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Wilton board reviews Parks and Recreation offerings, marijuana ordinance

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WILTON – Members of the Selectboard listened to an update from Parks and Recreation Department Director Frank Donald at Tuesday night’s meeting, as well as discussing adding signage to a busy road and whether or not to place a moratorium on the town’s marijuana ordinance.

Donald’s quarterly report for board members included a nod to the department’s many athletic offerings which range from Frisbee and pickle ball to soccer which has seen more than 100 participants this season. The renovations to the department’s combined office and storage building are anticipated to be completed by the end of the month Donald said, with the plumbing and electric going in this week.

“It’s light years from what we’ve had for the last 30 years,” Donald said.

Another renovation at Bishop Park in East Wilton replaced old telephone poles that were serving as basketball hoop poles with new ones that Donald reported look excellent. After researching prices for two new poles, estimated numbers were coming in at $5,000 plus the cost of installation, but two generous donations from community members dropped that budget to zero. Carrier Welding and Fabrication donated the two poles for free to the department, while Taylor Construction waived the fee of installation. The board moved to send official letters of thanks to the two companies.

A 3-2 vote by the board passed a motion to place two new signs on Lake Road warning drivers to be aware of walkers. The request was made by a resident who said the road frequently has walkers on it, with no sidewalk and very little shoulder. Despite a 25 mph speed limit, drivers tend to go fast on the road, especially when coming off of Route 2. Board members discussed the potential risk of setting a precedent regarding requests for signs, but in the end decided this particular case was different due to the lack of a shoulder on the road.

An ordinance voted on this summer which allows marijuana retail sales, cultivation and manufacturing in town has been up for discussion after the state’s recent designation between “adult use” marijuana and “medicinal”- a designation that is not currently addressed in the ordinance. Board members agreed not to place a moratorium on the ordinance since the process would most likely extend past the new year when the state’s new laws go into effect. Selectperson Keith Swett pointed out the the final line of the ordinance, which references state law when necessary, should protect the town from any confusion on the matter.

The law goes into effect Dec. 12, Town Manager Rhonda Irish said, and scenarios between now and then will be handled case by case.

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7 Comments

  1. Thank you for agreeing to the signs on the Lake Road, the whole road sees more walkers, bike riders and children playing (not just at the park side). I am getting tired of seeing big trucks and cars going 40 plus mph on that road and coming around the corner and almost hitting other vehicles because they are in the middle of the road.

    As for the marijuana, there are residents who don’t want anything to do with it and the smell makes them sick, I am one of them. Why should others have to put up with it? Open up spaces that are not near homes and businesses. What about out on Route 4 as there are buildings there. I own my home and I should have the option to say not near my home or family.

  2. @Resident…there are hundreds of grows in Wilton already…prolly some if your neighbors grow too…no matter where you go it’s already there…

  3. $5000 plus install for a couple basketball posts? WTF!! I’m glad Carrier donated after all the free money the town helped them get.

  4. Have the Foster Tech at Mt. Blue build the basketball hoops and poles and give them the money. That’s a hearty price for 2 basket ball poles plus installation?? WOW.

  5. Resident-

    How is allowing tobacco smokers to smoke outside and on sidewalks trailing the smell of that smoke any different then someone trailing a smell of marijuana smoke?? I don’t feel your objection has a valid point. If this is going to bring the state and towns more revenue, why would this be any different then the gas station selling beer or cigarettes?
    If you object to the legal sale of this, you should also in turn object to the sale of tobacco products as you can “smell” that as well.

  6. Resident, you are on to something about the smell. Just drive on Front Street in Farmington.
    When I was a kid everyone’s parents smoked and I hated it. Restaurants were terrible places to eat and car rides were brutal. My clothes stunk of cigarettes and in Middle School, the Nuns would accuse me of smoking when I was the most anti smoking person of my era.
    Over the years, smoking in public places lessened and now non smokers do not have to breath it in.
    This will be the future of pot. Hard to imagine it would come to this but in a democracy, where people can vote, not everyone always likes all the results. Every election people are happy and people are sad. The same is the case on the legal pot issue as it was the will of the people. Of course, the will of the people is not allowed to infringe on the rights of other people so restrictions on where you can sue it are valid. By the way, this philosophy can apply to many issues that are extremely polarizing.
    If only everyone could see the way things are all connected and came to better understand that rights require responsible behavior and personal accountability..

  7. So would filing nuisance complaints against the smell of the pot be just a complaint I file to the town office (not that anything would get done because we all know there are a select few who pull the strings of the “management”)? This topic needs to be addressed just like a noise ordinance.

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