There are two open Camden Select Board seats up for election June 9 at annual Town Meeting. The four candidates seeking election to the two three-year terms are Bobbi Oxton Blake, Christopher Nolan (incumbent), Geoff Scott and Sara Skrivanich.

Penobscot Bay Pilot has posed questions to each candidate, providing the opportunity for the public to better understand their positions on issues. Here, candidate Geoff Scott responds:

Please provide a brief biography of yourself and explain why you decided to seek a seat on the Select Board.

I have lived in Camden for 33 years. I’m retired after working at the Hurricane Island Outward Bound School (HIOBS) for about 20 years in various roles, as the Director of Marketing and Admissions and in Group and Professional Sales. I also worked with the national Outward Bound organization as a Director of Group Programs for five years. Prior to that I was hired as the General Manager of a startup business based in Camden, Maine Garden Products, for three years. I managed and directed all aspects of a start-up focused on developing and selling gardening tools. That is work I took on upon returning from taking our family of four on a year-long driving exploration of southern and eastern Africa.

In preparation for that trip I cofounded Reaching Beyond Borders, a nonprofit educational organization based in Camden with a mission to offer non-traditional educational opportunities targeted at students 6-12 years. Prior to Maine, I worked in marketing and sales for a software startup company in Colorado gaining experience as the company grew from six to over 150 people with an international presence. 

I’ve served on the Board and was Program Committee Chair at Tanglewood 4-H Camp for 7 years. I’ve been the Chair of the Camden/Rockport Bike and Pathways Committee for over 20 years and was instrumental in creating the various segments of the Riverwalk.

For the past two years, I’ve been on the Budget Committee and last year served on the board of the Megunticook RiverKeepers.

I’ve coached the CHRHS Ultimate Frisbee team for over 10 years and been a cross-country ski instructor for Adult Ed for about the same length of time. I have volunteered for Restorative Justice for three years, Partners for World Health for two years, and have been volunteering to maintain trails throughout our area for over 10 years.

I’m happily married to Anita Brosius-Scott, have two children, four grandchildren, and am in excellent health. Outside interests include competitive cycling, running, triathlons, in-line and ice skating, skiing, gardening, fishing, canoeing, backpacking, and birding. I’ve traveled extensively in Nepal, India, Africa, Europe, Australia, USA, and Canada.  

We moved here in 1993 to work at HIOBS and stayed because we recognized what an amazing community this is in which to raise a family and live. Both our kids went through the local schools from pre-school to graduation, then on to college. My experience speaks for my deep investment in our community. I’d like to continue giving back by helping Camden continue to be a wonderful place to live, to work, and to enjoy our environment.

What experience do you believe most prepares you for serving on the Select Board?

Over the years I’ve built experience working with both Camden and Rockport select boards and as an active community member. I have become familiar with the town and how it works. I’ve served both on a number of local boards and been part of senior management for nonprofits that had boards, so I understand the related roles and responsibilities.

I’ve been in management most of my career, either managing people or managing very large complex projects. During my career I’ve benefited from years of training, becoming comfortable with technology, financials, and change. The skills that have served me well are being conscientious, thoughtful, a good listener, and dependable. Also, my personality is such that I tend to want to fix things that aren’t working well.

My wife says that I have an unusually focused curiosity about how to make what’s broken work again; that I don’t complain, I just dig in and stick with it until it is solved. That has stood me well not only for organizations, but around the house ,as well.

As a Select Board member, I will always be listening, thinking and engaging pro-actively and productively.

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

The three most pressing issues facing Camden today all relate to costs.

How can we keep the costs to run the town as low as possible while maintaining the levels of services that we all appreciate?

Solving this issue  is hard work which is why I joined the Budget Committee. At the end of our review of the budget, one veteran committee member said that it was the best review of the budget they’d ever witnessed.

Another significant expense is that of our school budgets. I’m a strong supporter of education, but we must work with our schools to figure out ways of managing our increasing education costs. Yes, enrollment has gone down, but not as dramatically as costs have gone up.

And finally, costs of living in our town are prohibitive for people who work to keep the town functioning. In a word, we have severely limited affordable housing.

Can we encourage more affordable housing such as the Lupine Terrace development? Is there a way to partner with Habitat for Humanity or the Midcoast Regional Housing Trust to lower the challenges of building in Camden? Over-arching these issues is climate change and the need to help all of us prepare, plan, and help mitigate for our future. 

What are Camden’s strengths?

Camden has many strengths: its beautiful location and outstanding assets include excellent schools, top library and beautiful Opera House and all their programs, lovely neighborhoods, excellent harbor, beautiful parks, outdoor recreation, all overlooked by Camden Hill State Park and its mountains.

We live in one of the most beautiful locations in the U.S. and the world. Our unique assets attract tourists and future residents for the beauty of our town, how accessible the town is, and the variety of outdoor activities.

Camden has a perfect combination of diverse offerings in a functional downtown along with a small size that invites community engagement. The engagement of community members in all aspects of life is evident. For those lucky enough to have been born here or grown up here (like my kids), count your blessings.

All of us make Camden strong, our community makes Camden strong. And our responsibility is to continue to be good stewards of our town, maintaining its quality of life while supporting an economically diverse population.

Do you have a vision for Camden’s future? 

I see future Camden as a thriving, engaged community, with a vibrant economy, affordable housing, and excellent schools, and being a role model for other towns in the state towards sustainability. 

The Maine Municipal Association lists best practices for newly elected officers. Do you have any additional thoughts on what defines a highly functioning Select Board and how you will foster that?

A highly functioning Select Board needs to follow the same approaches of operating as highly functioning nonprofit boards. I’ve worked with and on several non-profit boards, both highly functioning and poorly functioning. We’ll know when our Select Board is functioning well when community members look forward to engaging with the Board. 

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

I’ve been engaged in regional planning efforts with the Maine Department of Transportation and the Midcoast Council of Governments as part of planning groups with neighboring communities to improve opportunities in our region. Camden can go it alone, but partnering with towns in our region gives us greater leverage not only for state and federal grants but also to improve facilities and connectedness in Midcoast towns. 

Do you advocate for collaborating with other municipalities to share costs and expertise? If so, how?

I think we should be open to opportunities to share costs and expertise with neighboring towns. Controlling increases in the town budget is the driving force encouraging us to be more efficient without compromising town services. We are not alone in exploring this question.

The majority of towns in Maine have fewer than 5,000 people and towns are spread over a large state. Everyone’s costs are rising. Are there ways for us to reduce the duplication of administration, equipment, and staffing by working with our neighbors? I think it’s worth exploring.

At the same time, we have to build into our agreements shared expense and oversight control. Remember when we switched to North East Mobile Health ambulance services and then they started raising the costs for their service significantly? We had no control, no voice in controlling those costs. 

Is Camden doing enough to encourage housing capacity for all income levels?

We should explore every option for increased housing for all income levels, particularly low- and middle-income families. One of our big challenges is that we have limited space to develop. So we have to figure out how to create more places for people to live in limited space.

As part of that effort we need to look for successful models to reduce the number of houses that are vacant most of the year, either because they’re used for short term rentals or because they’re vacation homes. I’m supportive of carefully exploring options to create denser housing. I supported the zoning changes which allowed more infill and will vote in support of reducing the number of parking spaces required for dwellings.

We also need to encourage more affordable housing such as the Lupine Terrace development. Is there a way to partner with Habitat for Humanity or the Midcoast Regional Housing Trust or any developer to lower the challenges of building in Camden?

Should Camden pursue integrating its police and fire departments into a municipal Public Safety Department? (e.g.: municipal police and fire departments, and EMS, are consolidated into a singular public safety department for personnel efficiencies and cost considerations)

I’d like to learn more about the pros and cons of a Public Safety Department vs separate departments. It sounds like it would make sense, but I really don’t have enough information. Are the working cultures of the police and fire so different that they can’t be managed together? Is their work so different? Could people be cross trained in the skillsets required for both departments? I would look to other towns/cities across the country for their experiences.

In discussions about key issues, it is not uncommon to hear a wish for how the town used to be. Is there a component of “old Camden” that you think should and could be brought back, or have more of? 

It seems to me people today either have less time or are less interested in volunteering their time. There were some incredible community volunteer undertakings in our history – establishment of the Snow Bowl ski area and construction of the original Snow Bowl lodge, the old Winter Carnivals, soap box derby races, etc. It takes many hands to nurture a community; I wish more of us had the time or inclination to volunteer. 

Does Camden have enough public waterfront access (lake and ocean)?

As you have probably gathered I spend a portion of almost every day in the outdoors. I’m thrilled with the variety of choices we have in Camden. Is it enough? I think so. Would more be better? Always. 

Do you have preference for a committee(s) to which you’d like to serve as Select Board liaison?

I’d be delighted to be the liaison on any committee but particularly to the Pathways Committee, MCSWC, Investment or Trust Fund Committees, Snow Bowl Working Group, and Conservation Committee.

Where is your favorite place in Camden? 

Oh my gosh, seriously? Favorite place to … eat?  run?  bike?  work?  have a coffee?  swim?  picnic? I can’t pick one, I love too many places. Like … paddling out to Curtis Island and sitting on the bench that looks back at the harbor. Sitting in Harbor Park having a picnic. Having a sandwich on the second floor of Camden Deli. Having a sundowner on the top of 16 Bayview. Running up to the top of Mt. Battie and enjoying the view. Hiking to Millerite Ledge and the view from there.

The views from Bald Rock and from Cameron Mountain Walking along any of the Riverwalk sections. The view when skiing or mountain biking down Lookout at the Snow Bowl. Cooling off at Shirttail on a hot summer afternoon.