WILTON — Replacement of a culvert on Pond Road has endured complications on environmental and structural issues. The project was delayed by two months but is scheduled to be done the week of September 22. Elvis Phair of Mt. Law Wreathes ‘n Bakery attended the Select Board’s Tuesday evening to express frustration that the timing is going to cut into his fall business traffic.
“Wilton says it supports small business,” Phair said to the Board. “But access to our store will be cut off during a busy time for us, leaf peeping. And beyond that, the elderly and disabled will be cut off from receiving help if they need it.”
Phair pointed out that several projects are done where only one half of the bridge system is closed off rather than the entire road. But Wilton Public Works Foreman Dale Roberts explained that the Army Corps of Engineering required a culvert with natural bottom to allow for fish migration, and the construction couldn’t be done in phases. To pour fittings for the culvert the entire width of the roadway has to be opened up.
Wilton Public Works Foreman Dale Roberts addresses selectpersons Tuesday night on replacing a culvert on Pond Road. Nicole Carter/Franklin Journal
“The town doesn’t have the ability or the money,” Select Board Member Tom Saviello added. “We have to follow the rules for protecting wetlands.”
Phair also reminded the Board that the work was originally schedule for July but had been delayed and questioned if it could wait until next year.
“If that culvert fails during the winter, then it’s done until summer,” Salviello said, “And not just for one week of construction. As the road regularly floods there could be a good chance of that happening.”
The town had placed ads with local newspapers and websites, posted notices, and placed a construction marquis sign to alert the public of the closing. Roberts confirmed that Maine Department of Transportation and the Army Corps of Engineers had been given proper notice. He agreed with Phair that the message on the marquis should be adjusted to make the construction start date more clear, and offered to provide traffic direction about detours as the road is closed.
At Phair’s request, the Board also will consider communicating with affected landowners of construction projects with letters, similar to alerts about planning development projects.
The Select Board also approved several other measures Tuesday evening and signed a warrant for a special town meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 1, to vote on banning all electrical transmission project applications until the town develops rules to govern them.
The meeting on the “elective electrical transmission corridor moratorium” is set for 6 p.m. at the Gerald D. Cushing School.
The ban will not affect projects already approved by the board, such as construction of a new Central Maine Power substation on Main Street.
Selectman Tom Saviello and Code Enforcement Officer Charlie Lavin have formed a committee with residents to address concerns about the effects of alternative power projects and Central Maine Power’s proposed New England Clean Energy Connect transmission line to bring hydropower from Quebec to Massachusetts.
“The goal is not to prohibit the development of power lines and projects in Wilton,” Saviello previously told the board, “but to develop criteria to consistently regulate them.”
In other business, the board approved a bid from Quirk Ford of Augusta for a new police vehicle. The cost, after a vehicle trade-in of $4,500, is $32,074.
A request by the Wilton Events Committee to temporarily close a public way to ensure a safe area for kids to play during Harvest Fest on Oct. 5 was granted.
Town Manager Rhonda Irish presented a General Assistance Ordinance, which included application requirements. The board voted to accept it.
Irish also gave an update on contracted services from the North Jay Water Department. The two towns have been working on an agreement that includes changes in rates. She expects to have a final version for the board to vote on at its next meeting.
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