It is with regret that I must inform the Island Community that the planned completion date and associated schedule for Town Comprehensive Plan submission will not be met.

As alerted in the Town Winter Newsletter, while there had been some progress, the geographical separation of the Committee members, complicated by very detailed review comments from the Portland Council of Governments (PCOG), was causing a production delay.  The long delayed reaction from the State Planning Office (SPO) was only a brief referral to the PCOG material and no additional help.  Of equal significance is the recent setback on the SAD#6 withdrawal issue.  It relates to how we address Fiscal Capacity and the Capital Investment Plan as elements of the Comprehensive Plan.  A final aspect is the ongoing FII Assets Review and it's potential effect on the Town's long term planning and again fiscal capacity.  All of these aspects warrant face to face meetings in order to properly address and document their impact on the 13 elements that must be addressed in the final comprehensive plan.

For the above reasons, the published 2001 schedule for the Comprehensive Plan submission is abandoned.  Our effort will now focus on submitting the final draft plan for SPO and PCOG review by October and not in June as planned.  While a contingency schedule was developed last year, it must be reviewed and updated. This will be the first order of Committee business to include public posting and inclusion in the FINS.

Again my apology for the delay but it's due to the noted issues and events

FRITZ MUELLER, Chairman FICPC