Here is hoping, and predicting, Westport Island’s upcoming ordinance review committee gets done whatever is put on its plate; if it is like Wiscasset’s ORC, it will. But we wish Westport Island’s better luck than Wiscasset’s has had over the years on member turnout. 

Clearly, Wiscasset’s ORC does its job and does it well, as evidenced by the ordinance proposals that make it to town meeting and that voter pass. The unfortunate thing, that maybe does not matter too much in the end, is the situation Wiscasset’s has many times found itself in, of not having a “quorum,” enough members attending and, perhaps more notably, not knowing until meeting time that not enough members could make it.

Member Jackie Lowell regularly emails the agendas, often several days out and sometimes telling fellow members to please let her know “for quorum purposes,” if they cannot attend. And the meeting schedule is at least as regular as other area committees and boards. Yet Monday night, July 10, it happened  again. Short of a quorum after those who did attend waited for one, the ORC ended up canceling, according to Lowell and Selectmen’s Chair Sarah Whitfield after Wiscasset Newspaper, on Zoom, waited, too, for the meeting that did not come.

They were just answering the question and were not complaining. Neither am I. This is just to put it out there again, as I occasionally have, that this committee can be one of the more prolific ones on quorum issues. It can also serve as kudos to the panel for managing to nonetheless come through as it does, again and again, for the town.

Westport Island, too, like all our towns, has its share of sharp volunteers who see things through. So its ORC can succeed, too, hopefully with an easier time consistently getting a quorum than its counterpart across the bridge.