LIMESTONE, Maine — Elizabeth Dickerson began serving as Limetone’s new town manager on Jan. 11, ending a year long period in which interim managers served while local officials searched for a suitable candidate.
While Dickerson has lived in Colorado for the last four years, and has experience serving in the Maine Legislature, where she represented her former hometown of Rockland as well as Owl’s Head, in addition to serving on the Rockland City Council.
The Limestone selectboard officially hired Dickerson on Friday, Dec. 21. Since then she has made the 2,610-mile move from Colorado to Limestone with her son, their dogs, cats and horses.
The trip took eight days, with Dickerson leaving on Jan. 2, arriving in midcoast Maine on the eighth, staying in that area for a couple days, and arriving in Limestone on the 10th. She began serving as town manager the following day.
Dickerson, a New Jersey native, moved to Maine when she was 22 years old.
Elizabeth Dickerson was hired as Limestone’s town manager on Dec. 21. (Chris Bouchard | Aroostook Republican)
“I came to Maine because my daughter’s dad was a boat builder,” she said, “and he said it was pretty cheap to move to Rockland.”
She drove to the Pine Tree state in a “1963 International pickup, pregnant as all get out, with two cats,” and has lived in Rockland for most her life.
She has never lived as far north as Limestone, though she has traveled through the area to visit Canada, and said she’s visited friends in town whose children were attending the Maine School of Science and Mathematics.
“It’s beautiful,” she said. “The landscape is just so vast. It’s gorgeous, and the people here are just so warm, welcoming and friendly.”
Her first selectboard meeting was on Jan. 16, which she said went over well.
“Everyone said it was the shortest meeting they’ve had in a long time,” Dickerson said. “I think they’re just glad to have a manager here to help move things along.”
After two weeks as manager, Dickerson has already established some goals for the town, with one priority being a conversion to LED street lights.
“Emera will be testing some of the lights within a week,” she said, “and we’re really excited about that. We have 117 street lights out there, so if we can convert those to LED it will save a lot on both taxes and energy consumption.”
She said the town also has some administrative changes in the works intended to reduce expenses, but that she “can’t really divulge what those are” at this point.
In the short term, she said the “snow is a big event on a day to day basis,” especially when considering budgeting that has to be done in the event of equipment breakdowns.
The town manager said residents have been very welcoming since she arrived earlier this month, and they always are willing to help with anything she may need.
In the long term, Dickerson said she sees a great deal of potential for downtown revitalization within the community, and wants to empower residents to further develop their town.
“I feel that with every community, the solution is always within,” she said. “We look outside of ourselves a lot, maybe to get a new program to come in, but you often find that the people in the community already have the solution. So I want to empower people, and tap into their natural talents and experience. This little town just has so many people in it that could contribute and help us become even better.”
