WILTON — The Board of Selectmen were given their first view of a new town website Tuesday.

It’s still being developed, Town Manager Rhonda Irish reported of the work she and Selectman Tiffany Maiuri are doing to create the site.

They hope to go live by the end of April. The present site will be replaced by this new site, she said Thursday.

“We’re trying to keep it pretty simple but more professional,” she said of the work being done in-house.

The board took a look at the basic work done so far to see if they thought it should continue, she said. They liked it, she added.

In other business, Irish updated the board on cleanup efforts at the Wilton Tannery site.

A public meeting will be held Feb. 4 to cover the next and final stages of cleanup, she said. The plan by the environmental consultants will be discussed during the meeting geared towards community relations.

Along with the consultants, the Department of Environmental Protection and the Environmental Protection Agency Brownsfield project officer will be there to review what needs to done to complete the project this year. More information will be provided as the time nears.

The most recent work, removing an underground oil tank and asbestos, is complete she said.

The board is still debating whether the entire facility needs to be taken down. Be it some or all, the board will have to decide, she said.

The board decided not to apply for the state “Business Friendly” designation but instead to hold an economic forum on Feb. 24 to discuss Wilton’s future in advanced manufacturing, agriculture, energy and technology, she said. More information will be available as the time nears.

The board also reviewed a thank-you letter for the money given to purchase the land adjacent to Bass Park. 

The land is now owned by the town. The Planning Board has given approval to begin construction on it. The work is expected to begin this spring with the parking area and walkway ready for use this summer, she said.

Irish also thanked the Highway Department and public safety departments — police and fire — for their work over recent storms, she said. Their response to the challenges presented by recent weather issues was tremendous, she added.

The board reviewed the proposed schedule for the upcoming budget process. Irish and town department heads begin the budget process Jan. 22.

Selectmen and the Finance Committee will work through Feb and March to finalize the budget by the first of April.

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