WEST GARDINER — Residents say they want transparency, specifically with town projects, and they want to maintain the integrity of their small town.

Those were among the issues aired at a recent forum for Board of Selectmen candidates that 70 residents attended at the Fire Department.

Both candidates — Chris McLaughlin and Steve McGee — said they hope to do just that if they are elected. The winner of the April 12 election will take the seat of Randy Macomber, who has declined to run again.

Selectman candidate Chris McLaughlin answers a question Thursday during a forum at the West Gardiner Fire Station. Anna Chadwick/Morning Sentinel

McLaughlin, who is chief of the Topsham Fire Department, said he’s committed to town transparency, and if elected, he will urge the board to post agendas on the town website so residents can show up and advocate for problems, or issues that are important to them. McLaughlin has previously served as a representative to the School Administrative District board of directors, and he has unsuccessfully run for a seat on the Board of Selectmen five times.

Asked why he continues to run, he said conflict resolution, budgeting and working with people is what he is passionate about.

“I like what we do here (in West Gardiner). I don’t know Steve’s platform, but with changes or no changes, I want to be transparent, open and honest and listen to people’s feedback and do what the town’s people want,” McLaughlin said.

McGee, who owns and operates McGee Construction, said he wants to preserve the town the way it is, as he favors the farmland and little development the town has, while still acknowledging that it may be essential to keep property taxes down.

McGee secured a spot on the board in 2020 and ran for reelection in 2023, but lost to Gary Hickey II, who serves on the board.

A few residents asked McGee if he would recuse himself from bidding on town projects as owner of McGee Construction. McGee spoke candidly about a mistake he made as a former board member when he took on a town project without putting the project out to bid, which is town policy. McGee said he completed the project for free, but now, his company would not take on town projects.

Steve McGee, a candidate for selectman, smiles  Thursday after answering a question at the candidate forum at the West Gardiner Fire Station. Anna Chadwick/Morning Sentinel

“We have been involved with many construction projects in this town, like the Gardiner Area High School turf field, or the demolition for the historical building. The town has been very good to us and it is reciprocated both ways. There is a conflict of interest in that we don’t do work for the town. That was a choice that was made some time ago,” he said.

The candidates were also asked for their thoughts on establishing a planning board committee and involving residents in commercial planning.

Resident Andrea Lenhart brought up the medical marijuana business and used it as an example of including residents in the planning process. She said when the issue came up at the town meeting in 2023, it was a point of contention for some residents who did not know about it.

Lenhart wondered how the candidates would go about planning projects in the future.

Neither candidate wanted to establish a planning committee, but both were in favor of some growth within the town.

“Without growth, we can’t increase the town revenue and next thing we know, the property taxes go up, so we have to have some sort of growth. We could manage a plan on what we as townspeople would like to see it look like. Every municipality has to have (a plan) where the townspeople can say, ‘This is where I would like to see growth,’ and as a select board, we can take that as a roadmap, or a guide to some sort of development,” McLaughlin said.

McGee said if people want to voice their opinions about the developments, or projects in the works, they can attend the board meetings for discussion.

“Going into the future, I don’t know how else we would make it any easier,” he said. “Chris is right, without growth, our mill rate goes up. It’s still at $8.10” per $1,000 of assessed valuation.

The candidate forum was a two-part event that included the Gardiner-area school board race between Matthew Lillibridge and Joe Boyd. People started to clear out after the Board of Selectmen segment ended.

Voting is scheduled for April 12 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Fire Department at 322 Spears Corner Road.