Cameron ups security, restricts solicitations, and plans digital water bills

Continued vandalism at Cameron’s Phillips Memorial Park led the Town of Cameron to invest in cameras at the Aug. 26 meeting. Members said they hope to catch the vandals and the dog walkers who allow their dogs off leashes.

The cameras have sensors to detect activity, and the equipment costs $2,700 with a $45 monthly monitoring fee.

The town passed an ordinance to restrict door-to-door solicitations because it did not have any regulations against this activity.

Cameron resident Christa Elliot was sworn in as a new planning board member.

In new business, the town wrote off its unpaid taxes from 2014-2015. The town lost $19.61, and the council laughed at the news while the clerk said she was proud of everyone paying their taxes because last year, the town lost close to $400 in unpaid taxes.

Cameron will use Pell Grant funds to purchase mowing equipment. It will reserve $9,500 to purchase a used mowing deck as they become available on social media sale sites. They are also collecting quotes for a new Kubota mower.

Phillips Memorial Park requires weekly mowing, and the single maintenance worker needs help, so volunteer Mike Thomason mows each week, too.

The board discussed leaving some areas unmown.

“We can have the Wildlife Conservation come out to advise us,” Mayor Jane Etheridge said about using native plants and flowers in the marsh and up on the hill instead of mowing to lessen the demand with native landscaping.

Member Kane Parsons introduced a service to save the town $1,726.35 in annual postal costs for paying water bills. The town plans to send water bills digitally. They will send notices of the updated system options to all customers.

Customers will have the option of accepting the free online water bill invoices or paying $2 for postal water bill invoices. All customers may pay bills at the Cameron Town Hall in person or through the envelope slot, by postal mail, or online.

Aug. 26, 2025

Stephanie M. Sellers