Just wanted to point out the potential for a very unpleasant surprise regarding the upcoming vote on Camden’s Montgomery Dam. This is not some theoretical argument — it’s based on real-life experience from another small town right here in Maine. A bit of internet searching will turn up extensive news coverage on an issue that’s eerily similar to what Camden voters will face on June 10.

Like Camden, Dover-Foxcroft features a historic dam in the town center. Like Camden, that dam was in dire need of repair. Like Camden, some town residents supported restoring the Mayo Mill Dam, while others advocated for its removal.

Starting in 2023, a committee spent more than a year researching viable options, ultimately recommending that the dam be removed. Last year, however, Dover-Foxcroft chose a different path, voting 558 to 411 to save their own dam falls.

Now, the true cost of that decision is coming clear: Dover-Foxcroft, with a population slightly smaller than Camden’s, will need to pony up nearly $10 million to repair and retain the dam, resulting in what town officials project will be a 9-percent increase in property taxes for the next 25 years.

That amount does not take into consideration ongoing maintenance costs once the dam is repaired.

Admittedly, the Dover-Foxcroft dam is larger than Montgomery Dam. That said, I worry that Camden could face a similar outcome if voters defeat Question 7 next month.

I worry that keeping Montgomery Dam in place poses the risk of steep tax increases. Most of all, I worry that this could cripple the town’s capacity to borrow and invest in other important priorities for years to come.

Dave Getchell lives in Camden