For FY 2026, the Board of Selectmen recommended 10 items for bonding for Wilton voters to consider at this year’s Annual Town Meeting on Tuesday, May 6, and on Saturday, May 10 when voting continues. One proposal is a $1,286,618 appropriation to renovate Ambler Farm‘s historic Raymond Ambler House, often referred to as the “White House.”.
As part of this bonding process, the Town and School Needs Assessment Priorities Committee [TSNAP] assessed which of Wilton’s more than $100 million infrastructure repair needs should be prioritized. TSNAP recommended the White House renovation as a priority for this year. The Board of Selectmen included the White House renovations on its list of 10 recommended bonding items to be presented to voters at the Annual Town Meeting. However, while the Board of Finance endorsed the other nine projects, it decided not to weigh in at all on the Ambler Farm House proposal.
Last Wednesday, Apr. 23, Ambler Farm Executive Director Ashley Kineon spoke with GOOD Morning Wilton Editor Heather Borden Herve about the issue — the history, including the Town’s obligation to maintain the Ambler Farm property required under the deed of purchase; the agreement between the Town and the Friends of Ambler Farm, the nonprofit organization created in 2005 to run day-to-day operations on the farm on behalf of the Town; and why she says it critical for Wilton residents to support the bonding resolution.
The story has been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.
GMW: Ambler Farm finds itself in a very strange position. Explain where Amber Farm is in relation to the Town. In the past, there was talk about a public/private partnership between the Town and the Friends of Ambler Farm, now you’re negotiating a lease agreement. What’s the status of that? And why is it important?
Ashley Kineon: I learned this morning that the Board of Selectmen reviewed the lease in executive session last night (Tuesday, Apr. 22), and they voted 5-0 to move forward with a public hearing to approve the lease on Monday, May 5.
To give a little bit of background on the lease — this has been said many times, but it bears repeating — when the town purchased the property 25 years ago, they agreed to preserve and maintain the property and the buildings for community use. The town is the sole party responsible for the financial obligation.
When the town bought the property, they said, ‘Well, what are we going to do with this property? They formed a steering committee to figure it out. Five years later, after the Red Barn had been stabilized, and work on the Carriage Barn was underway, they said, ‘Okay, let’s form the Friends of Ambler Farm.’ So the nonprofit was formed in 2005.
The purpose of the FOAF is to run and operate the day-to-day operations, manage and develop and execute our educational programming, and oversee the agricultural gardens tying into our agrarian history with an appreciation for Wilton’s roots — no pun intended.
In 2006, a year after the Friends of Ambler Farm (FOAF) was formed, the town said, ‘We need to come up with who’s responsible for what.’ It started with an informal agreement. As the Friends of Ambler Farm developed and grew, it became evident that a public/private partnership or some other type of legal agreement outlining the responsibilities of each party was really necessary. There’ve been countless drafts. We’ve talked about a public/private partnership, a management agreement, an operating agreement, a lease agreement, a hybrid… It was a big effort because this property and these buildings, it’s such a unique amenity in town —
GMW: And a very identifiably Wilton one.
Kineon: Absolutely. Ask realtors in town, people looking to buy a house will ask what amenities are in Wilton. Obviously our strong public schools, Wilton Library, and Ambler Farm. This is an amenity for everybody, of all ages.
GMW: And one that’s very closely tied to Wilton’s identity, with its agrarian history, open space, the mix people want of access to things but also the respect for history and the idea of ‘village’… this represents what what Wilton is.
Kineon: Right, exactly!
In the last year and a half, both the Town and the FOAF have worked very collaboratively together on something that will enable the Friends to go after grants — that’s one reason why we moved in the direction of a lease. Two years ago, I had applied for a great grant through the State Historic Preservation Office, SHPO. We went through the whole process, and they said, ‘Okay, great, upload your long term lease or document,’ and we had nothing. That was unfortunate — that grant was perfect for the Raymond Ambler [White] house. That was a turning point.
At that point, we’re like, ‘Okay, well, we definitely need a lease of some sort, whether it’s part of a bigger agreement, we need something.’ That really sparked the intention of needing to do this now.
We’ve grown significantly in the past 20 years. In the past five years alone, our visitation is up with over 25,000 visitors a year.
Ambler is unlike any other amenity in town. It’s a multipurpose amenity: we’re a summer camp to over 1,100 campers; we’re a de-facto dog park; we’re open space; we have sustainable gardens; it’s a petting zoo; it’s a place for people to come and connect; it’s a great place for events — to come and listen to music during our Red Barn Live series in the summer; and it has truly been a critically important place for people, specifically during COVID, when people were stuck in their house and they wanted to get out, they came to the farm to get out, to get the fresh air and and see other people from afar.
And really, without Ambler Farm, I don’t know if my husband and I would be here. Our kids are grown and flown, but we’re here because we’re both passionate and care about the farm and the town, and we’re committed to paying it forward. There’s so much we’ve been able to do and so many ways we’ve been able to give back to our community.
Kineon: Hang on one second. … Kineon pauses to step away and take a phone call from First Selectman Toni Boucher.
GMW: So throughout this year’s budget process, Toni seems like she’s eager to make this happen.
Kineon: She is. Everyone has really put a lot of time and energy into this, and for the most part, both the Town and Friends are working well together. We’re really dedicated to finishing this and getting the White House past the finish line. It’s been 25 years since the town of Wilton purchased the property for our community. It’s an incredible amenity, and yet we’re still missing part of it. Wilton hasn’t completed that commitment [to preserve the buildings].
GMW: Quantify what Ambler Farm brings to Wilton. How many visitors and people from out of town come because of Ambler? How does the farm give back to the Town and what has the FOAF done for Wilton?
Kineon: We’ve seen an increase in visitation, over 25,000 visitors annually. Our Tap-a-Tree program where families, individuals, couples or friends adopt and tap a tree, and learn all about the maple sugaring process — it’s winter farming and part of our history here. It’s amazing, the number of out-of-town and actually out-of-state individuals coming. We’ve had quite a few from New York. Over 60% of our summer campers come from outside of Wilton. We have campers from California, we have international campers this summer, campers from multiple different states, beyond just Wilton and surrounding communities.
Part of that could be attributed to the collaboration with ASML over the last two years. The ASML grant we were awarded last year for $325,000 includes scholarships for Title I schools in Norwalk for children of underserved families. We’ve increased our field trips as a result and we are working with the Wilton Public Schools to to add additional field trips. We just had Miller-Driscoll here last week for a “Spring on the Farm” field trip.
One other thing about ASML, as part of their company culture, they’re very involved in volunteering and giving back to the community. Their grant was not just writing a check. It was, ‘We want to partner with you. We want to be a part of your community.’ They are such an integral part of the farm. We have approximately 15 ASML employees coming this Friday as a team building exercise, they’re helping out in the gardens with [Farmer] Jonathan [Kirschner]. We’ve had over 200 ASML employees come out in the past year, something like over 2,000 volunteer hours. We actually set up a separate maple sugaring open house just for about 125 ASML families, because there are so many.
GMW: When you say “ASML is a part of the farm,” you don’t mean just the acreage and the buildings… the words ‘the farm’ really means the spirit and the essence of what happens here.
Kineon: Absolutely, it’s all about connections. Whether you’re walking your dog or just need to decompress and get away from your phone, and you just need to connect with the land. Or spend time with a child or your partner. People come here to feel closer, whether it’s closer to somebody or to the land.
There’s something very therapeutic about getting your hands into the dirt. People will say, ‘Hey, can I volunteer?’ Absolutely, we are always looking for volunteers.
GMW: To play devil’s advocate, with the kinds of programming FOAF wants to run out of the Raymond Ambler House, some town officials have said, ‘Well, why does it need to be so extensive? When the agreement started back in 2005 there wasn’t a vision for how big Ambler Farm might become. Who asked you to make it as big as requiring the investment of so much of the taxpayers’ resources into what you’re planning for the White House?‘
Kineon: When the farm was purchased by the town, the deed stipulated that the Carriage Barn, the Red Barn and the Raymond Ambler House be preserved and maintained for community use. The first two barns were taken care of.
The Raymond Ambler House, there were specific things that it could be used for, but it was absolutely to be used for community use, which is very broad, right? I don’t think they really knew. For the first 10 years, they all sat there scratching their heads, saying, What are we gonna do at this house?
There have been countless hours, in every conversation, every use plan has been fleshed out, and where we’ve landed is, we tie it back to our mission. Our [FOAF] mission has three pillars: educational programming, sustainable farming and historic preservation. From that, we said, ‘Okay, how do we incorporate that?’
The purpose of a nonprofit is mission-driven. It’s very different than a for-profit business. People sometimes think of FOAF as a separate entity, that we’re [just] using this place. And why aren’t we [contributing] more?
To set the record straight, the Friends of Amber Farm covers our operating budget 100% independently of the town. We have a very small line item in the Board of Selectmen budget, which this year is $42,000. If you equate that to roughly 6,000 households in Wilton, that is $7 per household of taxpayer money that supports the farm.
GMW: What does that $42,000 cover?
Kineon: That covers the basic utilities to maintain the building, as was stipulated in the deed. It also covers basic property maintenance, tree work. For example, the Red Barn door was damaged in a windstorm a few weeks back, that type of thing. So while we take care of repairing that, it is covered by the town — as it should be, they’re town-owned buildings.
So, why is [the use plan] so big? It’s actually not. The house is what it is.
The house was built in three separate sections. The first section was built in roughly 1799. About 50 years later, the center section was built, and then the back section came several years after that.
When the town purchased it, they were required to keep the first section. We believe it was worded that way to give the town a leeway if the back section was so far gone that they couldn’t preserve it. A decision was made [at the time] that they preserve all of it.
The first phase of the work involved structural and stabilization work, where a new foundation was poured and stabilization was done.
So the house is what it is. We’ve been told we need to fix it up. We’ve been told that the Town and the FOAF need to figure it out.
GMW: Meaning, the Ambler Trust has said this needs to happen?
Kineon: The Trust has said the town is the sole party responsible for the financial obligation.
One of the things that people don’t remember or don’t realize is that the Friends were an extension of the town. We weren’t in existence when this whole agreement [between the Town and the Ambler Trust] happened. The Steering Committee [was told], ‘Go figure it out.’ Once they had an idea, then they needed something more formal.
So we were put here by the Town; we are here on behalf of the Town. We are not a separate entity. The Friends of Ambler Farm would not be here without the Town. We are an extension of the Town.
GMW: If FOAF wasn’t here, all of the day-to-day operations — separate from the programming, just speaking to the day-to-day operations — that responsibility would fall on Town departments and Town employees, right? The FOAF was formed to take over those day-to-day actions and activities to assist the town?
Kineon: Friends of Ambler Farm are responsible for the day-to-day operations. The capital work, the property, the maintenance, sustaining the buildings — that’s the Town’s job.
Despite that, we’re 100% responsible for our operating budget. Over the past 20 years, that totals over $10 million that has nothing to do with taxpayer money, it’s completely independent of the Town.
We’ve also raised roughly $600,000 towards the Raymond Ambler house, of which about half has been used. We’ve got about $350,000 in restricted funds to be used toward the House. So, we are helping the town. In comparison, in the past 20 years, the Town’s put in less than $2 million.
And as far as the Yellow House is concerned, we’re just a tenant. [Editor’s note: there is another structure on the property that is not part of the deed obligation, known as the Yellow House.] At this point, the Yellow House is uninhabitable, so we’re not paying rent. But when we had a property manager living in that house, we paid rent to the Town in just about the same amount as the Board of Selectmen’s Ambler Farm budget [line item]. So effectively it zeroed it out. So essentially, for many years, Ambler Farm was a tax-free amenity. Think about it — 18 acres, 10 historic buildings, farming.
We haven’t even talked about farming or how expensive farming is. Agricultural operations are really an expense center, but we are doing it because it was the vision that was laid out.
So, as we look at the use plan [for the Raymond Ambler House], our plans are strategic and methodical. We’d like to fully restore the front section. That [historic] hearth is going to be the focal point. The rooms in in that front section are very, very small, there’s limited use, and that’s been some of the challenge. It’s such a rambling house. So, what are we gonna do with it, right?
If we open up some of these smaller rooms and make it a multi-use space, it’s going to allow the farm as we progress from generation to generation, to mix it up and change it and modify it as needed.
GMW: Can you give an example of what you mean by that?
Kineon: Maybe we want to host “Ladies Night Out” now, because that’s very popular right now. Well, in 10 or 15 years, maybe that’s not going to be the case. Maybe people are going to be more interested in a lecture series.
The point is, we’ll be able to use this as public space, as a rental space for people to rent for a small, intimate gathering, like a bridal shower. We’ve had so many rental inquiries for the Carriage Barn, and at this point, we have programs running every day. We’ve extended our “Sprout and Me” program to five mornings a week. We started it at two. This is what I mean by methodical — we start it, we tweak it, we fine tune it, and what works, we expand.
Same is true with the Raymond Ambler House. High level, the Raymond Ambler House is going to be used for open space, for community events, educational programming, and — specifically, I’m really excited about the potential for some fun, engaging adult programs. Because while our wheelhouse is clearly youth programming — that’s how we keep the lights on and the doors open — adult programming is critically important. We want to be able to appeal to everybody. So whether we have art classes, or whether we have culinary programs… I envision a farm-to-table experience. Imagine coming in the late afternoon and going out to the fields with Farmer Jonathan harvesting, say, garlic scapes. You take the garlic scapes back to the Raymond Ambler House, into the kitchen and create a meal, you sit and you share it, and it’s a shared experience. That’s the magic, that’s Ambler Farm. Imagine sitting out on the rocking chair, you want to just share a cup of coffee with a friend. That’s the type of use we envision. Certainly we can have some fun events.
The other important use for this is, our summer camp is a Connecticut State Certified Summer Camp. We’ve got 1,100 campers. During inclement weather, we have to have one heated and cooled space. If a situation might cause us to have to cancel summer camp, that’s a significant hit for us, because that is where we’re generating our income. To be able to continue providing day-to-day offerings is really important. It’s really out of safety of the kids, to have a space to go. They could go in, they could do their cooking in there. They could do arts and crafts in there. It will give us more flexibility and improve our ability to pivot during unforeseen instances, whether it’s snow, a rainstorm, thunderstorm, or air quality issues like we had a couple years ago. That is really an important ability to have.
We also would love to [strengthen] our incredible Colonial Field Trip program in the fall. We have four different stations with all the different things that colonists did in the fall at the farm. Then, wouldn’t it be great to bring them into the hearth room and incorporate that, and speak about the history? We’re missing that final arm of our mission. To be able to incorporate all those different types of uses — educational programs, community events, rental space…
And there’s administrative office space, which we are severely lacking currently. We envision office space to be upstairs, and that’s intentional, so that we can make use of the entire downstairs for community use.
For safety and security, we’re considering a small studio apartment in the back upstairs where we would have either a seasonal farmhand or a caretaker. Which is important, because at night, right now, no one is living on this property, and just as visitation has increased during the daytime, visitation has increased during the evening hours even when we’re closed. So it’s really important right now that we have that on-site presence, especially in the case of emergency.
I mentioned the Red Barn doors, when one blew off? It happened off hours. Had someone been there, there would have been less damage than we had. It’s all in the best interest and safety of our community and our neighbors.
GMW: As part of this bonding process, the TSNAP Committee [Town and School Needs Assessment Priorities] visited the different town-owned buildings and the schools, and they identified the White House renovation as a priority. The Board of Selectmen included the White House renovations on its list of 10 recommended bonding items, and it will be presented to voters at the Annual Town Meeting. However, the Board of Finance endorsed the other nine projects but decided not to weigh in at all on the Ambler Farm House proposal with “no vote.”
Kineon: Just to clarify that, people may have taken that “no vote” to mean that they voted ‘No.’ [Actually], they chose not to vote, they chose to abstain because they had questions in terms of how much is it going to cost to maintain this and what does that mean for taxpayers.
GMW: When they did that, how did you respond? What did you think?
Kineon: I sent a letter to both the Board of Selectmen and the Board of Finance. Of course, I was disappointed. I look at this whole process and the challenges as an opportunity to educate people. Friends of Ambler Farm does not own the property. We are not responsible for this. The Town is responsible. Yet we are working closely together.
But it’s given us a platform to set the record straight and correct some misinformation. [Town officials] say [incorrect] things in meetings and it’s on record, like, ‘So once the town has contributed X amount, then we’re done.’ Unfortunately, [an incorrect] comment had been made.
GMW: Let’s say the bonding initiative doesn’t pass, then what?
Kineon: The town’s still obligated. It’s going to be on the bonding referendum [another] year, and it’s going to be more expensive. We’re simply asking the town to finish and fulfill the promise they made to the community. This is for the community. They’re not making the promise to FOAF. They’re making the promise to the community.
The Friends are here to create fun, engaging and interactive activities for community use. Everything we do goes back into the mission and back into the community. That’s the purpose of a nonprofit, and we’re not looking to make money and walk away. We’re not a for-profit business.
Also, I think when you have people that are very fiscally focused, if you’re on the Board of Finance, you have a charge, and a fiduciary responsibility. That’s your job and I appreciate that.
GMW: Is it a misconception that the plans for the White House are bigger than they need to be?
Kineon: There have been some comments made in town meetings that have been misinformed. When we look at the use plan, the front section will be that open space with the hearth, that multi-use room. There are two smaller rooms in the center section, which will be great for meeting spaces, workout breakout rooms, that type of thing.
Our plan is to move the kitchen. The kitchen as it is right now is very, very small, so you really can’t do much with it. So we’re moving and redesigning the kitchen to be in the back section where it’s more open, because it’s so tied into our mission.
It’s called a demonstration kitchen. People misunderstood that it was going to be a commercial kitchen, but it is not. The term demonstration kitchen is really a description of how it’s laid out, so someone can demonstrate. We are hands-on, so it should be a hands-on kitchen, but it should just be an easier-to-use space.
GMW: You’re not making a “McMansion” farmhouse.
Kineon: No. We are literally saying we are starting with multi-use space in every room, and in the back, we’ve got the kitchen, which again, it’s not a big space. These are small rooms, typical of historic homes. So, these are going to be small, intimate gatherings. Wouldn’t it be fun to do a wine and cheese pairing? It could be such a special, elegant setting, it can be so many different things.
We’re gonna start conservatively, and focus on educational programming and try to build up our adult programming, whether we have a lecture series or storytelling. I’m excited to see it open, because sometimes it’s hard to envision what it’s going to look like, but I do think there’s going to be a little something for everybody.
GMW: The Town made this promise over 25 years ago. Generations have changed. People have changed. New residents have come in. These decisions were made by people in the past. Again, playing devil’s advocate, maybe people now have different priorities for Town resources. What do you want to say to them before they walk into the voting booth to decide between, ‘Yes or no, do I want to spend almost $1.3 million on this project?’ Why should somebody who didn’t make that Ambler Farm decision 25 years ago now vote to put that money toward improving the Raymond Ambler House?
Kineon: First of all, because it’s going to be extending an amenity which is already owned by the town, and there will be something for everyone there. The other thing is, frankly, the Town does own it. They made the choice. Whether [someone was involved in that] choice or not, the obligation is there. If that house does not get finished, the Ambler Trust can take it back. There is wording in the deed that if the Town does not fulfill its obligations, the Trust can buy the [entire property] back. And that would be a shame, because I would hate to lose this amenity.
If you take a look at the last 20 years, the Friends of Ambler Farm have done an exceptional job caring for this Town-owned property and amenity. We have been dedicated stewards. We have cared for the land. We have carefully nurtured and developed our programs and ensured the safety of our public. You will not find a more dedicated team who genuinely cares and wants to give back to the community.
The value of Ambler Farm is priceless. Whether you have a child in the apprentice program, whether you are retired and you’re volunteering at the farm stand, there are incredibly important connections here, and I would ask the public to consider just how much we could do with the farmhouse.
Look at where we’ve come, look at where look at where we started, and look at where we are today. We have a solid track record, and we’re dedicated to caring for the [White] House on behalf of the Town, just as we’ve done for all of the other buildings. Trust us. We are going to continue the magic in that house, and it’s worth the investment, not just because it’s a ‘have-to,’ but it’s because it’s special and unique, and it will complete that initial vision of of the farm and what it could be.
We have been unwavering and dedicated and the Town’s biggest champion, and we care about the community. We want to see this successful and complete. We’ve done without the House for 20 years. If it doesn’t happen, the FOAF will be restricted in how much we can offer. We’re really at peak capacity at this point. But if that’s what happens, that’s what happens.
We likely would be unable to rent out the Carriage Barn, because our programs, which keep us operating, take priority. We’re meeting the demand that we’re seeing. Yesterday, twice within 20 minutes someone approached me. One gentleman from a bank in town said, ‘We’d love to do a service project, a fundraiser like a team-building exercise, and we’d love to be a sponsor.’ I love that because we’ve been reaching out for sponsorships, being in our 20th year.
Fifteen minutes later, someone knocks on the door and says, ‘I’m opening a yoga studio. Can I do yoga classes here?’ And the answer is, honestly, we would love to, but we unfortunately just don’t have the capacity. We have a very lean staff who work long hours. We’re passionate, we love it, but there’s only so much we can do.
So we’re very thoughtful about what outside activities we’re able to host. It’s got to be in keeping with our mission. If somebody says, ‘I want to come in to host a carnival,’ well, no — first of all, that’s not allowed by Planning and Zoning, but second of all, it’s not really in keeping with our mission.
That’s part of being a good steward — staying close to the mission, staying close to desired uses as originally intentioned.
GMW: Why does it have to be so expensive? Isn’t there a less expensive way to do what you want to do and still fulfill the obligation to restore the White House?
Kineon: Unfortunately, there’s not. Number one, the house has been sitting for 10 years, gutted, there’s been no heating and no cooling, so it’s deteriorated in the past 10 years, after work had been done on it. The outside exterior was completely done. The roof was done. Now it’s time to repaint the exterior again. It’s deferred maintenance.
It’s tricky to retrofit a residential building into a mixed-use building, and it changes the price. We have to follow prevailing wage — you have to pay union wages — which makes it more expensive. Plus, materials — who knows with the current state of our economy, what that’s going to look like. You’re talking about all of the mechanicals; putting in a wider stairwell to meet current codes; an ADA compliant bathroom; every single one of those doors is too narrow for a wheelchair to fit through so we need to widen some of those. Those are just a few examples.
GMW: So why hasn’t any of this work been done in the last 10 years?
Kineon: Back in 2018, the FOAF had done some fundraising. We had received the matched bond amount, so collectively, we had money ready to go to open the first floor only. When the Friends approached the Town, the town counsel advised us that the estimates — there were five estimates — needed to follow prevailing wage, union wages. It had been quoted as a residential project at the time. So that set us back about $250,000 at that point, roughly.
We later learned, as part of a mixed-use building, you need fire suppression. If you put in the fire suppression, you can’t not finish the second floor because you’d have exposed pipes without heating or insulation. So the fire suppression really became the stumbling block because the scope of the project changed from just finish the first floor to you have to finish both floors.
Then we had staff turnover at the same time COVID hit, and we lost all of our program revenue because we literally just did what we could to remain an open space and remain viable. Fortunately, we were able to come back post-COVID, we got new staff, we opened our programs slowly. Our summer camp was at partial capacity. We were literally playing catch up at that point.
Then price escalation hit, and it was like the perfect storm.
So in 2022, we met with the Board of Selectmen and presented an update on where we stood and what needed to be done. Since 2022, the focus has been on how much is it going to cost? What do we need to do? How are we going to fund it? What can we do to move the needle?
And here we are, three years later. Last year, we did approach the Town to ask. I think there was just so much information that people needed to learn and to understand and to digest, and there were so many other [funding request] things going on, and so the decision was made to push it a year.
And here we are today.
GMW: If the bonding is approved this year, even though it is the Town’s responsibility to maintain the buildings, does Friends of Animal Farm also have skin in the game?
Kineon: Our skin in the game? We are doing the work on behalf of the Town. We are covering the operating expenses. Our operating budget is 100% funded by the Friends of Ambler Farm. That means we’re paying the staff, we’re providing the programming supplies, we are going to be covering all that goes into the furnishings. So, yeah, we have a lot of skin in the game.
The other skin in the game is that we have $600,000 invested in that house already. Half of that $600,000 has already been invested and the remaining is being invested. That’s our skin in the game. Our other skin in the game is that we’re giving back to the community. We’re creating the engaging, fun, hands-on programs and events that everybody loves at Ambler Firm. That’s what we have invested in in this.
GMW: The question that held some of the Board of Finance members back from endorsing the White House Bonding proposal was the lack of assurance of what future utility costs might be if you go ahead with renovation work as proposed. How do you answer that?
Kineon: It’s a Town-owned building. At some point the Town’s going to have to figure out, is there a calculation of what utilities cost for a 4,000-square-foot antique home. There needs to be some research done, because that’s something the town has to answer. You know that the Town pays our current utilities right now, and that they pay for all other municipal utilities — lights on the sports field, Town buildings, Town Hall — our taxes go toward that. What is the difference? It’s part of maintaining a building.
GMW: You’re not trying to do this to throw parties in it.
Kineon: No, we’re not! We’re not. This is not for personal gain. This is not a for-profit business. We are carrying out the responsibilities of Town and we’re an arm of the Town. We’re a partner of the Town and always have been a partner. We’ve always been supportive.
GMW: Anything else you’d like to add?
Kineon: We’ve seen voter turnout drop over the last few years. It’s been pretty sparse, and I would really encourage people to reach out. If you have questions, please reach out to me via email. I’ll answer whatever questions I can. I want to see this through. I want to make sure that this does provide a space for everyone.
With the bonding, it’s critically important, if you support a cause, you need to voice it and make the effort to show up. If you really care about the farm and really want to see this go through, come to the Annual Town Meeting. Speak out and use your voice. We need people to come out and vote. As we saw with the turf field bonding proposal a couple years ago, the turf field lost by less than 50 votes. Bonding is completely dependent on the people that turn out and vote. So please, consider getting up to speed on what the bonding items are, and exercise your right to vote. It’s critically important.
Look at the $100-plus million of infrastructure work that needs to be done in Wilton. Check this off so that we can actually start giving back to the community again.
I want to thank everyone who came out in support of Ambler Farm over the last few weeks and months, whether they voiced their support and spoke at a Board of Selectmen meeting or sent a letter of support. I encourage you to please, please, continue to support us. We need you in order to continue to give back and pay it forward.
Monday, May 5 is the public hearing on the lease. Tuesday, May 6 is the Annual Town Meeting on the bonding and the budget. But we do have our annual Fun Run on Sunday, May 4, in the morning, and details are on our website. And immediately following the Fun Run we are hosting an Open House. If you have questions, if people want to come out and learn more about the project and about the farm in general, we are going to have plenty of information, and would be happy to to answer any questions and get people excited.