CAMDEN — Citizens in Camden stepped forward July 14 — and weeks prior, via absentee ballot — to cast their votes for the state primaries and to conduct all their annual town meeting business, including approving school budgets for two districts and a 2020-2021 $9.6 million municipal budget.

Ballots cast totaled 4,548  in an unusual year marked by the COVID 19 pandemic.

Camden voters elected Bob Falciani and Alison McKellar both for another three-year term to the Select Board (Falciani, 1,047 votes; McKellar, 1,591 votes; and Peter Lindquist, 931 votes). The three were competing for two open seats on the board.

They also elected Marcus Mrowka, who was running unopposed for a seat on the SAD 28 and Five Town CSD school boards, with 1,514 votes.

In the 1st Congressional District Democrat primary run-offs, they favored Sara Gideon, with 1,131 votes; Bre Kidman, 42; and Betsy Sweet, 416.

And, Camden voters approved all the municipal warrant articles, as well as two state referendum questions asking voters to approve highway and broadband infrastructure expenditures.

Question 1, internet connectivity
Yes, 1,942
No, 289

Question 2, highway infrastructure spending
Yes, 2,016
No, 204

And, they approved the two school budgets for SAD 28 and the Five Town CSD. 

Town Meeting Articles (click here for actual warrant articles)

Article Three: Shall Camden amend the zoning ordinance to clarify, expand upon, and define what constitutes a variety of modifications to an approved site plan and to require ongoing compliance with latest-dated approved site plans?

Yes, 1,843

No, 138

Article Four: Shall Camden amend the definition of accessory apartment. This article expands the number of districts in town where accessory apartments are allowed.

Yes, 1,755

No, 217

Article 5: Shall Camden eliminate Transitional River Business District and rezone the lots to Downtown Business District. 

Yes, 1,722

No, 277

Article 6: Shall Camden amend its ordinance to provide a review process for proposed demolition of certain historic structures. This ordinance amendment would establish a review process and delay period to obtain a permit to demolish buildings and structures in Camden’s three Historic Overlay Districts, or within a district under final review by the National Park Service, and for properties designated as National Historic Landmarks.

Yes, 1,801

No, 270

Article 7: Shall Camden amend its cemetery ordinance concerning maintenance of the Mountain View and Oak Hill cemeteries.

Yes, 1,967

No, 97

Article 8: Shall Camden set October 15 and April 15 as property tax due date, and fix the interest rate at 7 percent.

Yes, 1,760

No, 254

Article 9: Shall the town authorize the tax collector to accept prepayment of property taxes, with no interest.

Yes, 2011

No, 185

Article 10: Shall the town authorize the Select Board and Treasurer to apply and accept grants, gifts, real estate, etc., even or left to the town.

Yes, 2,053

No, 135

Article 11: Shall the town authorize the Select Board to depose of tax-acquired property, excluding the Tannery. and land burned by the Coastal Mountains Land Trust declaration.

Yes, 1,685

No, 388

Article 12: Shall the town authorize the Select Board to dispose of personal property pursuant to the towns’s purchasing regulations and which have a value of less than $3,000.

Yes, 1,810

No, 277

Article 13: Shall the town authorize the Select Board, following a public hearing, to transfer an amount not to exceed 10 percent of the unexpended balances from any budgetary category to another category, from April 1 to the end of June Town Meeting.

Yes, 1,673

No, 281

Article 14: Shall the town appropriate $120,000 of TIF revenues collected from the Downtown and Highway TIF districts to partially offset the cost of the Knowlton Street parking lot lease/purchase and redevelopment of the Harbor Walkway.

Yes, 1,852

No,  203

Article 15: Shall the town appropriate $3.7 million from nonproperty tax revenue sources to be used in reducing the property tax commitment.

Yes, 1,864

No, 161

Article 16: Shall the town appropriate $9,553,887, with some but not all of that to be raised by taxation for municipal government expenditures.

Yes. 1,617

No, 420