WILTON — Selectmen agreed to sign a resolution Tuesday endorsing the town’s interest in securing natural gas service.

Other towns, including Jay, Livermore Falls and Farmington, have signed similar resolutions, Selectman Thomas Saviello said.

Requests for proposals were recently sent to four natural gas companies. Summit Natural Gas and Maine Natural Gas responded that they are interested, he said.

The towns are seeking extension of the gas line coming to the mill in Jay and going on to Farmington and down through Livermore Falls.

Although costs are initially higher, Summit provides better penetration within the towns than Maine Natural Gas does, Saviello said. The second company tends to provide to the larger businesses along its lines, whereas Summit extends lines further into the community to more homes and businesses.

The towns may not have a say in who provides natural gas, because the companies have to file with the Public Utilities Commission for approval to supply natural gas, he added.

Saviello expects natural gas could be available in Wilton by the fall of 2014 and  reduce energy cost 35 percent.

In other business, selectmen accepted quarterly reports from police Chief Heidi Wilcox and fire Chief Sonny Dunham.

Wilcox reported the department has recently received a $3,000 donation from Barclay’s customer care center in Wilton. She sought approval to spend half the money on police bike patrol for town parks this summer and the rest on equipment and special training programs. Board members Saviello, Scott Taylor and Paul Berkey agreed.

Police officers, including Wilcox, have spent more time working with the local schools. After tragedies such as the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in Newtown, Conn., last year, there is “concern in every community regarding the safety of our children,” she wrote in her report.

The officers have worked on safety drills at Cushing School with prekindergarten through second grade students. Officers are trying to be present at the opening and closing of school, helping children recognize and get to know the officers and be more comfortable talking to them.

During a domestic violence call last week two children fled their home during an assault, she said. An officer was recognized by one of the children who attends Academy Hill School. Because of the school contact, the officer was able to talk with the child and learn more about what had happened.

Wilcox is also “working on a new approach to school emergencies” by starting a Rapid Intervention Team, one similar to what fire departments do for structure fires, she said.

Nearly 20 police officers live in Wilton. An alert of an “active shooter” call could be sent in seconds by cellphone text messaging to them, allowing for a quicker response, she said.

Dunham reported that the Fire Department passed the SHAPE program offered through the Department of Labor. All members also passed the department’s mandatory annual training.

The department recently raised $1,400 for the Pine Tree Burn Center by holding a Bowl-a-thon and a dance for the Firemen’s Benevolent Association.

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