Penobscot Bay Pilot has posed questions to each candidate running for the Camden Select Board, providing the opportunity for the public to better understand their position on issues important to the town and region.

1) Please provide a concise (paragraph) biography of yourself.

My name is Christian Wincklhofer and I grew up in Rockport, Maine and attended high school at Camden Hills. After college and plenty of traveling I happily moved back to the beautiful midcoast. I have lived in Camden where I own a home and run a small landscaping and moving business for the past six years.

 2)   What are the 3 most pressing issues facing Camden today, and how would you like to see them resolved?

 Camden’s three most pressing  issues right now are:

1. Inability to draw young people to our town 

2. Being perceived as anti-business

3. Lack of accountability at the policy making level 

These issues can be solved by getting new groups of people involved at a participatory level on various town plans and projects from volunteers to elected board members such as myself. We, as a town need to work to draw more people into the fold when it comes to decision making. We also need forward thinking, fiscally savvy board members. Not just on the select board, but on all the various town committees. 

3)  How will you protect the Camden taxpayer as you shape and govern a municipal budget, and juggle various interests that request municipal funding throughout the year?

I will draw upon my business experience to aid in the shaping of the Camden municipal budget while holding myself and others highly responsible for any decision we work towards. Now, more than ever our town needs its policy makers to hold each other accountable while clearly disseminating information to the townspeople throughout, not just at the end of, the budget creation process.

4)  Camden has refined and promoted itself as part of an outdoor recreational economy for several years. Do you believe that is worth continuing, and if so, how so?

I absolutely believe it is worth continuing. In addition to the multitude of ways the town is already promoting itself, recreationally speaking, I believe we can continue to focus on sculpting our town into an attractive mountain biking destination with an emphasis on hosting camps and competitions to begin to generate revenue from the growing interest in the sport.

5) How do you see Camden positioned in the larger regional Midcoast economy?

I view Camden as the foremost tourist destination in the midcoast with some extremely unique attributes. However, economically speaking I think there is work to be done when it comes to working with potential new businesses and economical outreach generally to rejuvenate a sometimes stagnant local economy. There is a lot to be proud of on the economic front, but also plenty of opportunities to improve. Camden should be happy but not content.

6) A proposal has been made to transform the 77 acres of town-owned Sagamore Farms, on Route 1, to a park with trails alongside a business center, or some other entrepreneurial use. It has also been suggested that such a building have a green roof, and the farm becomes a model for business/park land development. What is your opinion on that idea?

In theory, that is a fantastic idea. There is much work still to be done on the planning of that project but any potential job site creation or park creation would be a boon to the town. Finding a way to have both would be superb and is an exciting prospect for Camden.

 7) What municipal committee would you like to be a liaison to, and why?

 Among others, the Camden Conservation Committee. Camden is known for it’s natural beauty, and yet we have some of the most polluted bodies of water in the state. There are always pressing and important issues when it comes to conservation.

8) How will you protect the town-owned Ragged Mountain Recreation Area from overuse as the region becomes more attractive to biking, skiing and hiking?

I certainly hope that is an issue that arises as it would mean some of the town’s goals and investments have paid off and come to fruition. I would not hesitate as, unfortunately others on the select board have in the recent past, to call upon and hire experts in the mountain recreation field to appropriately handle any and all issues that may arise at Ragged Mountain.

9) How do you envision the future of solid waste processing for the four towns; i.e., recycling, waste stream reduction?

The biggest problem facing our towns pertaining to waste is the sheer amount of it. Though debates as to which of two facilities will best suit us down the road are important, I believe it is of much greater importance to focus on keeping more waste out of the stream to begin with. This could be done through slight policy changes at M.C.S.W as well as expansion of the “swap shop.” Additionally, I think it is important to start planning now for how we will handle the landfill itself when it reaches capacity in the near future. There are creative ways to handle and even utilize that hurdle and the conversation should begin now. 

10) Various municipalities in Maine have invested in solar farms. Should Camden?

I view investments in any renewable energy source as a step in the right direction and a general positive for Camden. With state and federal grants a solar farm could, in addition to producing clean energy, save the town money in the long run.

12) Is it important for municipalities to invest in high speed internet infrastructure (as Rockport and Rockland have explored) or should it be left to market forces?

It is of tremendous importance to invest in that type of infrastructure. If Camden wants to be able to draw young people to this area and to remain competitive as a potential home to new businesses then this should be near the top of the list to make those two things happen.

13) Camden and Rockport now share a police chief and an assessor. Are there other cost-sharing arrangements that Camden could do, with Rockport or other towns, to spread the staffing responsibilities; e.g., share a planner? Public works director? 

I certainly think that that is becoming a more and more relevant strategy to offset a seemingly ever growing town budget. I would need to sit down and see cold hard numbers for each position but simply as an idea I think it is a promising one.