WILTON — The Board of Selectpersons concluded a lengthy discussion Tuesday by postponing action on a proposed ordinance regulating all-terrain vehicles until lawyers can review it.
After more than 42 minutes of discussion and four votes, the board voted unanimously to table the proposal and send it to the law firm Preti Flaherty.
Much of the discussion focused on a motion by Selectman Nathan Hiltz to seek public approval of the plan, which would establish when and where riders could use their ATVs.
The board introduced the proposed ordinance Sept. 1 and targeted Tuesday for approval.
Before the discussion began, Selectwoman Tiffany Maiuri pointed out several edits to the original proposal.
The board did not provide copies of the edited proposal to the public, and the image of the changes projected on the screen behind the board table was unreadable from the audience. The major edit clarified a clause allowing ATV riders who live more than 500 yards from an ATV access route to obtain waivers from the chief of police.
Hiltz, who has repeatedly called for greater public engagement in town affairs, first moved that the board call a special town meeting Nov. 3 for a nonbinding referendum on the proposal.
Board Chairman David Leavitt has said several times that only the board can adopt an ATV ordinance because state law gives the board, rather than residents, authority over public ways.
With almost no discussion, the board voted 3-2 to approve Hiltz’s motion. Hiltz, Selectwoman Nancy Allen and Selectman Phil Hilton voted in favor; Maiuri and Leavitt voted against it.
“So, hold on,” Town Manager Maria Greeley said. “That’s Election Day.”
The town would have to hold a special town meeting at Academy Hill School, while voting would take place at the town office on Weld Road, a mile away.
Much of the ensuing discussion centered on the term “special town meeting.” At a Wilton town meeting, residents gather to hear and vote on articles on a warrant. In Jay, which borders Wilton, town meetings take the form of referendums, with polls open for several hours.
Hiltz cited Jay’s use of a “special town meeting” in April for a nonbinding vote on a proposal for Wilton and Jay to collaborate on police services. Unlike Wilton, however, Jay conducted its “special town meeting” by referendum in conjunction with the June 9 statewide primary election.
When Greeley noted the difficulty of holding a referendum and an in-person special town meeting on the same day in two places a mile apart, Hiltz said he had intended his motion to mean Wilton would vote by referendum ballot.
Hilton then moved to reconsider the vote for a special town meeting, which Allen seconded.
In discussing the repercussions of a referendum, Maiuri asked: “What happens if the townspeople say no? Do we start over?”
“Until we adopt an ordinance, we have no authority to enforce anything,” she said.
Hiltz responded, “The will of the voters hasn’t been expressed.”
Leavitt said the board held a public hearing June 30 to learn opinions on regulating ATVs.
Allen replied that many attending that meeting did not live in Wilton.
About 85 people attended the meeting. Some ATV riders from other towns said they ride to Wilton for shopping and entertainment.
The board voted 4-1 to reconsider Hiltz’s motion for a special town meeting, with Hiltz voting against reconsideration, and resumed discussing the original proposal.
When Hiltz restated his motion, Leavitt said he still was calling for an in-person meeting on Election Day. Greeley suggested that Hiltz wanted a ballot, not an in-person meeting. She said the board would need to hold a special meeting to add the question to the Nov. 3 ballot.
“All it would be,” Hiltz said, “is you (voters) would get a separate piece of paper (ballot).”
The board then voted a second time on Hiltz’s original motion and defeated it. Leavitt, Maiuri and Hilton voted against it; Allen and Hiltz voted in favor.
When Maiuri moved to adopt the ordinance with immediate effect, Hiltz objected. He said lawyers needed to review the document further and moved to table Maiuri’s motion. A motion to table takes priority over the original motion.
Hiltz said one reason for further legal review was that the proposed ordinance allows exemptions for riders who live more than 500 yards from an ATV access route. He cited state law prohibiting a town from authorizing ATV riding on more than 500 yards of a public way.
The proposal lists three ATV access routes, including one that runs more than 2 miles from Main Street to the Temple town line.
The board then voted unanimously to table the proposal and send it to Preti Flaherty for review.
Leavitt said after the meeting that he expects the document to be ready for board action at its Oct. 20 meeting.
In other matters, the board heard two reports.
County Commissioner Tom Saviello, a former selectman and legislator, proposed changing the county treasurer’s position from elected to appointed by the commissioners.
“It is becoming more and more complicated to be a treasurer,” he said. “We can’t let politics be a part of that.”
Saviello said the change, if approved by voters, would take effect Jan. 1, 2027, nullifying the Nov. 3 election for treasurer. Incumbent Pam Prodan, a Democrat, is running against Susan Pratt, a Republican and former acting county manager.
Saviello also said Mt. Blue Community Access TV, which provides public access coverage of local meetings, will begin providing local election results. He said Lance Harvell, a former state representative; Paul Mills, a Farmington lawyer; Chandler Woodcock, a former Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife commissioner and state senator; and Saviello would provide vote totals and commentary.
Public Works Foreman John Masse updated the board on road projects. He said the town has paved or plans to pave Pleasant Street; Pleasant View Heights; Austin Street; 1,800 feet of Magrath Road; Railroad Street; Orchard Drive from Temple Road to Pleasant Street; Temple Road from Orchard Drive toward Main Street, as far as funding allows; White School House Road, including reclamation of 2 inches of the base layer; Ridgecrest Drive, also including reclamation of 2 inches of the base layer; Applegate Lane, where the town installed a new water line and will reclaim 2 inches of the base layer; Applewood Lane; and Colby Miller Road, where the town will apply a topcoat.
Masse said the transfer station has taken in 138 5-gallon pails of hazardous waste.
He said work has been delayed because a truck the town ordered in January has not arrived. He also said the department needs to hire a mechanic.
When Allen asked how the town would manage if it could not hire a mechanic, Masse said, “We’ll do what we can in-house and send out the rest.”
Nick Santora, who lives in East Dixfield village in Wilton, told the board that “something’s got to happen” to reduce speeding along U.S. Route 2. He said he clocked a Maserati at 76 mph and a Corvette at 71 mph. The speed limit through the village is 35 mph. He asked the board to alert the Maine State Police to the speeding.
The board also approved Allen’s motion to reduce the Comprehensive Plan Committee from 11 members to nine. She said the board has had difficulty obtaining a quorum for meetings.
Santora, a committee member, said reducing its membership should help the committee operate more effectively.
