The town of Camden is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the apprehension of the person who vandalized 25 of the 30 new parking kiosks shortly after they were installed over the weekend.
Camden police have been reviewing surveillance footage of the suspect, who obscured their face with a hood and mask.
“This has never happened anywhere else,” Town Manager Audra Caler said Monday morning. “They have installed these kiosks in the sketchiest places in the world and this didn’t happen.”
The company, Butts Ticket Systems of Pennsylvania, sent a team to Camden to install the kiosks starting Friday night and continued the work, putting in 31 new kiosks around the downtown by Sunday.
On Monday morning, residents were greeted by the sight of pink spray paint on the new screens and some kind of expanding white foam sprayed into the actual machines through the card readers and receipt terminals.
Jamie Groff of the company doing the installation was outside the Town Office Monday morning trying to scrape out one of the machines to see if it could be salvaged.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” he said.
He said the kiosks themselves are not equipped with cameras, but there are many other surveillance cameras around town, which Town Office staff confirmed have captured images of the perpetrator.
Caler said she did not believe that the foam reached the internal components, so it may be a matter of repair or cleanup or swapping out the card readers. However, the damage is still being assessed.
Each kiosk is worth $7,000, not including installation costs.
Anyone found guilty of the crime could be on the hook for restitution to the town to cover those damages. The charge is likely to be felony aggravated criminal mischief, according to police, and could result in jail time.
Camden Police Detective Sgt. Aaron Bailey has been investigating. He said video reviewed so far shows an adult person in a hood. Police may put out a picture of the person from the video at some point in the near future on social media to seek assistance from the public in the investigation. The vandalism took place between 3:30 a.m. and 4 a.m. Monday.
The town announced Monday evening that it is offering a $5,000 reward for information that leads to the identification and apprehension of the person or people responsible. The press release states: “The individual was seen on several local business cameras on foot and at one point riding a white bicycle.”
Caler said all of the downtown business owners have been very helpful in sharing information and camera footage as well.
She said the vandals also hit the Camden Skate Park.
The installation of the kiosks comes as the town institutes a controversial new paid parking program, aimed at freeing up parking downtown during the busy summer months and generating revenue. Most other tourist destinations on Maine’s coast already charge for parking during the high season, according to town officials.
For the most part, the rate is going to be $3 per hour with a two-hour per day free allowance for residents, who will have a way to put their license plate numbers into the kiosk to take advantage of that service. Parking fees are also going to be waived Sundays before noon to provide for churchgoers.
The town plans to start the program in full Sept. 15 to run through Oct. 15 for this season.
“It’s not going to stop it,” Caler said of the town’s commitment to the new program. “If I have to scrub them out myself, it’s going to happen.”
Police are asking for the public’s help in identifying the culprit and released the following video clips of vandalization.
Please contact Camden Police Detective Sgt. Aaron Bailey with information about this crime by calling 207-236-7953 ext. 113 or by email at abailey@camdenmaine.gov.This story appears through a media partnership with Midcoast Villager.