WILTON — Wilton would benefit from a economic development study of downtown that would suggest ways it could better attract visitors and boost business, according to the application to the state for a $10,000 planning grant.
Voters at a special town meeting Tuesday will be asked to approve the grant application to the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development’s Community Development Block Grant program. The town meeting will be held at the start of the regular selectmen’s meeting at 7 p.m. downstairs at the Town Office on Weld Road.
Two public hearings have already been held on the application. The state also requires a town vote to show community support for the project, Town Manager Rhonda Irish said.
The funds, if approved, would only be used to develop a study. The two goals included in the application are to develop a strategy that would attract businesses to the town and would address the low-and-moderate income housing needs along Main Street.
A planning study would be required for any future revitilization grants, Irish said.
“The study would also look at past revitalization projects in town, at other communities facing the similar challenge of having downtowns that are off the beaten track, and would come up with ways to make the gateways into downtown more visible and inviting,” she said.
If the grant is approved, the town would work with the Androsgoggin Valley Council of Governments to put the project out to bid and hire a consultant to do the work, she said.
The study would be done in one year. According to the application, the consultant would look at existing commercial and residential buildings downtown; at parking, roads and sidewalks; and will organize community meetings to develop a vision for the town, according to Irish.
The planner would also come up with recommendations on how to better promote the town’s biggest attractions — Wilson Lake and Kineowatha Park, and would suggest visible and attractive signs to direct visitors to the “gateway” streets to downtown from U.S. Route 2 — Depot and Main streets and Lake Avenue.
“These are the first impressions of people making their way to the inside of the town,” Irish said.
Another phase of the study would examine the older buildings along Main Street where there are low- to moderate-income older residential units mixed with aging commercial buildings that have upstairs apartments. Older buildings may not be up to current safety codes and there have been requests from the owners for assistance in applying for housing rehabilitation grants, Irish said.
Local organizations involved in the project are the Wilton Group, which has a mix of residents, town officials and business owners; the Wilton Development Corp.; Foothills Land Trust; the Wilton Lions Club; the Tyngtown and Wiltona clubs; Friends of Wilson Lake; the Greater Franklin Development Corp.; Franklin County Chamber of Commerce; University of Maine at Farmington; local churches; and commercial property owners.
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