We are deeply disappointed in the Board of Trustees of the Camden Public Library. For over 90 years, the library board has been the custodian and the designated steward of Harbor Park. This year, after generations of stewardship, the board has failed in its stewardship.

The previous board boldly favored saving as much of the park as possible. The current board seems eager to destroy the gift with which they have been entrusted. Although we have every right to expect the board to live up to its responsibilities, they have announced their wish that a goodly portion of Harbor Park be destroyed along with Montgomery Dam, the waterfall, and the granite sluiceway. 

The Montgomery Dam and Falls are a treasure, revered by generations of visitors and residents alike, and they should not be lightly destroyed. Once the dam is gone, it is gone forever. The current dam and waterfall — along with Harbor Park — were designed and built according to the vision of Mary Louise Curtis Bok and the genius of the Olmsted Brothers.

The Park is a nationally recognized landmark, an icon and crowning piece of the beauty of Camden, our harbor, and our mountains-to-the-sea-aesthetic. The Montgomery Dam and Waterfall (when properly maintained) add a visual and acoustic vibrancy to this special part of Camden. There is no good reason to remove the dam and every good reason to keep it.

The library board continues to conflate the issue of sea level rise with the issue of Montgomery Dam. It should not need pointing out that high tides never reach Montgomery Dam; it is much too high above sea level. Work on the sea wall to adjust for rising sea level does not require destruction of the dam and its waterfall. The members of the board seem to think that the need for work on the sea wall justifies the destruction of the dam. But it is clear that the dam does not need to be destroyed to work on the sea wall.

We have every right to expect the library board to live up to its stewardship and speak up for the preservation, not the destruction, of Harbor Park and Montgomery Dam.

The Montgomery Dam and Waterfall can be saved. Please consider voting “NO” on Article 7 on June 10. Let’s preserve our treasure for future generations.

Ken Gross and Ray Andresen live in Camden