WILTON — The town has received a letter of resignation from Selectman Paul Gooch, effective as of town meeting in June, Town Manager Rhonda Irish told the board Tuesday night.

Gooch, who has served as selectman since 2005, is giving up his seat because he intends to move away from the area, she said. He has two years left on his term.

Voters will elect two selectmen and one School Board member in June, she said. The terms of Selectman Tom Saviello and School Board Director Angela LeClair expire this year.

Nomination papers for the open positions are available at the town office on March 19 and are due back at the town office by 5 p.m. on April 30.

In other business, selectmen agreed to hold a public hearing March 20 to present the proposed sewer rate increase. It would be the first rate increase in 20 years, she said.

Voters approved filing for a waiver of foreclosure on the former Forster mill property during a special town meeting held Tuesday prior to the board meeting.

The waiver would allow the town to forgo automatically filing a foreclosure on the property for unpaid taxes from 2009. The taxes would still be owed to the town, but the waiver would keep the town from taking on future expenses for the unwanted property.

Questions raised by the nearly 20 residents who attended the meeting centered mostly on what is happening to the partially razed building, Irish said Wednesday.

Irish said she has kept in constant contact with property owner Adam Mack.

There is a possibility that he will pay the 2009 taxes by the March 20 deadline and if so, the town will not file for the waiver, she said. He has already paid four years worth of taxes, up to 2008, she said.

As for the property, Mack has indicated he still plans to work on it and is looking for funding, she said.

The demolition project was stopped last July after testing done by the Environmental Protection Agency revealed high levels of asbestos. Removal of asbestos around the outside of the mill was started last fall, but Mack needed to secure more funding for the removal and then demolition to continue.

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