By Jodi Hausen,Staff Writer

WILTON – Selectmen discussed and voted on a myriad of items at their meeting Tuesday, including rescheduling their next regular meeting.

Selectmen voted to meet at 7 p.m. Monday, Aug. 1, instead of their usual Tuesday night to allow them to attend opening ceremonies for the Vietnam Moving Wall scheduled for 7 p.m. Aug. 2. Organizer Shannon Smith said Gov. John Baldacci is also expected to attend. Smith also stressed that the ceremony is at night. Several hundred fliers were distributed before organizers realized they had the wrong time, she said.

Wayne Atwood was reappointed as the town’s animal control officer for another year. At their last meeting, selectmen had reappointed Atwood for only three months, saying they were not convinced he was adequately meeting his responsibilities.

However, after reading a report Atwood provided, selectmen thought otherwise.

Atwood responded to nearly 250 calls last year, many of which took more than an hour to resolve. He is paid $4,800 annually, from which he pays his own mileage. Atwood, who serves as animal control officers for several towns, admitted he had communication problems due to a lack of adequate radio equipment or a telephone in his vehicle, which contributed to a miscommunication with board Chairman Russell Black recently.

“After looking at his paperwork, I wouldn’t want to do his job for what we’re paying him,” Black said.

Big auction of cars

After a public hearing to allow Nichols Development Corp. to reapply for a special projects matching grant for $107,500 to repair heating and air conditioning at ICT, Gil Reed, principal with the corporation, told selectmen he appreciated the town’s support for its undertakings at the former G.H. Bass Shoe factory.

When Nichols Welding moved to the facility, it had 21 employees, he said. With the wholesale used car auction business starting Friday, the company now employs 68 people, he said. It is expecting nearly 300 cars to be auctioned Friday and has some of the largest auto dealers in New England involved.

Selectmen tabled two Fire Department items in order to gather more information and to have the fire chief at the next meeting. Chief Sonny Dunham was not reappointed as emergency management assistance director because, according to Selectman Rodney Hall, Dunham has said he couldn’t take on all the responsibilities. However, Town Manager Peter Nielsen said that in all the towns he knows of, the position was always delegated to the fire chief. Selectmen want to know if some of the position’s responsibilities could be delegated to other fire officers.

Drying fire hoses

Hall said he was adamantly opposed to spending at least $16,500 to build a hose-drying tower at the fire station. Homeland security grant money was to be used for this, but Hall said there are newer hoses available that do not need to be hung to dry. He suggested spending the money to replace old hoses with the updated ones, making the tower unnecessary. The item was tabled until the next meeting.

Selectmen unanimously approved spending up to $300 on attorney’s fees to research whether a fund set up for local schools could be used exclusively in Wilton, rather than at Mt. Blue High School. A judge had ruled in 2003 that the $2,500 must go to the high school since it was willed to Wilton Academy or a free and public high school if the academy is no longer in existence.

Police Chief Wayne Gallant also presented a report of the department that included receipt of an automatic external defibrillator through a grant, a grant check for $14,856 which paid for new “top-notch” radio equipment and computer software, and an update on volunteers in the department. Since April 19, the department has received 1,022 complaints, arrested 11 people and issued more than 67 traffic summonses.