CAMDEN — The Camden Select Board Tuesday night gave a group nod to the idea of bringing the Camden Windjammer Festival under the auspices of the town, but they asked festival spokesman John Viehman to come back in January with details and options for how it could work.

Viehman was on the Oct. 28 regular meeting agenda to provide the Select Board with a rundown of this year's Windjammer Festival, held annually Labor Day weekend. The Windjammer Festival organization became a 501c3 nonprofit entity in 2009, a change the town requested to formalize its organizational structure and bookkeeping for the event that uses town property in and around the harbor.

He described the event as a "community led celebration" and said that the Windjammer Festival is important to Camden because it reinforces the town's brand, the history and legacy of boatbuilding around the harbor, and the community's life by and on the sea.

He said the festival also provides both direct and indirect economic impact on the town in the form of an estimated $194,600 in direct sales at local businesses that weekend, which equates to about $27.80 per person, per day.

As far as media impressions, in promoting the windjammer legacy, the Camden brand and the event itself, the festival garnered 777,000 impressions through purchased print/broadcast/online advertising and 3.37 million non-purchased promotions through print/broadcast/online media stories and published press releases.

"That totals $4,142,200, and if you were to purchase those impressions, you would have to spend $414,220," said Viehman.

This year, Viehman said the event lost $3,000, and had to tap into its reserve fund of $6,000. The loss was due to a major sponsor not coming back this year, due to a focus on other projects, he said.

The fireworks show is the single largest expense for the festival, coming in at $6,000, followed by merchandise purchases and insurance, the latter of which was $2,515 and not planned for in the budget.

"Because of these factors, I am tonight proposing a paradigm shift and formalize what already is a town event, and make it a town-owned event," Viehman. "We use town property, town staff helps us out and there are other town resources we receive as well. We are looking to leverage the resources, be covered by the towns insurance, which will be an immediate savings of $2,500, and see a long-term commitment to the event."

Viehman said with a long-term commitment, the hope would be to increase the volunteer event organizing base, similar to the U.S. National Toboggan Championships, which has always been a town-owned event run and organized by a volunteer town sub-committee.

Select Board member Leonard Lookner said that the Toboggan Championships generate income for the Camden Snow Bowl, as well as has an economic impact on the town, whereas Windjammer Festival does not generate income.

"The essential good Windjammer Festival does is by supporting the local businesses, and we have banks and inns as sponsors, but maybe a better partnership with the business community can be found," said Viehman. "We already have the crowd, we need to leverage it better."

Select Board member Don White called it a "great weekend" but said his concern is the town's liability.

"Who pays if there is a financial loss? Does this mean more staff involvement?" said White. "It needs more work from you guys to be able to make a decision. I want to see in black and white the costs involved. I like the idea but it needs more work to figure out the nuts and bolts."

Select Board chairman Martin Cates asked Town Manager Patricia Finnigan if it would be possible to have another discussion at a later date, and ask that the Windjammer Festival group work with her to come up with a couple of options for the board to decide on.

"The challenge is for the committee to get together and come up with a plan to present to you," said Finnigan. "Everybody that met a few weeks ago said they were committed to doing what needed to be done to make the Windjammer Festival a success, but they were at a crossroads and need to consider changes."

"I'm in favor of doing it, but want to the see the model of how," said White again. "Tonight opens the door."

Cates formalized the request that Finnigan work with the Windjammer Festival Board of Directors and committee members, and create options for the Select Board to review at the first workshop in January.

"Thank you, this is what I was hoping for," said Viehman.

Related link:

• 2014 Camden Windjammer Festival sails in for Labor Day weekend

Editorial Director Holly S. Edwards can be reached at hollyedwards@penbaypilot.com or 706-6655.