WILTON — The Board of Selectpersons has set June 22 as the date of the annual town meeting, two weeks later than the customary second Monday in June.
During an abbreviated meeting Tuesday night, the board also postponed its first discussion of options for collaborating with the Jay Police Department to provide police services for both towns.
Wilton typically holds its annual town meeting on the Monday six days after the June elections, when new Board of Selectpersons members may have been elected. This year, the Maine primaries and local elections are scheduled for June 9.
Six days later would be June 15, but Town Manager Maria Greeley has a family commitment out of state that day. She recommended June 22, and the board agreed 3-0.
Regular board meetings are held on the first and third Mondays of the month. Vice Chair Keith Swett noted that moving the town meeting to June 22 would free June 15, the third Monday, for a regular meeting. He added that holding a board meeting between the election of new members and the town meeting is not a good idea.
Such a meeting could have outgoing board members, who might have been defeated for reelection, voting on town business after losing the election. Chair David Leavitt said the Board of Selectpersons may need to meet the day after the annual town meeting, or June 23.
The additional week before the town meeting may give Wilton more time to address proposals to collaborate with Jay for police services.
The first discussion of the proposals from the Wilton-Jay Police Collaboration Committee had been scheduled for Tuesday, but Selectwomen Tiffany Maiuri and Nancy Allen were absent. Leavitt said the discussion should be held only when all five members are available. He also said it remains up in the air whether the board will have an article on police cooperation ready for the annual town meeting.
The board has said it wants to survey residents about the four possible paths to cooperation and hold public meetings to hear residents’ ideas and wishes about police services.
The four possible paths to police cooperation are:
- Do nothing, leaving each town to continue providing its own police service.
- Contract with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and close both town police departments.
- One town contracts with the other for all police services and closes its police department.
- Establish a quasi-municipal corporation governed equally by both towns.
The board is scheduled to meet March 2, and Leavitt said he expects to begin discussing police collaboration at that time.
In other matters, the Board of Selectpersons received a letter from the town’s Parks & Recreation Committee questioning the board’s Nov. 4 decision to use money from the Bjorn Fund for a park and ride on Munson Road.
Recreation Director Jordan Schanck presented the letter, which was signed by five committee members. It cites a letter from the late Judith Bjorn, who wrote when awarding the funds to the town that they were intended “to support your extensive programs for youth and families.”
According to the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, the committee said, her letter qualifies the money as a donor‑restricted fund “and cannot be reallocated at the discretion of the governing body.”
The committee said its objective was “not to challenge the (select) board’s authority but to ensure we collectively honor donor intent.”
Committee members said they want “to improve communication, clarify responsibilities and work … with the select board so that future decisions regarding parks & recreation funds, facilities and responsibilities are made with shared understanding.”
The Board of Selectpersons received the letter without comment.
Schanck also reported on winter sports participation, which included 45 basketball players in the peewee and kindergarten through first grade program, four teams at the first through third grade level, five teams at the fourth through eighth grade level and four travel teams.
He said the town opened the ice rink after Christmas and introduced a skate program in which 10 to 12 Academy Hill School students at a time skate for free after school.
Leavitt asked Schanck to look into applying for a grant to upgrade recreation opportunities along the all-season Whistle Stop Trail, which follows the former Farmington branch of the Maine Central Railroad.
