On March 10, a public survey from the Wiscasset Comprehensive Planning Committee will go live at www.bit.ly/WiscassetCompPlan

The survey and other forms of public input are key to the comprehensive plan, the first one since 2008. The committee encourages all residents to fill out the survey to ensure their voices are heard.

The committee met March 4 via Zoom to consider final details of the survey and determine next steps. The survey will be open online until at least March 31 and paper copies will be available at the town office and Wiscasset Community Center. Multiple committee members stressed the importance of public input in the process. More surveys may follow.

The committee is continuing to revise chapters for the plan, from the 2008 plan. These chapters are required by the state and include water resources, natural resources, agricultural and forest resources, marine resources, population and demographics, economy, housing, recreation, transportation, public facilities and services, fiscal capacity and capital investment plan, existing land use, and future land use. Emily Rabbe of Lincoln County Regional Planning Commission noted the survey will provide a high level overview of what residents like and dislike about the town and there are questions that relate to each of the chapters. Rabbe said, “The responses will be compiled, looked at, assessed and then that information will be added to the plan.” Rabbe has also requested a new data set from the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry that will let committee members update data points.

LCRPC’s Mary Ellen Barnes noted there will most likely be multiple public opportunities (in-person if the pandemic allows) that will be important for the plan. Waterfront Committee member Don Davis said, “The waterfront is the most underutilized resource Lincoln County has. The opportunities here for revenue and resources is tremendous.” He hopes the waterfront can help drive the revenue stream for the town, and is not a drain on the tax base but rather an asset to help reduce everyone else’s taxes. The committee plans to work with the Waterfront Committee and other town committees.

The committee is looking for more members. If interested, contact Sarah Whitfield at sarahmariewhitfield@gmail.com

The committee meets next at 6 p.m. April 1 via Zoom.