Sears Island panel to try again for consensus

SEARSPORT – The fate of state-owned Sears Island may be determined at a meeting of a committee that convenes for the ninth – and possibly final – time Friday.

A draft consensus agreement to be discussed lays the groundwork for a deal that would preserve 600 acres for conservation while reserving 341 acres for a possible container port. The delineation of the two parcels, which has been a bone of contention between port proponents and conservationists, would be deferred to another, yet-to-be-formed group.

The Sears Island Planning Initiative, created a year ago by Gov. John Baldacci and overseen by the Department of Conservation, was charged with crafting recommendations that would guide state government in its disposition of the island. Sears Island, linked to the mainland in Searsport by a causeway built in the 1980s, was purchased by the state after then-Gov. Angus King dropped a decades-long bid to build a container port there.

The planning group, with 40-plus members, quickly polarized into two groups: one, led by former Transportation Commissioner John Melrose, advocating for keeping the island available for marine transportation uses; the other, led by Scott Dickerson, director of the Coastal Mountains Land Trust, working to preserve the island in its largely undeveloped state.

Previous consensus agreements, drafted by moderator Jonathan Reitman and Karin Tilberg of Baldacci’s office, came close to meeting the concerns of both groups, but consensus on the details remained elusive.

An April 12 draft circulated to committee members reiterates some key points already agreed upon:

. No LNG facility will be sited on the island.

. The port at Mack Point, on the mainland adjacent to the island, will be developed fully before a port is sought on Sears Island.

. Outdoor recreation, education and conservation opportunities will be developed on the acreage set aside for preservation.

. The conserved portion of the island will be placed under a “buffer” easement, held by a third party with no conflict of interest.

. If a port on Sears Island is sought by the Department of Transportation or others, those signing the agreement will not oppose the project for “nonsubstantive” reasons.

The details, which 20-plus members have endorsed in principle, reflect the charged nature of the negotiations between the two groups.

The build-out of Mack Point, a two-pier port that has operated in Searsport for more than century, is key for the conservationists, who believe the need for a port on Sears Island may never arise.

The agreement calls for DOT to investigate and share information “on the extent to which Mack Point can, in fact, accommodate future marine transportation needs, including … [possible] acquisition … of additional acreage.”

At the same time, the agreement notes that DOT will solicit proposals “for a cargo-container port on Mack Point and-or Sears Island.”

The stickiest part of the negotiations has been how to delineate the land set aside for a possible port and for conservation. The agreement states that a buffer easement will be applied to 600 acres “while simultaneously reserving 341 acres on the westerly side … for a potential port development.”

After the agreement is presented to Baldacci and the Legislature’s Transportation Committee, DOT and the town of Searsport will create a Joint Use Planning Committee to delineate the boundaries of the port reserve area and the conservation area. That group would also:

. Draft mutually acceptable buffer easement language.

. Determine appropriate access issues.

. Develop a plan for annual revenues to be paid to the town of Searsport.

The planning committee meets from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday in Searsport’s town office.