On June 13, voters in Lincolnville will elect two citizens from a slate of three candidates to serve on the Lincolnville Select Board. There are two open seats this June, both three-year terms. Candidates are Jean Botley, incumbent Michael Ray and Robyn Tarantino.

Penobscot Bay Pilot has posed questions to each candidate, providing the opportunity for the public to better understand their position on issues important to the town and region. Here, Jean Botley discusses her position on various topics.

Please provide a short biography of yourself. 

I was born in Bangor Maine and moved to Camden in 1980. My mother was a recently divorced mother of four children. She worked hard to provide a life for us that was difficult being a single parent. As I watched her struggle to provide for our family it helped me to realize that I needed a strong work ethic to achieve my goals.

I was blessed to be a part of another family in Warren, Maine, that helped my mother with me. These people soon became my extended family and gave me additional sisters and brothers whom I still have great relationships with today.

Again, watching the older generation work hard to provide was a deep seed in whom I have become. A strong work ethic is a vital asset. I met my high school sweetheart, Richard Botley, in the spring of 1985 and we married in 1988. I moved to Lincolnville when we got married into his family estate.

My husband is the fourth generation to live in our Lincolnville home and our children will be the fifth! We have three beautiful biological children, and we are currently adopting eight wonderful sisters. We have also been blessed with two granddaughters. Our rounded-out family of 11 keeps us busy!

I have learned over the years how to balance a family on a shoestring budget. Providing all their needs and for our home has been challenging at times but we have always been provided with a way through much hard work and the work ethic I learned from my parents and loved ones.

Over the last 36 years Richard and I have dedicated our lives to helping those in need. We have taken people into our home for short extended times, multiple families and just under 100 children. In each of these situations we learned how to love each of them through their trials and offer a safe space to heal and get back on their feet. My heart has always been to give back to the community and help those in need.

I feel that is why I am so eager to serve as your Select Board member, to help and serve the community of Lincolnville.

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

Taxes and spending are one of my hopes to help work on. As hard as we all work for our monies it is vital that you can trust the people in our elected office to hear your wishes and listen to your concerns. Being able to budget for a large family and priorities those things that are absolute and those things we can prepare for are crucial. Being fiscally responsible to our community is a job not taken lightly. 

Roads are and will always be a problem for Lincolnville. From culverts, wash outs, and frost heaves, our roads take it hard each spring and addressing those issues can be tedious. I understand the dire need for those roads that become impassible in the mud season and finding ways to help the residents and business owners to be able to continue to live and work successfully. I feel this is currently something the select board is working diligently on and is continuing to work toward resolutions. I look forward to working on these issues and finding fiscally responsible ways to meet these needs. 

Infrastructure is an ever-pressing issue. Being prepared to take care of our existing responsibilities and looking to the future to keep a well-maintained town is a difficult job. Our current Town Administer, Dave Kinney does an outstanding job helping the board in knowing the pressing issues. Being prepared to replace the fire station roof or maintenance on our Town office and schools must be in our foresight for the future. Looking ahead and preparing now over time will help keep our taxes low and spread the burden of such large task over extended time.

Damaging coastal storms and rising ocean levels are a reality now. Flooding may become more constant and affect private and public properties. How should the town address rising ocean, lake and river levels?

We are very fortunate to have a pretty good system in place at our local ponds, Nortons Pond and Lincolnville’s side of Megunticook Lake. The dams seem to be effective in their design. Unfortunately, we can’t control mother nature, but we must look at her effects. We have some great organizations that monitor these effects and with continued joint efforts I feel local plans can be organized. Some Lincolnville Beach properties and businesses are too close to sea level and are affected by rising tides and flood waters. I feel there are State level agencies that could be beneficial in helping Lincolnville finding and problem solving this issue and possibly funding. 

With Lincolnville’s population increasing, how should the town address housing pressures.

Having had the opportunity to help many families over the years with homelessness, this is an issue I feel strongly about. I hope to see proposals of opportunities for multiple family housing and allowing families that choose to live on the same property more opportunities to expand their homes. Many generations are returning to having grandparents, parents and children living together to help each other with ageing, cost of living and support raising families. Helping our community to find balance in their homes allows them to have the opportunity to help within the community, volunteering with committees, boards, and other needs.

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

Having learned to balance such a large family on a shoestring budget I feel gives me an advantage to understand priorities. I have had the privilege to sit through this year’s budget sessions with the select board. I watched and listened as each board member spoke of the pros and cons to each approval and disapproval for the budget. I feel listening to the people and truly hearing the needs verses the hopes for each department is crucial. I hope to be one of those members who will give you a listening ear and hear what you are saying. I understand the importance of each of our needs and spending your hard-earned money is not a job taken lightly.

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

 I feel Lincolnville has a great working relationship with Mid Coast Solid Waste. They’re a very responsible organization who gets things accomplished and I feel have the insight to be proactive for the Lincolnville community as well as the other participating towns. Keeping an eye on the bigger picture as our landfills are filling will be a priority for each town. Recycling has got to be a continued effort on everyone’s part and programs to help with education and implementation are important.

As the Midcoast continues to grow its outdoor and recreational economy, more people and visitors will be boating on lakes and ponds, hiking, and biking. How do you hope to balance demand with environmental protection? 

Lincolnville has access to some of the most beautiful recreation areas! Between hiking trails, walking paths and biking trails we are on the right road. Keeping our recreation areas clean and maintained is important to all our visitors and the community. Trash receptacles and recycling bins are making headway. Monitoring these is important because of our wildlife eating habits! Having committees continue to monitor and make suggestions is key to this success. Listening to their input is why they are there. 

Should Union 69 (Lincolnville, Appleton and Hope K-8) consider dissolving and joining with Camden and Rockport for a regional school unit that would comprise the five towns and incorporate public education K-12? 

Although I did choose to homeschool some of my children, I am a firm believer in our current school system. I have successfully sent many children through our current school system and am very happy with my children’s education. I loved having the small school setting with big expectations. Funding our school is a major job and our schools budget committee does a great job. Keeping things within our School Union allows us the ability to keep a tighter budget and continue to grow. I feel looking at the current salaries of other small school unions and keeping our teachers and staff adequately compensated is important to retaining the miracle workers we have been blessed to have over the many years. 

What is your favorite place in Lincolnville?

I would have to honestly say, my own home. I love our country setting and the beautiful space my husband and I have created over the last almost 40 years. Choosing to live here is a blessing. From the peepers singing in the pond, the crisp fall air with the beautiful colors, to the harsh cold winters biting wind allowing us to snuggle up to our wood stove with our children doing puzzles and board games. This is our slice of Heaven.

Free space to offer additional thoughts!