Now that I'm closing in on a year on the Camden Select Board I thought I'd post an update on the experience.

I take the job seriously.

I went to Select Board meetings for two years before being elected (often being the only other person in the Washington street conference room besides the board) and no matter how much you think you know the job - it's different once you're elected.

First up is the commitment. I'm not retired - so I have to work - but have the good fortune to adjust my hours so that I can make the time available for the job that it requires.

Here's a snapshot of that time.

In the past year - by rough count - I've been to 24 Select Board meetings, 88 different town committee meetings and have had another 33 individual in person meetings with different people.
Add in phone calls, emails and other assorted odds and ends and it's no surprise to me that this year has flown by.

What have I learned?

Most importantly that there are 100's of townspeople that volunteer their time and amazing expertise to make this town the best it can be.

More about that in a moment.

I also appreciate that the job at this level is non-political. What that means is that I and all the other elected members of the board can make decisions in the best interest of the town without having to worry about a political party playing politics. We answer to the voters - period.

I also have become comfortable being proactive instead of reactive.

Let's get things done.

That was a major consideration for me when I decided to run for the position.

But I've also learned that we have to govern within the law. No matter how much we want to make changes - we have to do it legally. I've seen that frustrate many people who wish we could just wave a magic wand and make things happen.

What we need to work on is changing the laws and regulations that impede progress and are outdated.

It takes time and you can't be scared of timid to do this job.

One of the other important things I've learned is there's no answer that will satisfy everyone 100%.

I have to live with that.

The best way to make a decision that you know is not going to satisfy everyone.....is to do the work.

Research, meetings, phone calls. Ask questions. Ask lots of questions.
Instead of thinking I know the answer - investigate and listen.

I believe that's what should be expected of elected officials. We need to learn about the decisions we have to make so we can make the best choices.

In so many words - we've been elected to do that work - so the public doesn't have to if they choose not to - knowing / hoping that they've elected the right person for the job.

Often they are difficult decisions.

This term has been particularly difficult.

We had to make some serious personnel changes. Never easy - but necessary.

The new budget that will be voted on at the town meeting reflects these changes.

Our interim (and former) town manager Roberta Smith came out of retirement to work on the new budget line by line and she made and recommended some difficult choices.

She had to add funds back into reserve accounts that had been depleted and not budgeted correctly in the past few years. She had to say no to many requests by the town department heads for additional funds.

In spite of what you might think because of the increased budget this year - she said "no" as much and perhaps more than she said "yes".

I sat through all the budget meetings where the budget committee went through the entire budget line by line. Many weren't happy with the costs but a strong majority voted in favor of the budget.

When the select board went through the budget we made a few corrections that I feel were necessary.

Why can't we pare it down?

Here's my explanation.

This winter I stepped through a broken board on my deck while shoveling snow. I had put off some maintenance of the deck.

Now I have to get it fixed.

But I can't call my mortgage company, my auto loan company, the electric company or any other expense I have budgeted and say "Gee, I have to fix my deck - so I'm going to not pay my mortgage this month".

At a certain point - infrastructure needs repair.

That's where are after years of not having the town's finances managed properly.

But I am determined that with that repair we can do better.

The other item I hear the most about is the vote on the Middle School.

Again - this is where the research and work that goes with it brings clarity to the decision,

There are many, many letters to the editors of the local news organizations that contain much good information about the proposal for the new school. I recommend that everyone read through them and learn about the subject.

For my part - I was a member of the committee tasked to examine whether it was better to repair, renovate or build a new school before I was elected to the select board.

I spent many evenings reading the technical evaluations of the current school - have been through the school from bottom to top and spent hours and hours in meetings with the committee (after I was elected to the select board I became the liaison to the committee) examining in detail all the issues.

Here are a few points I would like to add that are very important to know.

The current school is a disaster waiting to happen. Literally.

Repairing it would be hugely expensive and after all the money was spent it still would not be the best platform for education.

Right now - we are out ahead of the rest of the state in preparing to build a new school. There are so many other failing schools in the state that need to torn down and built anew - once the new building plans come up for contractors to bid on - there will not be enough qualified contractors to build them all. That means they will be more - much more - expensive to build. We are ahead of that crowd.

The sooner we build - the cheaper it will be.

The architects we've hired to design the school constantly travel the country examining new school construction all over the country. They're combining the best of that expertise with their experience to give us the best design possible for a new school.

The first question I asked at the first meeting where we discussed the possible design for a new school was:

"Is this a 'Mercedes' or a 'Chevrolet' type of design? I like everyone else was worried about the expense.

The reply immediately and emphatically - was that it is absolutely a 'Chevrolet'. Everything we need - everything required by law - but without anything fancy or extravagant included.

I also want people to understand that when we formed the committee to research the decision about the middle school - it was composed of school people, tech people, architects and plenty of just plain ol' residents of Camden and Rockport.

Many of whom had voted against building a new school on the last vote and were oriented that way at the beginning of the committee meetings.

By the time we finished the work of the committee - giving fair and equal consideration to every option - the vote of the committee was unanimous in favor of building a new school.

It is the best decision for educating our children and far and away the least expensive long term solution. Even if we fix the old school - it's still going to have to be replaced.

What's the old saying? "Pay me now or pay me later" or in our case "build me now or build me later" - and the later we build the more we pay.

One final anecdote about schools. When my family decided to move to Camden a decade ago after 30 years of vacationing here - we made that decision because of the schools. As much as we loved the town - we needed the best opportunity for a great education for our son who was 1 1/2 at the time. What we discovered as we met the other new parents at our pre-school, elementary school and now middle school was that the majority of parents that we met were like us - people that were familiar with the area - having grown up here and moved away or having vacationed here - and they all moved here because of the quality of life for the families - with education for their children being the most important factor.

Most of those families brought their own occupations, jobs and expertise with them. Many have created companies that have produced good local jobs.

Our local economy has been increased and supported by this influx of new people.

If we want a strong economy, new jobs and a strong real estate market - the number one most important factor is our schools.

Let me get back to the volunteers that donate so much time to this town.

(If I get any of the credit here wrong - it's because there's so much being done by so many people).

Here are just a few examples of work that you will see (or have seen) the results of - from the committee members working week after week - that I've observed in attending so many of these meetings.

The Conservation Commission has done exceptional work this year - new signs, new stenciling by our street drains that empty into the ocean, two financial grants filed for and granted to the town - one for preserving key trees in town and the other for making our water quality better.

Shortly you will see the result of the Downtown Design Group's work - more new streetlights that both preserve our night vision and that use led bulbs that can be adjusted for light output via computer as needed and are much cheaper in energy useage.

The Snow Bowl Budget Committee and the Four Seasons Committee have both worked to make the snow bowl run more efficiently - because of that this year the snow bowl is solidly in the black - and we're looking years ahead to find reasonable solutions for more year round usage of the area so we will not be so winter weather dependent for our financial security there.

Our Energy Committee is close to finalizing plans for a town solar array that over the lifespan of the solar panels will save the town as much as three hundred thousand dollars in energy billing.

The Planning Board has put hundreds of hours into updating our Comprehensive Plan and over the course of many, many meetings has found a way to allow the town to vote to amend our zoning so that the American Boathouse can be preserved at no expense to the town and with no other repercussions to our zoning laws.

There are so many more people working hard for Camden - as you become aware of them - see them - please thank them for all they do for all of us.

Lastly - after a wonderful first year on the Camden Select Board - I look forward to the new members that will join us after the town election on June 13th. There are wonderful people running for the three positions up for election this year and no matter how the vote ends up we will have a great group of people working hard together to do the best we can do for our wonderful town.

One last story. Quite a few years back I was talking to a friend who had moved with his wife and child to Camden - giving up a very successful business in New York City to do so. I asked him why he made the move and he said "So my daughter (nine at the time) can be a kid longer".

I've heard few better descriptions of why Camden is such a wonderful place to live. The qualify of life for our children (and for all of us) is unmatched virtually anywhere else.

I'm working hard to keep it that way!

Thanks for your support.

Marc Ratner serves on the Camden Select Board.