b'C H A P T E R E I G H TAnyone revisiting the events of late 2000 and early 2001 would have to concede that whether FCWs amendments would ever survive got to be stickier than old-fashioned fly paper. Making matters worse was that perturbing tension between town and gown, Town Government and FCWs board. This was John Geigers recollection in fall 2002:There was a bitterness that developed. They didnt like us interfering .1 think Margaret and Kevin both had a problem with us as .an independent group coming in and flexing our muscles as to what we felt should be included in Bylaw revision .They were very resistant .1 think that resentment still exists today.5A tuned ear could pick up another minor-key leitmotif underneath the flow of events. Late in 2001, Bill Riley translated it into words. To the extent that (FCW was) aiming at modifying the Zoning Bylaw, he said, really just to prevent development, I felt they were way off-base. I thought that mission creep had occurred.6 Flis implication was transparent: FCW had overstepped the boundaries of its own Statement of Purpose.By no means were FCW directors unaware of this possible interpretation. Says John Geiger, I think the board started to see itself as becoming a little more politically active than they ever had before, so we did tweak the (mission) statement to encompass the community, not just from a waterways position, but (in terms of) overall health of the community, given that all these things are linked. That refinement had been approved by FCW members at their annual meeting in August 1996. It began: Additionally, the Association has an interest in broader municipal issues that may have an impact on Chathams maritime heritage or upon the natural environment of the community. That helped validate the Ecker/Geiger teams pursuit of Zoning Bylaw revisions. But it certainly didnt make their formidable task any easier.During the ebbing fall of 2000 and into the winter weeks, headlines in The Chronicle gave pithy synopses of what was going on during this nerve-stretching process:135'