WILTON – Selectmen passed a resolution Tuesday opposing the Palesky tax cap proposal that will be on the November ballot.
Town Manager Peter Nielsen said the initiative could mean a 64 percent reduction in the municipal budget. He estimated that the town budget would go from $2.2 million to $826,000. He presented a possible scenario that includes no money for services like the police department, library, hydrant rentals, transfer station, recycling, recreation or social services.
“If they vote yes then they get a reduction (in property taxes), but it doesn’t tell you what happens after that and where the money is going to come from to run your town,” Chairman Jeff Rowe said.
In other business, selectmen took no action on a concern voiced by resident Debbie Aseltine about large boats going into Wilson Lake at the Pond Road boat launch. Aseltine lives on the lake with her husband, Ron Aseltine.
Aseltine said the area is very shallow, and she has seen boats as large as 17 feet being put in the water at the boat launch. She said the area is being dug up and she is concerned about milfoil coming into the waters. No one inspects boats at the launch before they go into the water as they do at the head of the lake.
Aseltine suggested that officials post signs stating that the Pond Road boat launch is a carry-in/carry-out boat launch. She also suggested that a jersey barrier be put up in the summer and taken down in the fall to allow ice shacks on the lake. “I don’t want to see people not have access, but I think we could do something to make it better,” Aseltine said.
While even small boats can bring milfoil into the water, Selectman Russ Black said that it is more likely to be brought in by larger boats.
Selectman Norm Gould said he is concerned about overregulation. While he said he does not mind putting up the signs, he is not in favor of putting up barriers. Officials agreed to take a look at the launch and research the issue further.
Nielsen told selectmen he received a letter from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection concerning an inspection DEP did at the town’s closed landfill last April. DEP wants the landfill mowed annually, something the town did last month. The town is also in the process of covering and seeding thin-soil areas there. DEP will also decide whether it wants to further research the leachate it discovered. That would be done at no cost to the town.
Selectmen agreed to hire Top of the Line Tree Co. to cut and chip brush along the town’s right of way beside about 3,000 feet of the main water line from the pump station to Colby Miller Road. The project will cost the town $2,950.
Fire Chief Sonny Dunham told officials he is looking into ways to increase the amount of grants his department receives. He has contacted other departments for pointers on grant-writing.
Dunham said the Fire Department has received a State Farm grant to purchase a 911 system that is used in a school program. It has also applied for a grant through the Emergency Management Agency in Farmington for radio equipment and air packs. Dunham said he was notified that the town has another chance to apply for a fire prevention grant through the Federal Emergency Management Agency as well.
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