The Wilton 2021 Town Meeting was held outdoors next to the elementary school on Thursday evening June 10th.
Results:
- There were 106 registered voters in attendance, which is unfortunately significantly lower than past years
- All warrant articles passed, but two were amended
- Article #7 (town budget) was increased by $30,000 to $5,389,397 for police salaries.
- Article #20 (Old County Farm Road Bridge was amended – here is the updated warrant:
“To see if the Town will raise and appropriate the sum of $70,389 to be placed in the Bridges Capital Reserve Fund previous established, the monies to come from the unassigned fund balance. This represents the balance of the 2017 additional highway block grant of $107,000 which the Select Board voted to use for this bridge.”
Kermit Williams comments on amending this warrant:
The bridge on the northern end of Old County Farm Road, over Whiting or Mill Brook, is a beautiful example of 19th century workmanship. The dry stone arch over the brook is in great condition, almost like when it was first built. But the approach to the bridge has been damaged by flooding. The Select Board wants to save this bridge and keep it in historic condition. It’s on the national register of historic bridges. This warrant article was to raise money for a repair effort. We only got one bid for this repair, and we are not convinced that that proposal is the right solution. So more work needs to be done.
The amended warrant will place the funds originally planned for bridge repair into the bridge fund, where it can be used for this bridge or some other bridge project, without asking for additional tax dollars at this time. The board will work with the abutting landowner to come up with the best solution, and I would ask the moderator to recognize Fred Roedel, that property owner, to speak on this issue.”