WILTON – Selectpersons met Tuesday evening for department updates, to continue a discussion on a potential moratorium and to listen to updates on the former Forster Mill building from Town Manager Rhonda Irish.
Superintendent of the Water and Sewer Department Heinz Gossman reported that a pump station located on the Lake Road is in need of an electrical upgrade after being skipped over during a series of routine upgrades five years ago.
“It’s a ticking time bomb,” he told board members.
Electricians Express, a company out of Skowhegan, has quoted the project at $13,437 according to Gossman. The fee will be covered by the Pump Station line in the Water and Sewer budget. The board approved the expenditure unanimously.
After presenting the idea of placing a moratorium on Section 5.7 of the town’s zoning ordinance which covers Public Service Corporations at the last meeting, Selectperson Tom Saviello moved to table the idea until more information can be gathered. Saviello said there had been some interest from local residents to take on the job of researching the issue, and that he plans on talking to an attorney about the specific wording. The board moved to table the moratorium.
Town Manager Rhonda Irish reported that contractors with EnviroVantage expected to be finished with demolition of the former Forster Mill building by Friday. Contractually the company should have been done with the project yesterday, Aug. 20, Irish said, which means the board could decide to charge the company $500 for each day they go over. The board decided to hold off on any decisions until the project is officially completed.
Thank you Rhonda and Select board members for seeing this lengthy process through with the former Forster Mfg site. The site is looking better all the time, and now there’s much greater visibility of the property’s physical limits and development potential. Kudos to Rhonda for handling this very lengthy procedure of safely removing the hazard of the vacant mill, all the way back to officially deeming the building unsafe and taking the property for unpaid taxes.