CAMDEN – One Camden Select Board chair was noticeably absent Tuesday evening, Feb. 1, when the board met to consider an agenda that included setting — and raising several — municipal fees for the Snow Bowl, harbor and planning and codes office, as well as signing a consent agreement for tree-cutting, and discussing proposed Dept. of Transportation improvements to Route 1 crosswalks.

Matthew Siegel, a Select Board member who was elected to his seat in June 2021, resigned recently following a dispute concerning COVID-19 pandemic public safety protocol for the municipality.

His resignation letter was read at the meeting, and though short, he said that while he had been paid a stipend for serving in his seat, he had but occupied it for eight months, and asked the town to send him an invoice for the four months left in the year that he would not be serving the municipality.

The board was quiet in its comments Tuesday, but were disappointed by Siegel’s resignation.

They complimented him for his time on the board, as well as on the Camden Planning Board and as a strong leader in the municipal broadband initiative.

Siegel had urged the town to adopt stricture COVID policies, and had purchased 600 masks for employees and the various offices. Some town staff have also been concerned about the level of commitment to wearing protective masks in town offices, and Siegel also expressed his reservations about municipal practices, especially with the rising number of cases in Knox County, and the pressure on Pen Bay Medical Center, in Rockport.

He declined to discuss the details of any conflict with the town, but the tension apparently escalated, and resulted in correspondence that involved the town attorney.

While not drawing any connection to Siegel’s resignation, the board did add an executive session to the end of its Feb. 1 meeting, referencing only a personnel matter.

No motions were made following that closed door meeting.

Town Manager Audra Caler said Feb. 2 that she had explained to Siegel the town’s policy and practices were concerning COVID, but said misconceptions existed.

“He requested me to create a display offering masks to members of the public that came into the Town Office, which I was happy to work with him on,” she said. However, he had an unrealistic expectation that after having this conversation on the afternoon of Tuesday, January 18, I would have this fully implemented to his liking on the morning of January 19, after I was in the Town Office until 10 p.m. that night at a Select Board meeting and then had an 8:30 a.m. Zoom meeting the next morning.”

She said that created an awkward and uncomfortable situation for town employees when asked to immediately put up the display.

“The real issue is that it’s completely unacceptable for an individual Select Board member to direct Town staff to carry out their individual priorities,” said Caler. “Everyone, regardless of whether you’re an elected or appointed official, must be clear on roles and responsibilities and the imbalanced power dynamic that can be created when lines are crossed.”

As for filling Siegel’s seat, Caler that, “it makes the most sense for this vacancy to be filled during the Town’s normal election cycle, which would be the June Town Meeting.”

At that point, Camden will have two open seats: one currently filled by Marc Ratner, the other, Siegel’s.

IN OTHER TOWN BUSINESS

The Camden Select Board discussed at length the proposed municipal fees and charges for the Camden Snow Bowl, the playing field at the Snow Bowl, the Planning Office fees for public hearings, demolition, shoreland zoning and floodplain management, and the Opera House.

Some fees were questioned, such as the use of the Snow Bowl by field adult teams. The field use reservation fee for adult teams had been set last year to $300 while the fee for youth leagues is $100.

Board member Marc Ratner disputed the amount, saying, “I think $300 is a pretty high number.”

He suggested moving it back to $100, and mentioned a team that took its practice to another field last year, given the price tag.

“I would say that is fine but no alcohol use or smoking,” said Town Manager Caler.

Ratner suggested putting out more trash cans at the Snow Bowl field, saying one can was overflowing when he visited the field.

“That doesn’t stop smoking or drinking, but I will put out more trash cans,” said Caler.

Board Chair Robert Falciani said the $300 adult team fee breaks down to approximately $5 per team member.

“Why go gyrating around a minuscule fee,” he asked.

Board member Alison McKellar noted that the field fee schedule had been Camden resident Mark Haskell’s passion and it had gone before the Budget Committee.

She added that the reserved field comes at a cost for the rest of the community, which cannot use the field while a team is practicing on it.

“We are just figuring how to make public space fair and suitable,” she said. “I don’t see that it is a major issue. I don’t support any changes there, given all the work that went into it. It’s generally the best deal around.”

The board agreed to give the team fee hike another year as proposed, before considering changes.

“I have no problem charging more if we take better care of it,” said Ratner.

The board agreed.

Later in the meeting, Caler said the idea of creating an event center at the Snow Bowl deserves a larger conversation.

“We’re trying to figure out the best way forward on that given how much it costs to build these days,” she said, adding, “we are facing a number of pretty significant expenses [at the Snow Bowl] with a snow groomer needing repairs, as well as the snowmaking system.

“At some point we need to talk about major capital investment in that area in the future,” she said. “How do we want to do that, and what do we want to do there.”

It involves, she said, “being intellectually honest for what it means for our community.”

As the board considered other fees associated with the Snow Bowl, they got bogged down in discussing the presentation of the numbers, and the reasons for increasing charges, such as for uphill skiing passes and the toboggan chute. They agreed to revisit those numbers at a later meeting.

Town planner Jeremy Martin then outlined the fee increases associated with the planning and codes office, describing the level of development activity in town — Camden is, he said, seeing a lot of proposed demolitions of large homes, with rebuild on the properties.

He proposed instituting an erosion control fee and a new process by which his office would inspect building projects at their outset to ensure proper erosion control.

The board agreed.

Caler briefly outlined the DOT’s intention to improve crosswalks on Route 1 following Camden’s participation in the March 2020 Pedestrian Safety Plan meetings.

The DOT is willing to spend $57,000 in Camden with a municipal matching expenditure of $14,000 to:

• Improve the curbing and widening the sidewalk and crosswalk near the Blue Harbor House and Towne Motel, as well as create an esplanade there;

• Install a flashing pedestrian beacon at Free Street and Elm Street (Route 1);

• Install a pedestrian beacon at the Norwood Ave. crosswalk, and move that to the north side, fix the corner, add an esplanade.

• Move the Reny’s crosswalk south, create a little crosswalk going into the plaza, install catch basis on the north side, and install a pedestrian beacon; and

• Square up the corner at the Park Street intersection, fix the ramp on all three corners, and perhaps install a pedestrian beacon.

The work is anticipated to be done in the spring and fall of 2023.

Reach Editorial Director Lynda Clancy at lyndaclancy@penbaypilot.com; 207-706-6657