Kennebunkport election 2022: Four vie for two seats on the Board of Selectmen
KENNEBUNKPORT, Maine — Four candidates are vying for two seats on the Kennebunkport Board of Selectmen at the town election on Tuesday, June 14.
Incumbent Selectmen Chair Sheila Matthews-Bull is facing challenges from Robin Phillips, Larry Keller and Jon Dykstra in the quest for those three-year seats.
Selectman Patrick Briggs has decided not to seek reelection, ensuring that the board will have at least one new face when the new fiscal year begins on July 1.
The polls will be open at the Village Fire Station from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Sheila Matthews-Bull
Address: Cape Porpoise
Occupation: Owner/manager of the Rhumb Line Resort, Kennebunkport.
Education: University of Massachusetts, Salem; Boston University
Public service: 15 years as selectman, Christmas Prelude chair for 20 years
1. Why do you want to be a member of the Board of Selectmen?
I truly enjoy the work, the contacts, and the challenges. Learning the workings of a small-town government is an eye-opener. It is a very involved process. Working with our very capable town manager and the diverse members of our board has been an ongoing education and I believe we have all worked very hard to keep our taxes low and the town running smoothly. I listen to people’s concerns and act accordingly. I also am very aware of the needs of our businesses in town and work to keep them and our residents in a cooperative relationship.
2. What do you see as the top three issues facing the town, and how do you plan to address them?
As with other seaside towns, our real estate values have skyrocketed. When we took a poll of homeowners, we found that over 70% do not reside in Kennebunkport. This fact enters into the next two issues which are: Airbnb-type rentals, not only at Goose Rocks Beach, but also in neighborhoods zoned residential. We have developed a short-term rental program that will limit the number of short-term rental licenses. This is our first year with the program and there will be changes, I’m sure, as we continue on.
Our consolidated school also factors into this real estate problem. Young families are not able to purchase single-family homes due to the increase in valuations. Consequently, numbers of young students at our school are dwindling. We do not want to lose our elementary school so we must find ways to help parents with young children find affordable housing.
3. As a Board of Selectmen member, from who will you seek advice or input in weighing key decisions?
There are many ways to seek advice depending on the specific problem. I have contacted the Police Department, the Fire Department, and Public Works (many times), and feel that in most cases we have been able to resolve issues. Listening is key. Each question/problem deserves our attention. I believe I have been effective in trying to solve and or answer each.
Robin Phillips
Address: 9 Buzzys Way, Kennebunkport
Occupation: Owner of Wildside Landscape and Design
Education: Studied biology at USM and quantitative sciences at the University of Washington
1. Why do you want to be a member of the Board of Selectmen?
I am running for the Kennebunkport Board of Selectmen as a lifelong local who would like to see our town retain its unique flavor and way of life. We are under intense pressure to overdevelop our small pristine town and adopt strategies that have the potential to alter our landscape and lifestyle forever. Many residents enjoy the rural aspects of Kennebunkport and would prefer a trajectory that respects this viewpoint.
2. What do you see as the top three issues facing the town, and how do you plan to address them?
The first issue I would like to address is the water quality at Goose Rocks Beach and Cape Porpoise Harbor, what’s causing it, and how we can improve upon it. This will require science, money, and the town to prioritize it. Last summer the levels of bacteria at Goose Rocks Beach were consistently elevated. Clean water is critical to human health, aquatic health, and the shellfish industry. We should try harder.
Another issue on many residents’ minds is overdevelopment and how to balance the pressure we are experiencing to develop fast and furiously. The recent passage of LD 2003 will allow multiplexes in any growth area in the state of Maine. Kennebunkport is 36% designated growth area. This will result in higher density living and infrastructure costs. According to the consultants for the comprehensive plan, we could build 500 new units by 2025. I question this approach.
The third issue I would like to address is what will become of the Village Parcel and how much beyond the $10,000,000 plus interest will it cost us? I believe that this 87-acre piece needs to be tackled by the people of Kennebunkport, not expensive consultants and small committees. Its future is likely to be written into our next comprehensive plan and we should consider who is in charge of planning and why.
3. As a Board of Selectmen member, from who will you seek advice or input in weighing key decisions?
If elected my number one consideration when deciding key issues would be the residents of Kennebunkport. I would strive to engage people to participate in planning and come up with solutions in a more creative way. Participation is low in our town right now and the use of expensive consultants is the status quo. We have many knowledgeable residents who understand the Kennebunkport lifestyle in a way outside consultants cannot. We should listen carefully to what they have to say and act accordingly. Thank you for your support.
Jon Dykstra
Age: 72
Address: 17A Grove St., Kennebunkport, ME
Occupation: Retired
Education: Ph.D. in geology from Dartmouth College
Public service: Three years on Kennebunkport Budget Committee; Chaired Kennebunkport Solid Waste/Recycling Committee; Kennebunkport At Large Representative on the Goose Rocks Beach Advisory Committee; Kennebunkport Conservation Trust Board member; Cape Porpoise Atlantic Hall Board member
1. Why do you want to be a member of the Board of Selectmen?
My family started coming to Goose Rocks Beach in Kennebunkport in 1950. My parents became permanent residents here and, after my retirement, my wife and I moved here full-time in 2016. I feel a strong bond with the environment and culture of Kennebunkport. I’ve had the opportunity to work closely with our town officials on many projects and have gained great respect for what they do. I feel that my good working relationship with them, combined with my science background, would be an important, and needed, contribution to the current board’s makeup.
2. What do you see as the top three issues facing the town, and how do you plan to address them?
My experience as a geologist, and decades of observing changes along our coastline, have made me especially aware of our town’s challenges due to our changing climate and the predicted rise in sea levels. Rising water, enhanced by storm surges, poses an existential threat to Dock Square and our surrounding coastal areas. Now is the time for the town to work with experts in local, state, and federal agencies to create mitigation plans and secure the funding required to protect our town’s future.
Housing in Kennebunkport is becoming too costly for the average working family. I feel strongly that to maintain the vibrancy of our town we need a year-round, multigenerational, resident base that can support our local businesses, schools, and volunteer organizations. Skyrocketing housing costs create huge barrier to folks wishing to downsize or to establish a young family home. Today over 70 percent of short-term rental licenses are held by non-residents. And long-term rentals, that might support a working family, are all but nonexistent. I will work to support our important tourism industry while seeking ways to protect and grow our essential year-round community.
Kennebunkport faces a number of environmental concerns. This past year the EPA placed Goose Rocks Beach into the “Impaired” category, based on the number of days that the tidal rivers measured above the EPA-established threshold for Enterococci bacteria. In my work with the Goose Rocks Beach Advisory Committee, I have been directly involved with the town in performing and analyzing DNA data to determine if there is a human association with these bacteria. Such data will be critical to determining and guiding our efforts to address water quality problems and maintain healthy beaches. I would also welcome the opportunity to be a voice for increasing alternative energy usage within the town by promoting adoption of heat pumps, electric vehicles, and other nonpetroleum-sourced technologies.
3. As a Board of Selectmen member, from whom will you seek advice or input in weighing key decisions?
This would depend largely on the issues at hand. However, in general, I believe in basing decisions on measurable results from best practices. It’s important to look carefully at examples of what has and has not worked in the past, both locally and regionally. I believe the best decisions, the ones that will create positive change for the longest duration, are those that are reached through consensus. Kennebunkport is blessed with an extremely competent town manager and a diverse set of knowledge and experience among its officials and residents. My intent would be listen, learn, and integrate my personal training into the process of crafting workable decisions that secure Kennebunkport’s infrastructure, culture, and economic future for generations to come.
Editor's note: Larry Keller did not respond to questionnaire.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Kennebunkport Maine election 2022: Four vie for two seats on the Board of Selectmen
