population in terms of rapid response and making sure that we have 24 hour service.”

The Megunticook River Watershed Project has been underway as a committee led endeavor. According to the project’s mission, the committee’s purpose is, “to provide recommendations to the Select Board for preserving and improving sustainability and resiliency of the Megunticook River and its watershed. These recommendations will be supported through engagement with the community, stakeholders, grant funding agencies, and providing a due diligence process to advance viable options.”

The committee met May 8 and looked at some potential designs.

How do you think the process is coming along, and are you partial to any design scenario for the future of the river and its outlet to Camden Harbor?

Sophie Romana

“I have the privilege of chairing this committee and it's it's been a fantastic adventure working with nine people who are super committed to exploring every issue around managing a river and having a healthy river system,” said Romana. “I really wanted to take a second to thank them because they they're true to their mission to leave no stone unturned and they are digging deep.”

Romana said the process needs community engagement, “and I can tell you that every month when the River Committee meets we always talk about how can we hear from the people we haven't heard before. We are very curious to hear from everyone in town…. So I'm taking advantage of this pulpit to say we really want to hear from you. Please let us know what you think and we're going to organize more events where the community will be invited to participate and share.”

Romana said she is open to exploring multiple designs and multiple ideas, “whether we remove all the dams, would partially remove dams, whether we build fish ladders, not build fish ladders. What’s important is that we make the river more resilient…. I think this opportunity for us to increase the natural beauty of the harbor and making our river more resilient and the thriving ecosystem.

Ken Gross

“I've been very much impressed by the energy and enthusiasm and the intelligence and dedication of those folks,” he said, about the committee. “They’ve put in many, many hours of meetings. They’ve been at it for a year and a half…. “As you may know, I have paid a lot of attention to the Montgomery Dam, which is only one dam out of six or seven on the river. 

“There’s something special about the Montgomery Dam. It is fulfilling the the purpose for which it was built and designed. It was built and designed to be the centerpiece of the viewshed and Harbor Park and and at the head of the harbor and it is still fulfilling that function.”

Gross said the twin goals of preserving Montgomery Dam and building fish ladders is a possibility.

Stephanie French

French said that she has talked to a lot of river dwellers and has access to them on a pretty regular basis.

“The concerns that I'm hearing is that during this process they were told that they were going to have an outreach to them to give their opinions on the dam…. The ones that I have spoken to have not had that opportunity, yet.”

French said the committee has, “definitely proven that fish are important, wildlife is important and rivers are important so I am looking and searching and waiting for the next stage where the community involvement is very important to have.”

French said: “As far the Montgomery Dam, I have a big affinity to keep that dam and have working results around that for the fish ladders or things like that but then again, I need to know more information.”

“I need to know more information because, can we afford to have the fish ladder,” she asked. “Is it fiscally responsible to put millions of dollars into building one? What is that going to look like in the long term? There’s just so much more information that I need right now that I just haven't been given, so again I look forward to having a lot more conversation.”

Susan Dorr

“I think if we're ever to think comprehensively about legacy this is the issue because of how many elements of our long-term viability as a community and the health of our environment are woven together into this very complicated question,” said Dorr.

“I think that the it is incumbent upon leaders on all sides of this question to spell out the cost scenarios. It is my understanding that there are that certain scenarios that will fall entirely on the taxpayers to handle whereas others carry significant grant opportunities with very little participation from the town.”

She spoke of attachment to an aesthetic or things that, “are old and beautiful,”  but spoke of taking a broader look at the watershed, its health and future.

And, she spoke of finances, “how it is going to get paid for.”

How do you approach making decisions on important issues that you have no interest background or understanding of?

Ken Gross

“I love to read,” said Gross. “I love to research. I love history. Doing the research hopefully would lead to a path forward.”

Stephanie French

“I have a unique position,” said French, in that she hears from the old and the young. “I value each level of them so much,” she said.

If the issue, “pertains to my town, even if I don't like it, I still have an interest in it. If I don't have knowledge on it — let me tell you, it's been a heck of two years learning about things that I've only slightly thought about — and it's not very hard to go out there and find the right person to get that information from. On the flip side, it's also not very hard to go to the other side and get the positive and the negative. We have a really great group of people here.”

Susan Dorr

“Curiosity is probably one of my strong suits and and most things can have something about them that are interesting,” Dorr said.

She said she appreciates virtuosity.

“If something is presented to me in a way that is well rounded, and has a foundation, I am in. Most importantly, listening respectively with genuine interest and not jumping to conclusion before I feel like I've got enough information.”

Sophie Romana

“I have always been interested between citizens and administration and towns and government,” said Romana. “I do relish the idea of digging deep into issues so I will research, I will document, I will ask people, I will read and I will not stop at the first answer. I will keep on digging until I get to the root case. That is what I do for work so I applied the same evidence-based research and knowledge-gathering for issues.”

What do you understand to be the job of the Select Board?

Stephanie French

“The Select Board is to make the policies for the town going forward,” said French.

The board is to consider items that would bring positive change to the town, “whether people agree with it and whether they don’t,” she said. “Sometimes, I even have to make decisions that I personally wouldn't make if I was just going to go off of what I actually feel…. Community engagement is important to me, to bring in different things that the people inside these walls may not bring up.”

Susan Dorr

“Having served on this board for two terms I know that this is a deliberative body,” said Dorr. 

That includes discussing issues, “openly and respectfully and with an emphasis on respectfully. I think that in too many communities that process has broken down and become divisive and definitely not neighborly. I believe that it's our responsibility to to research to be respectful, to be civil with one another. When there are items that , as a legislative body, need to vote on it is up to us to craft language and craft the structure so that it's clear. 

“I believe that transparency and discussion of the matters that come before us.”

Sophie Romana

The Select Board has several functions, said Romana, including the setting of policy and enforcement.

“It is a complicated role because in one evening we can be wearing many different hats,” she said. “We approve liquor licenses and all kinds of licensing. It took me a while to understand how it works because I come from a country that does not know town government. But I think it's really interesting because we also represent the public interest. It is our role to be the voice of the public interest and to me that's the driving force every every time I sit here. It is a complicated job. It is very fulfilling and intriguing.

And most of the power is with the citizens at the ballot box, said Romana.

Ken Gross

The job of the Select Board is to look after two wings of the town, the nuts and bolts, and looking after the budget, said Gross. “But then there are the policy issues, a different part of the brain, I guess.”

He said it is a fascinating mix.

“I used to say that it was it was the nuts and bolts is what the Select Board supposed to look after but but I see more and more that the policy decisions, not national policy decisions, but themes and policies that make a difference to the people of Camden and it's the job of the Select Board not only to lead the citizens of Camden but to follow the citizens of Camden.

How do you feel about question 11 on the warrant concerning keeping the Tannery property for Community purposes and a park.

Susan Dorr

Dorr remarked on the history of tannery property going back to 2005 when it was acquired by the town, the result of a lien.

The town looked at potential uses.

“A number of people came forward with design ideas and there was the possibility of creating some mixed use,” she said. “Nobody seem to present an idea that people were really happy with…. I was on the board when we created that right-of-way for the for the [Riverwalk]. We encumbered that property with the right of way for the riverwalk and I think that is a tremendous asset. I use it all the time walking my dogs down there.”

She said that while she might have liked to see it go otherwise, “I think that ship has sailed and so I'm OK with it.

Stephanie French

“I am really excited to have this question on the ballot,” sai French. 

She said that if the people, “want to keep it a community space that's good with me, too. I think it is moving in the right direction. I do like to have a concrete answers when I do things so I think that we are one vote away from having a concrete answer to this parcel of land. A few years ago I had a completely different point of view. I try to be very fiscally responsible for everything that comes before me. Not having that piece of land on the tax roll was just mind-boggling but different opinions and a couple years of having discussions,” has adjusted her thinking.

Ken Gross

“I have followed the Tannery issues for years and I've watched people work very hard and to frustrating degrees promoting one idea or another,” said Gross. “The town has honestly tried very hard to first of all make it commercial property. That didn't work either. It has value to the town as community property and the neighborhood around Tannery Park. I clearly am in support of making it a a public space so I'm glad to see it on the ballot…. I’ll be voting for it.”

Sophie Romana

“It is a missed opportunity to create affordable housing, workforce housing, whatever we want to call it, but the community seems to be adamant that they want a park so the ship has sailed,” said Romana.

If you are elected, what do you hope to accomplish in the next three years?

Sophie Romana

“I really want to see the River Project coming through,” said Romana, citing grant funding. “It is a once in a lifetime opportunity to tackle something that requires our attention. We are in the great situation to do something absolutely wonderful.”

Ken Gross

“I’d like to at least look into the the idea of restoring some of the democratic forms of in town,” said Gross. “I'm disappointed that we don't have a town meeting. I used to really enjoy going to the town meeting. I understand the pros cons of voting and access, but I think that we're missing something. 

“We seem to have eliminated the the line item budget vote, which cuts down on your ability to have a difference per vote and we seem to have curtailed the the committee structure I'd like to see a resurrection or a rebuilding or re-encouragement of the committees in Camden.”

Stephanie French

“First and foremost, I think that we need to tackle Fire and EMS. How are we going to move forward? What is it going to look like to complement services? I think that should be number one on our list…. Who are going to be the leader?”

Susan Dorr

“I'm going to echo Sophie, that the the timing with the river, if we are to pursue, there's some funding streams that may not be available to us indefinitely.

“I appreciate Ken bringing that back up about the town meeting. The course of history changed because people were allowed to get up and speak about particular items and it's Jeffersonian democracy at its core best, and if we've got it we might as well use it.”

What is your position on increasing the number of committees, get more people involved in town government, specifically, the Personnel Committee.

Ken Gross

“The committees need to be re-encouraged,” said Gross. “There it's a feeder structure into the democracy in Camden. You can work on a project that you're passionate about and make a difference in the town without without having to run for Select Board. For instance, you can you can go and meet with like-minded people and make a difference by by sending an idea to the Select Board. Personnel is not the most sexy committee; I'm not sure I would start with with that one.

“I understand it, the energy committee is not meeting but they had some really solid things to suggest.”

Susan Dorr

“I’m not a fan of committees for their own sake,” said Dorr. “I'm not really I'm not up on how the personnel process works in Camden. I do know that the end result is something that we can all be quite proud of because we have remarkable people who work for this town so to the extent that is a functional aspect of our government currently and if it needs to be enhanced, then by all means.”

Sophie Romana

“We cannot confuse committees with citizen participation,”  sh said. “We are having a hard time recruiting for committees….I’m not an advocate for committees for the sake of committees. I am an advocate for using the immense talent we have in Camden purposefully. I would rather have task forces or working groups that come in, help us solve an issue that is big and hairy and difficult rather than have committees asking, ‘what is our purpose, what is our role?”

Stephanie French

“The committees that we have in town could be better utilized,” said French. “We could advertise better. We can communicate better when we need people on the committees…. The Select Board has not done a good job communicating that…. I do fear that picking people to be on a task force could lead to certain people being brought in because they share common opinions and I think a wide variety of opinions is needed.”

It has been said that Mary Curtis Bok wanted buildings removed from the harbor side of Main Street in order to create a view. If a vote were to come before the Select Board to pursue removal of any buildings, how would you vote?

Stephanie French

“I'm going to be the quickest answer,” said French. “I would not support that at all.”

Susan Dorr

“It is like trying to pick your favorite child,” said Dorr. “I'm not going to pick who my favorite child is but I think that the question will be answered when when that project gets underway. There are some realities of what is existing and the conditions that it is in and what the future of some of those buildings might be.”

Ken Gross

“The Town of Camden deciding to take down buildings over the river, is that what you're suggesting,” asked Gross. “Then putting words in the mouths of people who have passed. I find that a little awkward, as well. I would not favor the idea of using eminent domain.”

Sophie Romana

“I never met her but it seems to me that her spirit was very forward looking and progressive,” said Romana. “I would explore it.”

In 2018 Camden signed onto the global Covenant of Mayors the mission of which is accelerate ambitious measurable climate and energy initiatives that lead to a low emission and climate resilient future so our question for you is how do you feel that we have lived up to that and do you have ideas and suggestions for how you will push Camden to live up to it?

Susan Dorr

“I'm not qualified to answer on the basis of the specifics of what Camden has done,” she said. “I know that there was a lot of work being undertaken with the retrofitting of this building… and some very critical systems modifications because this building was a nightmare. When Roberta Smith was Town Manager she tackled a lot of that…. Going back to the watershed issue, and how we are responding and building resilience around climate issues is right in our headlights. We’ve got to be looking at this with all the decisions that we make.”

Sophie Romana

“I think we're making efforts towards it,” said Romana, citing the purchase of electric vehicles bought by the town.

There are tradeoffs, however, she said. Snow-making at the Snow Bowl is, “a massive gas a greenhouse gas emitter yet we want to be able to make snow because we want to be able to enjoy the Snow Bowl.”

She said the political will, “is there. People are more concerned about about reducing those emissions.”

It is becoming more in our thought processes, but the town needs performance indicators. The town still has a long way to go, she said.

Ken Gross

“We have done well tackling low hanging fruit,” he said, citing the town’s solar farm, and the $1 million Siemen’s project, part of which was to decrease energy consumption in town. We have LED lights, EVs, I think we have moved in the right direction. I think we are the right track.

Stephanie French

French questioned why the town is purchasing EVs without having more charging stations.

“If we are going to be leader in this, we need to start looking at where we live, will it be a town-owned thing, or would we encourage local business to support that? That is one of the next steps we should look into and promote,” she said.

Concluding thoughts, in five words

 Ken Gross

Listening, that’s my one word, that’s my goal in serving Camden. I like to think I have capacity for listening and looking forward to speaking with everyone in the future

Sophie Romana

I love serving on the board. It has its ups and downs, but I just love I meet so many people and am exposed to new topics and ideas.

Susan Dorr

It would an honor to serve you all.

Stephanie French

Community, collaboration, listening, tradition, family values.