WILTON — The Board of Selectpersons approved a contract Tuesday to pave several town streets and another to rebuild the retaining wall on Wilson Lake.
The board also rejected the only bid submitted to repair windows and siding at the Town Office.
Selectpersons awarded the paving contract to Spencer Group Paving LLC of Turner, the second lowest of four bidders.
John Masse, foreman of the Wilton Public Works Department, recommended that the board reject the lowest bid, submitted by Paving Professionals of Winterport, because its asphalt mix would need to travel about two hours from the plant to Wilton. Asphalt cools during transport and must be applied while still hot.
Spencer Group Paving, which handles all of the town’s paving work, will haul its mix from Auburn, about an hour away. The company’s contract totals $444,912, and work is expected to be completed by October.
The paving projects are: Pleasant Street, which runs from Temple Road to Red Schoolhouse Road, 7,500 feet; Temple Street, starting at Orchard Drive and extending 3,600 feet toward Main Street; Magrath Road, which runs north from Weld Road (Route 156) beginning near the Wilson Lake Country Club, 2,000 feet; White Schoolhouse Road, which runs north from Weld Road (Route 156) starting at the Wilton Intervale, 1,700 feet; Ridgecrest Drive, which runs west from Temple Road, 1,200 feet; Railroad Street, from Pleasant Street to Main Street, 1,170 feet; Pleasant View Heights, a loop off Pleasant Street, 1,050 feet; and Austin Street, the extension of Railroad Street below Main Street, 300 feet.
The board also approved a $682,637 bid from Starrett Snow and Landscape Services to rebuild the retaining wall at the head of Wilson Lake. The wall runs southwest from the Canal Street bridge and roughly parallels Lake Road.
Starrett, based in Raymond, is finishing the Blake Hill Road bridge replacement in Mount Vernon and expects to begin work in Wilton by the end of June.
Board Chair David Leavitt said the project was estimated at $700,000 a year ago, so Starrett’s bid was “in the ballpark.” He said the existing stone wall will remain in place and the new retaining wall will be built outward from it.
Town Manager Maria Greeley said the project is funded through Wilton’s American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 allocation and must be completed by Dec. 31.
The board unanimously rejected a bid to replace windows and siding at the Town Office at 158 Weld Road.
“I do not recommend moving ahead with this project,” Greeley told the board.
The $174,757 bid came from Maine Highland Contracting of Beaver Cove, north of Greenville in Piscataquis County.
“We need more space in this office,” Leavitt said. “I’d rather see us put an addition on the Town Office and do this work as part of that project.”
Greeley replied, “That would be most wonderful.”
The board voted unanimously to seek requests for proposals from architects for an expansion of the Town Office.
The board also voted unanimously to award a $15,000 contract for fireworks at the Wilton Blueberry Festival, scheduled for Aug. 7-8. The fireworks show is set for Aug. 8.
The contract went to Pyrotecnico, a national company based in New Castle, Pennsylvania. Central Maine Pyrotechnics of Hallowell also submitted a $15,000 bid.
Pyrotecnico’s bid was for firing 1,791 shots, and the bid from Central Maine Pyrotechnics was for 2,449. But Selectwoman Tiffany Maiuri noted that Pyrotecnico offered more “long shells” than Central Maine.
“We get more bang for our bucks with Pyro,” she said.
The board also appointed three people to the Conservation Committee: Sam Shirley, Kandi Karkos and Jordan Kimball.
Fire Chief Sonny Dunham reported that the uptick in fire calls has continued, with 80 calls in the first quarter of the year. That included six structure fires in Wilton and several structure fires in Carthage, Farmington, Industry, Jay, New Sharon and Phillips where Wilton firefighters responded through mutual aid.
He said many residents should improve the visibility of their house number signs for emergency responders. House numbers should face the street and be reflective so they can be seen at night, he said. Numbers should be 4 or 5 inches tall.
The board approved liquor license renewals for Ambition Brewing and The Square, both on Main Street, and approved a “temporary extension of premises” permit for Ambition Brewing to serve outdoors during the Blueberry Festival.
The board voted to move its meeting scheduled for June 16 to June 23, the day after the annual town meeting.
At an earlier meeting, the board discussed whether it should meet June 16, with the town meeting only six days away.
