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Committee trims population intro, renames section to avoid wording that upset residents
Summary
Committee members agreed to remove a paragraph that characterized seasonal homeowners as distinct from year-round residents and to relabel the population heading. A sentence noting that some people sought Rangely as a safe haven after 9/11 and during COVID was added.
The Rangeley Comprehensive Plan Committee agreed to remove a paragraph from the population chapter after Selectman Sam White and other members said the wording risked offending year-round residents. The committee also adjusted section headings to better reflect available data.
At issue was an introductory paragraph that broke the town’s population into "year-round" and "seasonal" categories and suggested seasonal homeowners specifically provide economic support. Selectman Sam White urged its removal, saying, "We're the ones that keep this place afloat with our blood, sweat, and tears." Other committee members agreed the language could be misread and preferred a neutral presentation of available data.
Changes and rationale: the committee directed staff member Donna to delete the paragraph and to consolidate population material under a single heading, "Population trends and fluctuations," rather than separate "year-round population" and "seasonal population" headings. Members noted the committee lacks reliable trend data on the seasonal population and preferred to avoid creating divisions in the narrative where the statistics are not available.
Small factual insertion: staff added a short sentence acknowledging episodic in‑migration after crises: "At times of crisis and upheaval such as September 11, 2001 and more recently COVID in 2020, people have come to Rangeley as a safe haven. Some stay and some don't," Donna said. Committee members said that phrasing is useful context but not a prediction about future population trends.
Ending: The committee asked staff to move seasonal-fluctuation material to the same population section and include a short, clearly labeled chart where possible. Members emphasized that any claim about numbers should cite the data source or say "not specified."
