What Will Wilton Taxpayers Be Willing To Borrow Money for — Ambler Farm Renovations, Middlebrook Roof, Pickleball Courts, and More?

Now that the Board of Selectmen‘s proposed FY 2025 operating budget has been handed off to the Board of Finance for review, the selectmen have turned their attention to finalizing the list of bonded capital spending projects they will ask voters to approve at the May 7 Annual Town Meeting.

With well over $100 million in building maintenance and upgrades needed at Wilton’s schools and municipal facilities over the next 10-15 years, Wilton’s selectmen face the daunting task of where to even begin.

With just a few weeks remaining in the FY’25 budget process, the selectmen have to choose which of the many “top priority” projects are the most critical to tackle in the coming fiscal year — all while being cognizant of the risk that voters could reject the proposed projects if the cost burden is too great.

Last night’s (March 19) BOS meeting revealed that it may be difficult for board members to reach consensus on which projects should be prioritized and just how much money they can realistically ask taxpayers to borrow next year — at a time when many Wilton homeowners are feeling uncomfortable with the prospect of double-digit increases in their property taxes.

Proposed Borrowing for FY’25: $10.7 Million

The selectmen discussed a work-in-progress plan that outlined a total of $10.7 million in bonded capital for FY’25:

• $2,140,000 for road restoration (part of Wilton’s long-term plan, roughly seven miles of road paving per year) as well as repairs on Scribner Hill Rd., which are necessary after a portion of the hilly road became unstable during the summer of 2022. (Officials had hoped to receive a state grant for Scribner Rd., but the project did not qualify.)
• $1,584,300 for badly needed updates to Town Hall windows, heat and front entry
• $950,000 for the Raymond-Ambler House, also known as Ambler Farm‘s “white house” with another $1.1 million slated for the “yellow house” in FY 2026 (photos that reveal the extreme level of disrepair inside the houses are posted on the Town website)
• $5,763,976 in Middlebrook repairs, including roughly $1.9 million for replacing three sections of the roof, and $3.8 million for a chiller, unit ventilators and ceiling tiles
• $300,000 for four new pickleball courts at Merwin Meadows

First Selectman Toni Boucher noted that the bonding referendums, once finalized by the BOS, will be shared with the Board of Finance.

“We will be asking for reaction from our Board of Finance, but it’s up to this Board of Selectmen to make the decision to take [them] forward to the May 7 Annual Town Meeting,” she said.

Boucher also noted that declining debt service after FY’25 would allow new debt to be absorbed at levels consistent with Wilton’s historical levels.

Department of Public Works Director/Town Engineer Frank Smeriglio and Assistant Director/Facilities Manager Jeff Pardo explained the various projects and responded to questions from the selectmen.

Focus on Town Hall Campus

Much of the discussion focused on the nearly $1.6 million for critical Town Hall repairs. The work would include replacing the windows, which are mostly original to the 1930s construction; replacing inefficient boilers from 1992 and improving heat throughout the building; and a “full restoration” of the concrete entry to the building, which is complicated by the building’s architectural features.

Logistics during the renovations will be challenging, with various personnel needing temporary locations while work is in progress.

The five-year capital plan reveals the board is actively discussing additional bonding referendums for Town Hall campus improvements over the next several years including, among other potential projects:

• $5.3 million for a two-story addition to Town Hall in FY’27
• $3.6 million for a garage addition and Annex renovation in FY’28
• $3.8 million for a fire headquarters addition in FY’29

Selectman Bas Nabulsi observed that the Wilton Volunteer Ambulance Corps’ (WVAC) facility was not mentioned in the discussion, and inquired whether the Town’s vision for the campus included a structure for the WVAC.

“They are not a Town department,” Boucher responded. She went on to say that the WVAC “functions on their own, they bring their own income in” and are “beneficiaries” of the Town’s property which the WVAC rents for just $1 per year.

“It would be out of character for us to do any funding for a nonprofit,” Boucher said. “Anything they do, they would be doing themselves, with their own money.”

Boucher noted that the WVAC had developed designs for a new building that could be located on the campus, and the WVAC was welcome to pursue them, though they would be subject to the same approvals and permitting process as any other entity.

“The Town has been enormously supportive, essentially they are there rent-free so they can do their work and be able to fundraise. And we will continue to want to help them and partner with them however we can, as long as it’s logical and they follow the same procedure that everyone else has to, including the Town,” Boucher said.

Selectman Ross Tartell referred to the life-safety support the town gets from WVAC in return. “Collaboration is a win-win for everybody, so…” he said.

Ambler Farm

Another key part of the selectmen’s discussion focused on proposed spending on two Town-owned buildings at Ambler Farm.

In February, Friends of Ambler Farm (FOAF) requested $2.2 million for repairs and renovations at the Raymond-Ambler House (the “white house”) and the Platt Raymond House (the “yellow house”) over two years.

Since the original request was made, FOAF has fine-tuned its funding request to an amount now totaling $2.05 million over the next two years, and shifted its FY’25 focus to the white house, due to the desire to use the space to increase programming.

Referring to an April 2014 Board of Finance meeting, Selectman Kim Healy suggested that the Town had clearly communicated some limits on the financial support it would provide to Ambler Farm, and questioned whether the selectmen might want to adopt a similar stance today, given the intense budget pressure they are under.

“I hate to be the stickler in the room…. I just want everyone to understand that was the arrangement that was made [in 2014],” Healy said. “We as a board may decide to reevaluate those decisions [but] we’re going to be under major pressure from the taxpayers of Wilton. We aren’t deep pockets. I don’t want us to forget that, because the numbers are getting really kind of wild, and I think a lot of people are worried about it.”

Ambler Farm Executive Director Ashley Kineon, who attended the meeting, said she understood the challenging budget climate and said FOAF had done everything possible to be “sensitive to taxpayers.” However, she firmly reiterated the position that the Town has a commitment to maintain the buildings, according to the deed:

“When the Town purchased Ambler Farm they made a commitment that the Town would restore the buildings so they can be used by the community,” she said.

“The Town is required, per the deed, to make the Raymond Ambler House a space for public use and is 25 years delinquent in that commitment,” wrote FOAF Board of Directors President Patti Temple, in a March 19 email to the BOS.

Kineon hoped to dispel any “confusion” about FOAF’s role.

“In 2005, we were formed to develop a use plan and were tasked with running the day-to-day operations. We were not tasked with the financial obligation” of restoring the buildings, she stated.

“They are municipal buildings,” Kineon repeated. “We need help. This is our Town-owned farm. This is a community resource for everyone. It sets Wilton apart from other communities. We’re a value-added asset.”

Pickleball as a Priority

The board’s discussion turned to what Boucher called “the phenomenon that has swept the nation.”

Four proposed new pickleball courts would supplement the indoor courts in the Comstock gymnasium — which Parks and Recreation Director Steve Pierce said are booked five days a week — and four outdoor courts at Middlebrook, which cannot be used during school hours or when school tennis teams are using the courts.

“Four [new] courts are warranted,” Pierce said, based on the appeal to residents and trends in surrounding towns.

Healy seemed skeptical about the $300,000 investment.

“I’m going to ask the same question I asked about Ambler Farm,” she said, wondering if private fundraising should generate the funds.

In a similar vein, Nabulsi questioned another item on the agenda, in which the board reallocated roughly $11,400 in surplus funds from various BOS capital accounts toward the cost of replacing the lighting in the Comstock gymnasium.

Nabulsi wondered how — given such an extensive list of maintenance and repair needs throughout the Town — the Comstock gym lighting was selected to benefit from the recently discovered surplus funds.

“I’d like to better understand how we go about prioritizing and evaluating where we move funds to, when we have surpluses. I’m curious, what other possibilities were considered and how it is we arrived at this recommendation,” he asked Boucher.

Boucher said that the lighting upgrade was “very necessary” for safety reasons. She did not specifically respond to Nabulsi’s broader question, except to say she was not on the board when decisions about surplus funds have been made in the past.

Next Steps

The selectmen agreed to convene a special meeting on March 27 in addition to their next regularly scheduled meeting on April 1, to allow ample time to further discuss the five-year capital spending plan.

Before the special meeting, the board hopes to have more detailed information on the DPW’s recommendations for the sequence and priorities for the building needs. As Pardo noted, the consultant’s report on municipal building and space needs has not yet been finalized, although the preliminary findings have been shared.

More BOS News:

Nabulsi will serve as the BOS representative on a new committee being formed under the purview of the Planning and Zoning Commission — the Plan Implementation Committee — that will explore progress on the 2019 Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD).

The board approved several improvements at Wilton athletic fields, as requested by the Parks and Recreation Commission and entirely funded by the Wilton Athletic and Recreation Foundation (WARF). They include:

• Ambler soccer fields: a storage shed for youth sports equipment and 330 feet of fencing needed to stop balls from rolling down the hill (it will also allow field reconfiguration which will help limit wear and provide an opportunity for other sports, according to Parks & Rec Director Pierce)
• Lilly Field: permanent fencing along the north edge of the field to keep soccer and lacrosse balls from going into wetlands
• Middlebrook fields: replace field lighting with new LED lighting and new support poles (the number of lights will remain the same)

The selectmen were notified of a grant awarded by the state’s Historic Documents Preservation Program which will provide funding for ongoing efforts in the Town Clerk‘s office to expand vault storage of Town records to archival standards.