FARMINGTON – Come summer, road crews will not only be busy installing a 1,700-foot sidewalk along Wilton Road but might also find themselves reconstructing a -mile section of Knowlton Corner Road.

Unless the state decides to put the project off, road crews will be stationed on the corner of Knowlton Corner Road and in front of Waterfall Gardens Recreational Center come June 14. After required drainage operations are finished, the project will be shut down for one month and the reshaping and paving is scheduled to begin shortly after.

Waterfall Gardens Recreational Center owner Jim Gould spoke at the meeting about his concerns over the road work interfering with his prime business season. “It’s such a short season and it would be invasive seeing that it’s right in front of our place,” said Gould.

Town Manager Richard Davis assured Gould that the board will do everything it can to reconcile the situation and possibly persuade the state to push back reconstruction until after Labor Day.

The project will cost $127,000, with two-thirds of that coming from the state and the rest already budgeted for this year.

Selectmen also approved the installation of a sidewalk that would extend from along Wilton Road from The Franklin Journal office to Shop ‘n Save Drive.

The project is estimated to cost $21,160 with two-thirds of the cost again to be picked up by the state and the additional expense to be met by the town.

The current stretch of road is cramped with traffic and a sidewalk would ensure safe passage for pedestrians, as well as bicyclists.

In other business, selectmen also voted to accept a $22,033 bid for a new truck lift. The town currently has $20,000 set aside for the lift, but intends to borrow the extra $22,033 from the Fire Department equipment reserve account. Selectmen expressed their wishes to reimburse the account fully at the end of the year.

The last purchase the selectmen decided to make was that of a 2002 GMC Sierra 3500 one-ton pickup truck. The truck has 10,518 miles with warranty and the final cost would equal $27,000 including lift.