To honor the 49 victims of the Orlando, Florida night club shooting on June 12 — the largest mass shooting in United States history — Boothbay Harbor Selectman Russ Hoffman offered a note of reflection during the board’s regular meeting June 13.

“Let's not let what happened in Orlando or Newtown or San Bernadino happen here,” said Hoffman. “I have no answers. I think taking care of each other is part of that issue. I would like to raise the level of public conversation around violence. We've had our share lately.”

Pastor Sarah Foulger of the Boothbay Congregational Church will be leading a discussion on the topic, said Hoffman.

In other board action, the selectmen shared their individual selectmen reports — a wish list of sorts designed to create dialogue among residents and other board members on matters they identified as important for the town.

“These are goals we hope to accomplish over the next 11 months or so,” said Chairman Denise Griffin. 

Transportation solutions and marketing  efforts were front and center. Selectman Mike Tomko spoke of his desire to connect the 60,000 to 80,000 people who visit Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in the summer to the downtown retail sector.

“We have made inroads in our discussions for the Gardens Aglow,” said Tomko, the newest member of the five-person select board. “This is definitely low-hanging fruit but we haven't talked about the rest of the summer. How do we capture those people? I would like to see some further investigation of a way to work with this.”

The now annual Gardens Aglow, an elaborate showcase of lights and other visual entertainment  put on by the botanical gardens, has become a hugely popular draw during the holiday season. This year’s is scheduled to run Nov. 18 through Dec. 31.

On the community development side, Tomko spoke of his desire to have community pocket areas in the town to provide a safe place to observe the natural beauty of the region. The longtime member of the Boothbay Harbor Planning Board also spoke of a downtown master plan to compliment the existing comprehensive plan.

In her remarks, Selectman Tricia Warren spoke of adopting an aspirational approach to marketing the town. 

“I’m always reading lists of the best towns in America,” said Warren. “Maybe we could see what could be done about getting on one of those. It would be a good branding thing being known as an ‘it’ town.”

Warren also pointed to the need for more public transportation because of the size of the region and people’s needs. To wrap up the selectmen’s reports, Wendy Wolfe expressed a desire to make the town a pedestrian and biking friendly area.

“Tom (Woodin, Boothbay Harbor Town Manager) has done a great job with wayfinding,” said Wolfe. “It’s getting people to where we think are important places to see, visit and experience. Our role is to connect them to all the fabulous things that are available here on the greater peninsula.”

Wolfe also spoke of the importance of Whale Park on Commercial Street and the low numbers of public participation during the annual town meeting where fewer than 35 people turned up this year.

“We should talk about things we could do to enhance the draw. Whether we hold a breakfast or maybe put something controversial on the warrant,” said Wolfe, drawing laughs from her fellow selectmen. “When we don’t have robust participation it’s really a missed opportunity to come together as a community.”

After the discussion, Griffin suggested parsing the many suggestions to identity hot button topics to be discussed at greater length.

In earlier action, the board approved $14,935 towards the purchase of an industrial  washer and dryer for the fire department and also a $5,000 payment for the town’s share of the cost for the first Green Trees event. The event was held June 17 at the Boothbay Opera House and sponsored by the  Joint Economic Development Committee of Boothbay and Boothbay Harbor.

The next selectmen’s meeting is scheduled for Monday, June 27 at 7 p.m.