During his eight years as town manager, Kevin Howell rarely took a full day off. He was always answering messages, working to help his community.
Howell, 51, was out for a walk with his 4-year-old son at about 6:30 a.m. Friday when they both fell through the ice on Etna Pond. Howell was able to get his son out of the water but could not get out himself.
He told the boy to run the third of a mile home and tell his mother. She called 911 and a nearby Penobscot County Sheriff’s detective quickly responded. However, he was not able to see Howell. His body was found by divers just before 2 p.m.
“Our hearts are with his wife and his son at this time,” Board of Selectmen Chairman Dan Frye said. “Kevin was a wonderful guy. He really had a passion for community and family that made him an excellent person for a town manager role.”
Howell and his wife moved to Carmel in 2014. He was entering his eighth year as town manager.
Along with being town manager, Howell was town clerk, tax collector, treasurer, road commissioner and webmaster. Town officials met Monday morning and appointed multiple people to interim roles before the town starts its search for a new manager, Frye said.
It will likely take multiple people to replace Howell, Frye said. Howell’s philosophy was “make it better than you found it,” and he brought that belief to Carmel every day.
“He was a guy of action,” Frye said. “He really was nonstop. He really put everything into his work.”
Bringing back the Carmel Community Days, creating a trunk-or-treat and hosting touch-a-truck are just some of the ways Howell worked to bring the community of about 2,800 together.
“Kevin was the ideal person for the role that he had,” Frye said. “He loved the community.”
Howell won a leadership award in 2020 from the Maine Town and Cities Management Association. The award is given to an administrator who solves an unusually difficult problem or is particularly bold and innovative.
The Carmel town office is closed Tuesday so staff can mourn Howell’s death. Funeral arrangements were not finalized by the time of publication.
