Wilton is one of nine towns to receive part of the money.
WILTON – A town that has taken some hard hits recently got a hand-up this week. A big one.
On Monday, Gov. John Baldacci announced that the Department of Economic and Community Development had awarded Wilton $100,000 in Community Development Block Grants to improve the look of Main Street.
Wilton was one of nine towns to get a piece of the more than $1 million pie.
“Our town is in kind of a transition right now from an industrial economy to a service economy. We have all this great infrastructure on Main Street and this is a chance to spruce it up,” Town Manager Peter Nielsen said Tuesday.
The grant money is the result of much hard work by townspeople who hoped to give Wilton a boost.
Last August, a special committee that worked toward making the town more business friendly was formed and met several times before making its recommendations to the town manager.
In response to that committee’s finding, letters were sent to 21 downtown commercial property owners, asking them what needed to be done to the exterior of their businesses to make them more attractive. Eight replied.
Nielsen said the ideas of how to spend the money included replacing windows, putting up new signs and awnings, painting, residing, reshingling and repairing steps.
“This could change people’s whole perception of the downtown,” he said of the rehabilitation.
The goal is not only to attract more businesses and residents to the area, but to give a break to those already in town.
It’s too early to know who will get the money, but now, those in Wilton are just happy to know they have it.
“I think it’s wonderful,” said Sandra Wyman, one of the members of the committee that met last summer to attract businesses. “It’s a beautiful little area but it certainly needs to be revitalized.”
The chance for a makeover means much to Wilton, a town that has lost hundreds of jobs over the past few years due to manufacturing jobs heading overseas.
“We are a very devastated community right now,” said Shannon Smith, a resident and organizer of the annual Blueberry Festival. “Anything that can be done to bring people here is a good thing. If we can make it attractive, it will be easier to sell the town.”
Smith said that once people see the downtown getting a new look, they’ll get excited, and take more initiative to fix things up themselves.
And more importantly, she noted, they’ll take more pride in their hometown.
“Good things bring more good things,” said Nielsen. “This is a good card.”
While fresh paint and clean windows may seem like too soft a way to reel new jobs into town, Wyman said she thinks if the downtown looks good, people will want to come here.
More businesses in town would help lower taxes, she pointed out.
“This money is significant,” Wyman said. “I think with a lot of effort, it can make a big difference. I am looking forward to some changes around here. Positive changes.”
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