The two-term school board representative, who served as chair twice, says giving residents choice motivated her to seek the one-year Select Board seat.
Recently, Kate Perrin introduced me to one of North Yarmouth’s gems, Wescustogo Park for a morning of conversation about her campaign.
For Perrin, the word for North Yarmouth in the next year needs to be balance. Her campaign is a collaborative effort with two other women, to be able to balance their time.
Success in the role depends on key skills. “I think that we need people that are good listeners, that can hold other people's views without judging them and talk them out and think about them.”
Perrin currently works as a therapist and anticipates her skills and training will be an asset to the Select Board.
“We have to be comfortable enough, and we have to be dynamic enough to change our minds, to take in information and say, ‘Okay’…I hope to just see a lot more of that in the next few years. Because I think we're, we're, we are at a crisis of leadership. I have no doubt about that, things are gonna get better, or they're gonna get worse. I really hope that they get better.”
With such a large field of candidates, Perrin’s advice to residents, “Really, it comes down to voters voting for candidates who are not afraid to be wrong. Which candidates have a high level of psychological flexibility and humility? What are ones that have prior experience that they've exhibited strong leadership? What are candidates that have a track record of getting things done in a non-agenda way? So that's what I'm hoping to do.”
North Yarmouth’s new town manager, Diane Barnes, brings knowledge and experience that will really benefit the town, an asset Perrin thinks the Select Board could better leverage. As volunteers without specific municipal expertise, the Select Board should be leaning into Barnes for guidance.
“I think a Select Board that's functioning well, is one that's really taking the guidance from the town manager, because this is what they do professionally.”
Perrin is optimistic this will be a positive change for North Yarmouth. “I think the conversations are going to be better. I think the recommendations from the town manager to the Select Board for a vote are going to be stronger than maybe they have been in the past. Listening to the recommendations of the town manager is pretty important.”
Perrin discussed the importance to be proactive with committees and the need for joint workshops. She faulted recent disagreements on groups not listening to each other. She would like to see a shift to working towards common ground and information-based thinking.
“I don't think any committee, like the planning board, should function without a Select Board liaison. I think that's really important. That was important in my school board work. We didn't have big committees that didn't have school board members on it. So yeah, I think overall, it's really taking that direction from the town manager, listening to the code enforcement officer.”
Perrin lists diversity as a priority to move North Yarmouth forward. “I think acclimating the new town manager to a diverse set of voices within our town is important and so if the Select Board can look a little bit more like the residents of our town and think a little bit more like the diverse thinking in our town, then that's gonna set this town manager up for success.”
Achieving this goal is challenging, as all Select Board seats are at large, but Perrin notes this is one of the things that pushed her to run. She believes residents deserve options. “I ran two uncontested school board races; I would have loved to have seen an option for people. I think having the town manager surrounded by people that didn't all think the same, or maybe that hadn't been friends, since they were teenagers would be a really great thing.”
Perrin is working to make this happen. “I think new people stepping into a group without those entrenched opinions and personalities, changes the dynamic and oftentimes carries groups forward. Like, I did not know Amy Haile, and then I met her a few times. We had some great conversations, and I was like, gosh, she would be a great voice on the Select Board.”
Talking to those that don’t agree is a first step. “I mean, we've knocked on doors, and I could just go through the list and look at people that have voted like me and just knock on their doors, but I'm knocking on everyone's doors.”
Perrin opposed the March referendum and has been sharing her reasoning with residents.
“I wanted to just instead shrink the village residential size…It should be no more than 15% of the total town area. So, you know that just getting clear of hey, well, I didn't support it, because it didn't do that. And I think that's what we need to do. ASAP.”
Developing a strategic plan is key to hitting goals. Perrin envisions using a model similar to that of the school board with two or three priority areas, then tie all board and committee goals to them. Included would be a fiscal plan, an infrastructure plan, community recreation plan, and a land acquisition plan.
Brining in residents would be an important part of the process. Perrin suggests community dialogue sessions that include Select Board and committees. She would add a progress tracking tool and make it available to residents.
Perrin would like to see North Yarmouth create a plan to expend TIF funds. “Sidewalk connectivity is a pretty basic expenditure of TIF funds as I understand it, especially if it's connecting neighborhoods. York Ridge to the brewery at Stones. Boom! There you go!” She would also prioritize using TIF funds to bring back a New England small rural village feel to the center through landscaping and signage.
Perrin does not see her views as being much different from other candidates running. “We're just different people. So, it comes out as different.”
Perrin is frustrated to hear residents had begun to bring concerns about development to the board in 2019. “I mean, I follow along pretty closely, and I hadn't heard that. And so that's, I mean, that's just, this town is too small not to listen to people.” She thinks having a strategic plan with accountability steps to tie in the town manager and planning board is needed.
The Select Board should be ensuring committees include longtime residents, as well as newer residents. “I think we have a lot of personalities and opinions that have a lot of history in this town, which is great. You know, and I think new people stepping into a group without those entrenched opinions and personalities, changes the dynamic and oftentimes carries groups forward.”
More focus on commercial development is needed to stabilizes taxes. The message needs to be: North Yarmouth is a smart investment for commercial growth. She was clear why she did not locate her previous business in North Yarmouth. “I did not invest in North Yarmouth, because I just wasn't quite sure the direction and who was managing the town. So again, that chance for really starting a new with a new town manager and a different Select Board, I think is going to be powerful,” said Perrin.
Perrin stated providing affordable housing is a personal value. North Yarmouth’s Land Use Ordinances are a key to delivering affordable housing in North Yarmouth. She sites conversations with residents on Range Way that said the smaller lot sizes were the reason they were able to move here. Creating more developments similar to North Yarmouth Woods is an option that could easily blend into the character of the town. She worries North Yarmouth is shutting out people from buying homes that would contribute to a diverse community, like police officers and teachers.
Other thoughts, “I actually wrote the school board the other day, and I said, I really want to see a North Yarmouth chair. We've had two years of a Cumberland chair. North Yarmouth has very pressing issues, that we need direct leadership on that school board.”
Of her time on the school board, “I never wanted to show up to a meeting and feel like I was having the other members catch me up to speed on in the meeting. So really, it's like a dedicated team that does their homework beforehand, shows up with very clear outlines of what they have questions on or want to see adjusted.”
“I think what I hear a lot from older or not older residents, residents that have been here longer than me, is that there was a nice collegiality between people that didn't agree that didn't vote the same, that didn't hang out in the same social circles necessarily. But they knew that they were going to be at a meeting with each other. And you know, so they knew like ‘how's your granddaughter? How's your kid? How are the fields?’ Like? We got to bring that back. 100%”
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