CAMDEN — Camden and Rockport are considering the creation of a two-town recreation committee, with the goal of consolidating information about fields and facilities for teams of all ages, and to streamline scheduling. The two towns will likely be splitting the time of Assessor Kerry Leichtman with a 50-50 deal. And, there is talk of identifying and sharing more resources as the two select boards continue to collaborate more on municipal finances and projects. That includes possibly opening up Seaview Cemetery, in Rockport, to cremated remains of non-Rockport residents.

“Whether we want to admit it or not, we really are one community,” said Rockport Select Board Chairman William Chapman, at a workshop held Nov. 12 in Camden of the two select boards. This was the third meeting of these two boards in the last several years, all in an attempt to spread more town costs across the border, and reduce them overall. By the end of the workshop, the boards agreed to meet again Jan. 12.

The 10 select board members were joined by their respective town managers, Camden’s Patricia Finnigan and Rockport’s Rick Bates, as well as Leichtman and Assessor’s Clerk Caitlin Anderson.

The group gathered around a table in the Tucker Room, upstairs in the Camden Opera House, convening at 5:30 p.m. to eat pizza and then talk business at 6 p.m.

Rockport brokered the agenda, reporting to Camden that the town had split its parks and recreation committee into two committees and was now struggling to organize a solely recreation committee. 

Rockport has several fields and recreational facilities on Route 90, and at the former Rockport Elementary School site less than a mile down the road. Currently, one person schedules those fields on first-come, first-serve basis, as it is often the case in Camden, with its recreational fields at the Camden Snow Bowl.

But there are also tennis courts, school fields, and other recreational facilities in the two towns, as well as neighboring towns.

“The programs don’t start and stop at the town lines,” said Rockport Select Board member Owen Casas. “It makes sense to put services together.”

Additionally, there are nonprofits that provide outdoor recreation facilities, such as Aldermere Farm and Midcoast Recreational Center, and nonprofits that want to help promote healthier lifestyles in the Midcoast, such as Pen Bay Healthcare. Then, there are the sport and outdoors businesses, such as Maine Sport, with biking trails, and the public schools, with their own fields.

“The fields and facilities should be used year-round,” said Rockport Select Board member Tracy Murphy.

But, she said, there is no central clearing house. And, there are plenty of adults who would also like to use the fields.

“We tend to think of recreation as just kids, but people of all ages want to play kickball,” she said. 

Camden Select Board Chairman John French noted that at certain times of the year, the fields “are maxed out.”

Between Little League, adult softball, summer lacrosse, football and soccer, along with pick-up games, the fields in the region are in almost constant use.

Rockport Town Manager Rick Bates suggested an inventory be compiled of the athletic and sporting resources, and then approach the combined resource with collaborative clearing house.

“We need an inventory,” said Camden Select Board member Don White. “I’m all in favor of it. The challenge is that we [Camden] has an administrative staff that is stretched thin.”

He recognized that Rockport likewise has volunteers who are stretched thin.

“I suggest a subcommittee to work on this,” he said. 

“I think it can be done incrementally,” said Bates, himself a former parks and recreation director of a New Hampshire municipality.

The boards then generally agreed that Rockport’s Casas and Camden Select Board member Martin Cates would meet, and return to their respective boards with recommendations.

“We have chitchatted for 25 years about collaborating,” said Camden Select Board member Leonard Lookner. “Never has it [the level of discussion] gotten together like it has at this table.”

Since 1891, when Rockport and Camden split following a Legislative act, the two towns have operated separately, except for sometimes purchasing salt and sand together, and establishing the Camden-Rockport Pathways Committee. In 2004, the boards discussed partnering the police departments, even sharing law enforcement. A report was issued on that topic four years later in 2008, titled the "Camden and Rockport Police Consolidation Feasibility Study." The idea, and future discussions about tighter public safety relationships, however, were subsequently shelved.

In 2013, the boards decided to get together again, and pledged to meet more regularly.

“Put the two towns together and call it Rockville Center,” said Lookner.

French cited Winslow and Waterville collaborating more on specific municipal projects, and another pointed to Cape Elizabeth and Scarborough combining some business.