SKOWHEGAN — Voters next week will decide among three candidates vying for a position on the town’s five-person Select Board.

The election is scheduled to be held Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the town’s Municipal Building. The winner will serve a three-year term.

Skowhegan is home to both Dennis Hedegard’s family and motel businesses, which makes him “fully committed” to the town’s success, he said. Through his former job as a state health inspector, Hedegard said he has worked with town managers, code enforcement officers and emergency personnel and has a deep understanding of municipal operations.

Hedegard said he would like to see Skowhegan “become more proactive and be less reactive.”

“The recent sale of the (Memorial Field) ballpark before we have even secured funding for the replacement field might be a case in point,” he said.

The candidate said he would help Skowhegan execute some town objectives “that have been lingering for many years” in a well-reasoned fashion. He describes himself as fiscally conservative and moderate in his positions.

The incumbent is Charles Robbins III, who’s a lifelong Skowhegan resident. He operates Charlie & Son Sales and Service Inc., a third-generation business that sells trailers, used cars and offers towing services in the region.

“I love this town, and that was why I decided to run for reelection,” Robbins said.

There are $650 million worth of infrastructure and related projects underway in Skowhegan, and Robbins said it is an exciting time with so many initiatives going on. Robbins said if he gains a second term he will continue to “look out (for) all” in the community and continue to vote for what is in the best interest of residents.

A recent example of that was when fire Chief Ronnie Rodriguez came to the Select Board to ask about purchasing a new engine for the Fire Department. “I specifically encouraged him to try to go out and increase his reserve account,” Robbins said. “Just so we don’t have to borrow the money as a town.”

Elijah Soll grew up in Canaan and graduated from Skowhegan Area High School. He lives in Skowhegan with his wife and child, who will enter the high school this fall. Soll said he operated a business in Skowhegan for six years that supported families with children diagnosed with developmental disabilities, and has provided therapeutic services for area school systems as well as a number of people and companies in town. He and his wife engage in community outreach projects in Skowhegan, he said, including work with a domestic violence organization.

Soll said he is running for office to help support community development. With so many projects happening all at once in the coming years, Soll said it will be important to figure out the relationship between all these projects and make sure development is going smoothly.

“There’s just so much going on,” he said. “(I’m) just trying to support that progress.”

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