WILTON – The Selectboard dispensed with three town-owned properties, approved a bid for new breathing apparatuses for the Wilton Fire Department and elected a new chair at Tuesday’s meeting.
The board elected Selectperson Keith Swett as its chair for the next year; Selectperson David Leavitt will serve as vice chair. Both votes were unanimous, with the respective nominees abstaining.
The board had previously put four pieces of town-owned property up for bid: a 4-acre lot on the Tobin Flat Road; a .03 acre island lot; a .72 acre lot, that includes a house, on Cemetery Road; and a .59 acre lot on Webb Avenue. Three properties received numerous bids, with the board awarding each to the high bidder in all three cases: the Tobin Flat Road property bid was awarded to Clarence and Stephanie Henderson at $4,600; the Cemetery Road lot bid was awarded to Rick Nightingale for $16,001; and the island lot was awarded to Ellen Shibles for $5,014.74.
There were no bids for the Webb Avenue property. That property carried the highest minimum bid by far, at $20,275, with that amount based off the assessed value of the property. Unlike the other locations, Wilton paid to have a structure on that lot demolished and the property cleared at the cost of $21,705.
The board also reviewed bids to replace Wilton and East Dixfield’s Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus gear, selecting the low-bidding company Fire Tech and Safety out of Winthrop to provide gear meeting the 2018 specifications that go into effect in July. The $143,480 cost, which includes equipment for East Dixfield that will need to be broken out, will be paid for over a 5-year lease/purchase agreement with Androscoggin Bank. Town Manager Rhonda Irish noted that the department had applied for an Assistance to Firefighters grant. She will work with Androscoggin Bank to organize funding for the acquisition.
The board also recognized the resignation of a long-serving Planning Board member, as Michael Sherrod indicated that he will no longer be able to serve on the board. Irish noted that Sherrod had been the chair of that board since she had been working in Wilton. Selectpersons voted to have a letter sent to Sherrod, recognizing his exceptional service.
The town office will close at noon Friday, to allow for the end-of-year accounting.
