WILTON — Selectmen listened Tuesday to residents’ ideas about proposed changes to the town’s parking and traffic ordinance.

They then wanted an opportunity to discuss what they heard before making any decisions and agreed to set another meeting for that purpose.

About a dozen residents attended the public hearing to question the reason for the ordinance, proposed changes and express their concerns.

“We’ve always had a parking ordinance,” Doug Hiltz, chairman of a committee formed to review it, said. “This is to clarify it.”

The ordinance dates back 40-plus years, board Chairman Terry Brann said. It has been reviewed over the years, the last time in 1992.

Some questioned the need to make changes.

While U-turns are legal on Maine roads, Pat Joyce questioned why Wilton should be different.

“I make them all the time. There’s nothing wrong with it that I can see,” he said.

Police Chief Dennis Brown said there had been some complaints about U-turns on Main Street at the post office as the reason for the committee considering it.

Hiltz questioned how drivers would be notified of the change in Wilton and the signs needed for that purpose.

Parking on Main Street and overnight parking changes were also of concern.

“You’re making a non-problem on our end and turning it into a problem,”  Wilton Free Public Library Director David Olson said. During a recent meeting, employees of the library had voiced concerns about limited, accessible parking for patrons and themselves.

Mike LeClair expressed concerns about the rule change that would stop overnight street parking in Wilton all year, not just during winter months.

“You don’t change a town for one complaint,” he said. “Two people making 20 calls is different than 40 people making one call.”

The ordinance contained two sections regarding overnight parking and snow removal, Chief Brown said. The committee attempted to combine them to make it more consistent.

Highway foreman John Welch urged the board to retain the “no overnight rule” from November to April to help with plowing.

In other business, the board agreed to have Town Manager Rhonda Irish continue working on an application for a Community Development Block Grant to use on the Primary School.

The board agreed that a grant to help remove asbestos and make other repairs would make the building more viable to put on the market for future development.

There are some obstacles to overcome, Irish said. The grant cannot be used for housing, only economic development, and the school is in an area not zoned for business.

The application deadline looms at the end of March and the property would have to be owned by a nonprofit organization, she said. She has talked with Wilton Development Corp. about helping on that part of the proposed application.

The town could apply for up to $250,000 with a 20 percent match needed from the town.

If the grant is received, a $50,000 match put up by the town could make the property more appealing to a developer compared to the town spending an estimated $200,000 for asbestos removal and demolition or $100,000 for just asbestos removal, Selectman Tom Saviello said.

Irish will also continue to seek demolition estimates in case the town doesn’t receive the grant.

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