WILTON — Presentations on a new website, a community service program and the Western Maine Play Museum were given Monday by the Wilton Group, whose goal is to promote the town.

About 30 residents attended the event at Calzolaio Pasta Co. 

The Wilton Group is developing a new website, member Eileen Liddy said, and it’s expected to be completed within three to four weeks. It will have a calendar of events and business listings.

Membership is free. The group will accept donations of $10 a year for an individual or family and $25 a year for a business. No one has to give but they must sign up to be a member, she said.

Every Wilton business will be listed. Members can alter their listing, add photos or notify customers of sales. Advertising is planned for the bottom of pages with discounts given to members.

“It’s a work in progress,” she said.

After voters adopted a property maintenance ordinance last June, selectmen appointed a Downtown Planning Committee, member Betty Shibles said. The committee was charged with coming up with an idea to help property owners, she said.

Shibles and Town Manager Rhonda Irish talked about properties along Wilton’s main streets. Slides of properties were shown and updates given on work needed and what owners plan to do.

The committee’s Community Service Program has $2,000 in the Paint Bank to start the work. The town is willing to assist residents who can’t take on projects themselves for physical or financial reasons, Shibles said.

The money is from donations, Irish said. The Paint Bank is a nonprofit program. Donations can be given to the Community Support Program at the town office.

Those who need help can fill out a form stating what’s needed. Committee members will prioritize, she said.

Members include President Jeff Chaisson, Secretary Betty Shibles, Treasurer Rhonda Irish and Susan Atwood, Charles Ellis, Nancy Merrow, Angela McLeod and David Smith.

Volunteers are also needed, Shibles said.

The Western Maine Play Museum has moved forward in less than a year, Angela McLeod, said. She did a community survey last July and was overwhelmed with the response, she said.

Since then a board of directors has formed and a property on Main Street was donated in March. A children’s museum is a place for interactive, hands-on activities that support learning through play, she said. It’s a place for young families, a support for kids in need and a way to promote community revitalization, she said.

The museum will provide activities during winter and give children in difficult circumstances more opportunities, she said.

“We knew if we built it, people would come,” she said. “It will generate traffic into the downtown and create businesses catering to families.”

McLeod said a fundraising campaign is planned this summer with a goal of opening the museum in the summer of 2015. At least $500,000 is needed, she said.

Plans are being made for inside and outside space, including a picnic and play area in the backyard. A second building on the lot, vacant for years, will be demolished with some materials salvaged, she said.

The Wilton Group will host a candidates night at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 21, at Calozaio’s to meet those seeking two selectmen seats in the June election.

abryant@sunjournal.com

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