At their June 9 meeting, Boothbay Harbor selectmen discussed goals they were looking to achieve this year.

Chairman Denise Griffin spoke about short-term projects, such as completing the Fish Pier, renovating the former tennis courts area, addressing the parking code and working to get the town website updated. She also spoke about walkability as a long-term goal, making the town more pedestrian friendly.

Vice Chairman Jay Warren discussed working with businesses to increase employment, and keeping the town budget under control. He also stressed communication between all members of the community as being important. He also mentioned finishing the Public Works cold storage building and, like Griffin said, focusing on walkability.

Selectman Wendy Wolf said her goals were to keep the budget tight and making sure taxes did not increase for town residents. She spoke about increasing the livability of Boothbay Harbor to help attract both residents and businesses by “identifying assets to build on,” and promoting green ideas when the town was working on projects.

Wolf also mentioned the importance of getting young people interested in government.

“Chris Haskell, who ran for selectmen this year, was right when he said it was important to get younger people involved,” Wolf said. “We need to find ways to encourage that.”

Selectman Russ Hoffman agreed with what the other selectmen said and added another goal, increasing attendance and involvement of the public at meetings, especially the yearly town meeting.

“We need to do something,” Hoffman said. “Maybe we could have a free breakfast. I'd be happy to take that on, I'm good at pancakes.”

Hoffman also added that as a personal goal, he wanted to continue attending the Boothbay Region Ambulance Service meetings and reporting back to the selectmen to keep the positive dialogue going. Selectman Bill Hamblen agreed that the work done by Hoffman had been excellent, and encouraged him to continue. Warren seconded the sentiment.

Hamblen said he agreed with the ideas expressed, especially working towards a town website that was more detailed and useful. He suggested putting meeting minutes online as a possible way to interest the public.

Hamblen expressed his desire to finish the Fish Pier and the cold storage building, finish the former tennis courts project, and continue communication with the business community. He said he was strongly interested in implementing the signage and brand being created by the Walkability Committee (the next public meeting will be held in early July). Lastly, he expressed a desire to make sure the Comprehensive Plan being completed would not “sit on a shelf and gather dust” but instead be utilized.

“I suggest we go through the plan and pick three important goals, and make sure we work on them throughout the year,” Hamblen said.

The selectmen agreed to work on these goals, and Griffin will work with recording secretary Kellie Bigos to take all the ideas and draft them into a formal plan.

The selectmen will next meet on Monday, June 23 at 7 p.m. at the Boothbay Harbor Town Office.