Pamela Pike said she can remember stopping by the fire department as a child to get her ice skates sharpened. She said that nowadays, people don't have the same sense of community in Onset, and that is something she would address as a member of the Prudential Committee.

With 25 years of experience in the insurance industry and time spent as an on-call firefighter and seasonal harbormaster in Onset, Pike is running for the open Prudential Committee seat left by retiring member Jovina Dean.

Two of the things Pike said she wants to provide as a member of the Prudential Committee are education and transparency.

"A lot of people living here now are from out of town and don't really understand how the districts work," she said. "In today's day and age this needs to be addressed."

Pike said not enough people are aware of how much access they have to meetings or departments.

"They can walk into the fire department at any time and talk to someone," she said.

Having been on a number of finance boards at previous jobs, Pike said she is ready to make sure that funds are spent prudently and budgets are proper as a member of the Prudential Committee.

Pike said a goal of hers is to upgrade as much district equipment as possible while keeping the taxpayers happy. She said many purchases, such as Onset Engine 2 and firefighters self-contained breathing apparatus were purchased almost entirely purchased with grant money.

"We want to lessen the burden on taxpayers and continue looking at all possible sources of payment," Pike said. "The boards in Onset do a good job of that."

As a member of the Prudential Committee, Pike said she would be there to serve the taxpayers and be sure the taxpayer monies are spent on justified and appropriate expenses, and try to get people to understand how that process works.

"We need to let people know the doors are open," she said.