What is the best thing about a full plate? Be it a plate of to-do’s or a dinner plate, the best part is, it is there. A town working on little is a town not gaining ground. Wiscasset has a full plate these days, and that is a good start.

Will it be a connector site for off-shore wind energy? The pros, cons and questions will be flowing as the government and other entities explore options and implications. We will track the matter as it unfolds and, if you have questions you think we should be asking, email news@wiscassetnewspaper.com

What if anything will come of a proposed committee on costs to tuition out the high school grades? At press time, the school committee and selectmen were hours away from a planned Tuesday night, Jan. 26 discussion on the would be-committee and other topics. So maybe by the time you read this, we will know more and, if we do, it will be on wiscassetnewspaper.com and in next week’s print edition.

Lincoln County Regional Planning Commission’s anticipated help on multiple fronts in Wiscasset, including at the former primary school, is encouraging. 

Then, there is the next comprehensive plan or – as I would rather call these when towns write them or refer back to them – the town plan. Comprehensive is accurate, just ask anyone who has worked on or read one. But it does not scream excitement. I have mentioned this before, when I suggested different names to make important things sound more approachable and more interesting.

A committee is working on the town plan. And a longstanding committee is working on something else very important, the town’s rules or, with more syllables, its ordinances. Yes, the ordinance review committee has a full plate indeed. The Monday night, Jan. 25 agenda for the Zoom meeting listed a review of the solar ordinance draft, preliminary marijuana draft ordinance, downtown sidewalk ordinance and updating the sign and noise ordinances. But the agenda went undone.

The only people onboard the Zoom session were Chair Karl Olson, member Jackie Lowell and me, to cover it. Turns out, the ORC still has trouble getting a quorum. Olson said right now two of the six seats are empty, which makes it harder to get to four to hold a meeting. So after he shared with Lowell where to put some commas and make one other tweak to the solar ordinance draft, with still a count of two members on the Zoom session, Olson had to cancel the meeting.

Taking questions, he said selectmen have given the committee no deadlines on the agenda items, some of which he noted have been underway a long time. 

Another thing about a full plate: You need the silverware, aka people, to tackle it. Take part in town planning. Help Wiscasset gain ground.