AUGUSTA, ME — Jim Gardner, the town manager of Easton, has been elected to serve as the northern Maine representative on the board of the Maine Municipal Association.
Jim Gardner, the town manager of Easton for the last six years,
will be one of 12 members on the MMA’s board and offer a strong rural perspective on issues the group grapples with.
“It’s nice to have a voice at the table, and that’s for all of Aroostook County,” Gardner said, adding that he’ll also be representing parts of Penobscot and Washington counties as part of the northern Maine representation.
Gardner, a Presque Isle native, was previously the town manager of Ashland and Washburn, and was nominated to the three-year board post by Guilford town manager Thomas Goulette.
Gardner will be attending about 10 meetings a year for the MMA in Augusta, and he said they’ll be dealing with a host of issues important to rural and northern Maine communities.
“Revenue sharing is very important,” he said. Other issues he cited include school consolidation and local regulation of a newly legalized marijuana industry.
“We’re going to be heavy on what it’s like in rural Maine,” Gardner said.
