b'C H A P T E R F I VEThere had been rampant shoreline development, he recalls.We knew we had an increasing water quality problem which has been blamed rightfully on ground water run-off.Also, he added, there was the dilemma of mooring congestion. There has been a mooring problem here for years.Another early motivation was voiced by Andy Meincke, operator of Stage Harbor Marine since 1979.It had to do with state funding.At some point, he explained, the town learned that the state was going to require that you have a harbor management plan in place, if you were going to obtain state funds .money to repair town landings, money for dredging.You would get priority if you had a plan in place.So we got on theAndy Meincke, president/operator of Stage bandwagon.There was one hitch,Harbor Marine, has worked at harborside since though, as Margo Fenn, town1979.As such, he has developed first-hand planner in Chatham since 1986,knowledge of the many changes and stresses impacting that harbor over almost a quarter remembers.The appropriationscentury.Gordon Zellnerjust never came through, she says.So we decided we werent going to wait (for the state).We were going to see what we could do on our own.That was where Friends of Chatham Waterways stepped in.Even in its first months as Friends of Stage Harbor Waterways, this independent body had concerns about the harbor that was right outside the front door for many members.Its worth recalling that in the weeks before FSHW slid down the ways in the fall of 83, this perplexed directors as much as any other issue.As early as September 2, 1983, when the executive committee pooled its thinking at the Hoyts house, harbor questions bubbled up.How many moorings were permitted for inner and outer areas?What was water quality like? What should be done about the cut-through and the periodic need for dredging away the shifting sands? A guest at the meeting, Chairman of Selectmen William Litchfield, offered one augury of things to come: a waterways committee was going to be appointed. As it turned out, it would earn a major part in drafting a harbor management document in months ahead.61'