Wilton select board discusses Kineowatha building project, Forster Mill demo

WILTON – Selectpersons met Tuesday night to discuss the next steps for the Recreation Department office building and the purchase of a new police cruiser, along with a brief update on the Forster Mill demolition project.

Police Chief Heidi Wilcox approached the board with a request for the purchase of a new cruiser to join the fleet, replacing the oldest vehicle. The purchase would align with the department’s capital improvement plan which alternates purchases over the years.

The bid for the vehicle will be available within the next two weeks, allowing Chief Wilcox and Town Manager Rhonda Irish to review and present their recommendations to board members at the April 3 meeting.

Moving forward with structural updates at Kineowatha Park, board members approved the hiring of Diversify Drafting at the amount of $2,500 for a complete architectural design of the office building renovation. The design will include a site and floor plan, building details and specs that will be put out to bid once completed. The funds will either be drawn from a trust fund containing money donated to the department, or from a different donation to the department made by a community member.

“The preference would be to package the whole project together from the trust fund,” Irish said.

The board will have time to review the completed design and vote on which funds to use before a final decision is made.

Irish reported to the board that the demolition is coming along at the Forster Mill building, and has been picking up speed despite the bad weather.

“They sped up this week, which opened up parts of the mill no one has seen before,” she said.

Many town members have been stopping along Depot Street to watch the historic building come down.

“The contractors are understanding. They know it’s a big change,” Irish said.

To help relieve the traffic along the street, Irish has been posting pictures of the project on the town’s Facebook page.