The Wrack

The following was published in the Biddeford-Saco Journal Tribune Sunday edition, 6/15/2014.

When Facilities Manager John Speight watched a pickup truck accidentally drive into what he’d thought was a well-protected propane tank at the Wells Reserve at Laudholm last weekend, his first thought was: “I hear the hiss, so I’m still alive.”

His second thought was: “let’s keep it that way.”

Welcome to the town of Launton, it’s a lot like Wells.

Ever since Hurricane Paul devastated communities to the south of Launton, the residents have been asking the town manager: can we handle a storm like that? What’s our plan?

Feeling pressured, the town manager convened a Coastal Resiliency Task Force. Their charge: make some recommendations about what the town should do with existing and future development.

Who is on the task force? You are! You’ll be assuming one of the many interests that exist in a town a lot like Wells. From Emergency Management Official to Director of the Chamber of Commerce, you’ve got opinions, and you think the town has a solution. But can you come to consensus with the other members on the team? Can you compromise on issues near and dear to your heart, for the sake of the town?

WELLS, Maine, October 29, 2012 — The Town of Wells has begun a two-year study to understand and prepare for the potential impacts of climate change. Wells public officials and local residents, with help from researchers from the Consensus Building Institute (CBI), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and the National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS), will be using short games played face-to-face in community meetings to clarify possible climate change risks and to reach agreement on appropriate adaptation measures.