WILTON — The Wilton Select Board Tuesday, May 3, approved the town warrant for the annual Town Meeting June 20.
The 2022 warrant includes a $2.45 million budget recommended by the Select Board and $2.49 million budget recommended by the Finance Committee. The budgets are a $192,611 (8.5%) increase and $226,212 (10%) increase from the 2021-22 budget, respectively.
One article includes a request for $15,000 in funding from the town’s Tax Increment Financing fund for the new events coordinator position. Another seeks to allow non-participating town employees to join MainePERS, the Maine Public Employee Retirement System.
Another article asks voters to approve funding for the proposed Lakeview Cemetery Memorial. If approved, up to $175,000 in funds from the Cemetery Trust Account (of which Irish said there is an approximate $800,000 balance) for design, engineering and construction of a service memorial at Lake View Cemetery.
Selectpersons have also approved two articles amending the town’s Zoning Ordinance at the recommendation of the Planning Board.
One would add amendments to the town’s Adult Use and Medical Marijuana Ordinance. It in part adds definitions and stipulations on the establishment of Medical Marijuana Dispensaries.
The other article would amend the town’s space and bulk standards. It adds stipulations on standards in limited residential and recreational zones and a discernment between non-commercial and commercial uses.
In six of the 10 defined zones, the amendments increase the minimum requirements for commercial uses regarding minimum lot size/subsurface disposal/sewer and minimum shore frontage.
This would ultimately impact Wilson Lake Marina, for which an application has already been denied by the Planning Board and an appeal denied by the Appeals Board.
Town Manager Rhonda Irish previously said it would bring the town into compliance with the state’s shore frontage standards – which was the reasoning for zoning ordinance amendments regarding shore frontage standards approved at the 2021 Town Meeting.
Additionally, residents will vote for two new Wilton Selectpersons and a new director on the Regional School Unit 9 Board of Directors.
Town Manager Rhonda Irish told the board at the meeting that five people have turned in nominations for the select board seats.
Running for the first seat are incumbent Tiffany Maiuri and Lillian Lake. Running for the second seat are Appeals Board Chair Mike Wells, Evret Greer, who ran in 2021, and Cherieann Harrison, who is stepping down from her current role as Wilton’s RSU 9 director.
Irish said only one individual has turned in papers for the RSU 9 seat: Kyle Fletcher, who is currently serving on the town’s Planning Board and Finance Committee.
Irish said in an interview that the town is working with the Wilton Lions Club to host a meet and greet with the candidates. Dates are to be set in the near future, but likely to be June 1 or June 8.
Residents will have an opportunity to meet the candidates and ask them questions.
In other business
The town is still accepting applications for a new town manager to replace Irish, who will be retiring from the role August 10.
She told the board the town has received only a few applications thus far – all from out of state. They are looking into advertising locally to attract more candidates from central Maine.
During public comment, the board also heard from William Rice on the proposed Lakeview Cemetery Memorial.
Rice shared his experiences as the son of a veteran.
He explained that he was the individual to propose to Selectperson Tom Saviello a memorial at the Lakeview Cemetery in Wilton.
The town has been looking into a memorial at the cemetery to honor service members since October 2020.
Saviello told the board at the April 5 meeting that the cost estimate for the memorial is $150,000 – beyond what he had anticipated. He suggested the memorial could be paid for with moneys from the town’s cemetery fund.
The aforementioned article allowing the town to appropriate up to $175,000 on the memorial has been sent to Town Meeting.
Rice said he thinks the memorial is “going to open up a door, a door of thanks.”
“I honestly believe that we would be a better community, if we would pay as much homage to those who have passed as we do for those who are alive today,” Rice said. “We have a chance now to tell the veterans and show Franklin County and our own beautiful, beautiful town here that I love very much, ‘thank you for your service.'”
Rice asked if there is flexibility in the $150,000 estimate for the memorial “to bring the cost down” and make the memorial more feasible.
Leavitt said the town has gone only as far as an estimate in concept design.
“Once we approve it, then we can take and refine the actual design,” he said.
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