MILLINOCKET – After more than 1 1/2 years of slow but steady growth, KAT-TV, the Katahdin Region’s public access community television station, finds itself without a station manager and in need of more volunteers, town officials said Wednesday.

Scott Dorr will be leaving his volunteer position to move to the Camden-Rockport area, David Nelson, council chairman and a KAT-TV board of directors member, said.

Dorr is the technical guru who videotaped council meetings and led the small handful of volunteers who actually do the work in videotaping and editing council meetings and other KAT-TV offerings.

“Technical genius is more like it,” Nelson said Wednesday. “This guy is a genius with computers.”

Another KAT-TV volunteer, Michele Anderson, videotaped the Aug. 24 council meeting, but a technical problem with the video transfer meant that this meeting has yet to air, Nelson said.

KAT-TV’s board will meet Sept. 18, possibly at the studio at the former Aroostook Avenue School, to elect new members and address the lack of volunteers, Town Manager Eugene Conlogue said.

“Hopefully we will get a new direction on how we will do things,” he said Wednesday.

Councilor David Cyr, who sits on the volunteer board, did not return a telephone call Wednesday.

At its zenith, KAT-TV had new programming every five to seven days, including movie shorts, shows and community meetings.

Getting more volunteers has to be a top priority, Conlogue and Nelson said.

Board members also might consider paying a small stipend to volunteers who videotape council meetings and might try to maintain some sort of advisory relationship with Dorr, who still has relatives in the area, Nelson said.

Nelson said he would also want the board to discuss having volunteers sign agreements ensuring that KAT-TV equipment is used only for KAT-TV purposes.

The town provides KAT-TV with an annual $5,000 operating budget supplemented with about $1,500 in donations. Nelson said he doubted the board would seek more money from the town.

Dorr could not be reached Wednesday for comment.

Volunteer recruitment and retention is very difficult, particularly in community television, which is difficult and painstaking work, Nelson said.

“So the process comes down to two or three people, but we are always willing to have new people try,” he said.

Those willing to learn and work can pick up useful skills and experiences, Nelson said.

Anyone interested in volunteering for KAT can call Nelson at 723-4499 or Town Hall at 723-7000.