Credit: Town of Wilton Zoom recording, Oct. 2, 2023; PicCollage

Wilton’s Board of Selectmen was quite busy at its Monday, Oct. 2 meeting… so busy, in fact, that this is GMW‘s third story reporting on it. Far from a lame duck, First Selectwoman Lynne Vanderslice seems determined to complete as much business as possible before her term ends. At least a dozen different matters — many with far-reaching implications — were discussed at Monday’s meeting.

Police Headquarters Project

The BOS discussed the $500,000 STEAP grant recently awarded by the state for the construction of an emergency response garage and carport for the new police headquarters project.

Because those features had been deducted from the construction plans in the accepted bid, there is some question as to whether the Town can essentially add them back in without jeopardizing compliance with the bidding requirements set by the state to receive the grant.

“If the bidding that we’ve done is adequate, then it just gets added to the contract and we’re off and running,” Vanderslice said — but if not, Wilton would need to re-bid that part of the project.

In the interest of time, the board voted to authorize Vanderslice to either add the amount of the garage and carport back to the construction contract or to re-bid that work, subject to discussions with the state and a review by Town Counsel.

Change Orders in the Field

The board also took action to give Chris Burney the authority to approve change orders of up to $50,000 in “emergency” situations during construction. (Burney is Wilton’s former DPW director and currently the project manager on the headquarters project.)

Normally, change orders need to be approved by the BOS.

“As we experienced with Miller-Driscoll, it’s common there will be a need for a quick decision on a change order. It can’t wait four days, a week, two weeks… Somebody in the field has to make that decision so we’re not delaying or holding up the construction,” Vanderslice said, noting that Burney had been given the same authority during the Miller-Driscoll renovation.

Burney assured the board the authority would only be used in instances vital to keeping the project on track or avoiding even higher costs due to delays.

“This is not about saying, ‘[Let’s] change the color in the windows because it will reflect the sun better’ and it’s only a $10,000 change order. That’s not going to happen. That’s not anywhere near what we’re looking for. The emergent authority is intended to not delay the project, because that domino effect is very real,” Burney said. “You can actually shoot yourself in the foot by thinking too long about a $5,000 [change order].”

Vanderslice also offered assurance that all change orders, including those approved by Burney, will be presented to the BOS and closely tracked.

Parking Plan

Burney explained that parking at Town Hall Campus would be extremely limited during construction. Months ago, the Town began approaching nearby property owners for opportunities to lease parking spaces.

The owner of 254 Danbury Rd., the site of the former Baptist church, agreed to allow the town to use up to 50 parking spaces for $1,000 per month.

The selectmen agreed to the terms of the lease but postponed the formal vote until typographical errors in the document are corrected.

More BOS News

  • Vanderslice gave the board an update on the status of the School Buildings Needs Assessment currently in progress, referring to a stunning draft report in which the cost of repairs and upgrades over 10 years would be more than $100 million. GMW reported on that discussion in a separate story.
  • Nicholas Bamonte, a Bercham Moses attorney for the Town, appeared at the meeting to discuss proposed changes to Wilton’s blight ordinance, following changes in state statutes impacting both residential and commercial blight. GMW reported on that discussion in a separate story. The BOS voted to hold a public hearing on the proposed ordinance on Nov. 6.
  • During Wilton’s Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA) discussion on Sept. 13 about results from a recent sanitary sewer “inflow and infiltration study”, the BOS considered a proposal for addressing the recommendations from that study.  The BOS unanimously approved the proposal by engineering firm Wright-Pierce.
  • The BOS voted to appoint Selectwoman Kim Healy as a Wilton Library Association (WLA) trustee. Among the six BOS-appointed positions, two recently resigned, and two others had terms that ended in June. Healy previously served as WLA treasurer. Prior to the BOS vote, Selectman Ross Tartell noted that the vote would not follow the usual procedures for political committees having the opportunity to advance candidates for the open positions. The board agreed to hold the vote due to the urgent circumstances of the vacancies. Vanderslice urged other volunteers to step forward for the other three vacancies, and reiterated her frustration with the nomination procedure, which “doesn’t work and leads to lots of vacancies.”
  • The board agreed to develop a new Memo of Understanding with the Wilton Athletic and Recreation Foundation (WARF) pertaining to the revenues generated by banner sales at the Wilton High School sports fields. The previous understanding was that the revenues would be used toward the costs of a new turf field or turf replacement. After a referendum on a new turf field at Allen’s Meadow was rejected by voters at the May 2023 Annual Town Meeting, the selectmen would like to see some funds used to improve Wilton’s grass sports fields managed by Wilton’s Parks and Recreation Department.
  • The selectmen approved a master service agreement with NWN Carousel, the company that provides phone support for the town and the schools, which had not been updated for several years. The agreement was negotiated by Town Administrator Matt Knickerbocker. 
  • Knickerbocker will also undertake a comprehensive review of parking at and near Wilton High School for residents and students, following a request by WHS Principal Dr. Robert O’Donnell to designate more spaces for students.
  • The board approved an additional FY2023 subsidy of $175,000 for the Transfer Station.
  • Vanderslice reported that Toll Brothers has withdrawn from considering the purchase of a Town-owned right-of-way at a commercial property (15 Old Danbury Rd.) which it is seeking to redevelop into multifamily housing. The additional parcel would not allow any additional housing units and thus is no longer of interest to the developer for the project.