WILTON — Town manager Rhonda Irish announced to the select board on Tuesday, September 15, that Wilton has received $41,646 from the state’s Keep Maine Healthy COVID-19 grant.  Irish partnered with Healthy Community Coalition (HCC) to apply for the grant which is intended to promote healthy outdoor activities.

“So what this grant will go towards, we are doing outdoor recreation at Kineowatha Park, so it will go towards a person that will help monitor or work with the coaches and also help keep the adults and everybody spread apart and everybody safe and to bring out any of our supplies, hand sanitizer, signs, any other signs for keeping healthy,” Irish said at the board meeting via Zoom.

With the grant money, Wilton has hired HCC to develop educational materials such as brochures about preventing the spread of the coronavirus. The funding will also go towards a $17,500 portable, electric sign to post COVID-19 notices in town.

In other business, Irish informed the board of the tax rate currently proposed by the town assessor.

“Our assessor is the one that can make the final decision and with the blessing of the board, the tax rate for this year will be at $20 just as it was last year and as it was the year before,” Irish said. 

The Truck or Treat Halloween event, a variation of Wilton’s Trunk or Treat, was approved by the board which will take place Saturday, October 31, on Main Street in the afternoon and early evening. A section of the street from Food City to the New Great Wall restaurant will be closed to public traffic so that children can stand in the back of vehicles wearing costumes and collecting candy.

Regional School Unit 9 Board Member Angela LeClair provided the selectboard with an update regarding the school district’s first two weeks of school.

She informed the board that roughly 500 or 21% of the district’s 2,400 students chose remote learning. All remote learning kindergarten through fifth grade students who indicated their need for a device and hotspot last spring have received them.

LeClair said that those who opted for the hybrid option and did not notify the district in the spring of their technology needs are still waiting for devices. This is due to considerable national back orders as schools around the country have simultaneously ordered devices for remote learners.

The board reviewed and approved six properties with unpaid taxes since 2017 to be put on the real estate market.

Irish also informed selectpersons that a ballot collection box will be installed outside of the town office for people to drop off their absentee ballots. She said that 80% of the cost of the drop box will be covered by state funds.

October 6 was set as the public hearing date for junkyard permits, and the board approved all appointments for the broadband committee and the conservation committee.

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