The lingering impacts of Sunday’s historic flooding in Wilton did not keep the Board of Selectmen (BOS) from tending to business as usual at its regular meeting last night (Aug. 20).
New Storage at The Stadium
Town Administrator Matt Knickerbocker informed the board that Wilton’s youth football and lacrosse organizations had offered to purchase two storage units to be located at Wilton High School’s Veterans Memorial Stadium.
The new storage units would replace two trailers at the stadium currently used for storage.
Parks and Recreation Department Director Steve Pierce noted that the need for storage across youth sports programs and facilities is a broader challenge recognized by the Parks and Recreation Commission.
“This would be a temporary solution to an ongoing storage problem, until the Town and WARF [Wilton Athletic and Recreation Foundation] can come up with a permanent solution to field storage issues,” Pierce told the selectmen.
“I assume those containers are waterproof?” Selectman Josh Cole quipped, adding a bit of levity after the unfortunate recent flooding to the area around the stadium.
The selectmen voted unanimously to approve the purchase. (The units will also require approval from Wilton’s land use officials.)
Fire Commission Ordinance
The BOS reviewed a proposed amendment to Wilton’s ordinance §14A-12 pertaining to the appointment and reporting of fire marshals. After holding a public hearing on a draft amendment on Aug. 5, the selectmen fine-tuned the text to more clearly distinguish between the administrative oversight by the fire chief and the state regulations that govern the marshals’ work.
The proposed new language reads: “The Fire Marshal and deputy Fire Marshal shall be appointed by the Commission. They shall be administratively responsible to and supervised by the Chief of the Wilton Fire Department. Technical fire protection and fire investigation matters for which the marshals are state certified shall be governed by state statute.”
First Selectman Toni Boucher noted that the proposed changes had been reviewed by Town counsel as well as Wilton Fire Department Chief Jim Blanchfield, Fire Marshal Rocco Grosso and Fire Commission Chair Casey Healy, with no objections.
The selectmen voted unanimously in favor of the proposed amendment.
Executive Session: Inadequate Public Notice?
The selectmen held an executive session on the topic of “Town property.” It was unclear from the agenda which Town property was being discussed and why. After the meeting, GMW asked Boucher to clarify the topic that was discussed. She responded, “We are not allowed to discuss any executive session content.”
However, under the Freedom of Information Act requirements, the Town is obligated to give public notice of the reasons for such executive sessions. The CT-FOIC has specified that “in order for the public to be fairly apprised of the reason for an executive session, the public agency must give some indication of the specific topic to be addressed. Descriptions such as ‘personnel,’ ‘personnel matters,’ ‘legal,’ [etc.] are inadequate…”.
It wasn’t the first time the BOS has not fully disclosed the purpose of its executive sessions. On multiple occasions in recent months, GOOD Morning Wilton has questioned Town officials about whether they are properly giving public notice about executive sessions — including previous sessions noticed only as “property” and others noticed only as “litigation.”
Town Hall Study
Assistant Director of Public Works/Facilities Manager Jeff Pardo attended the BOS meeting and made a recommendation for the selection of an architectural/engineering consultant to identify possible alternatives for addressing Town Hall building and space needs.
The proposal recommended by Pardo was one of two proposals received by the Town in response to a Request For Proposal (RFP). (Wilton’s Town and School Needs Assessment Priorities (TSNAP) Committee reviewed both proposals in detail at its Aug. 14 meeting, and agreed that DPW should make the recommendation to the BOS for which proposal to approve.)
The proposals were submitted by Geddis Architects and KG+D Architects — both of which are led by Wilton residents.
Pardo recommended the proposal submitted by KG+D Architects, but he emphasized that both proposals were excellent and the decision was extremely difficult — with the final tiebreaker being a difference in cost of less than $1,000.
Selectwoman Kim Healy seemed to have reservations. Among other questions, she asked whether the Town should be “diversifying” the consulting work that has been done on Wilton’s school and municipal buildings. (KG+D led the Wilton school buildings needs assessment, but declined to bid on the municipal buildings needs assessment, citing lack of capacity at the time.)
Healy abstained from the vote to approve KG+D’s bid for the latest Town Hall study, which her fellow selectmen voted 4-0 to approve.
The study will examine six alternative scenarios for renovating and/or expanding Town Hall.
More BOS News
The board authorized Boucher to sign a “landlord, consent, recognition, and nondisturbance agreement” which pertains to the property leased by the United States Postal Service in Wilton. Boucher noted the complex agreement went under “extensive review” by Town counsel. The selectmen voted unanimously to authorize Boucher to enter the agreement.
The selectmen also voted unanimously in favor of creating a temporary, part-time position to support the Board of Finance, as requested by BOF Chair Matt Raimondi. Somewhat contrary to the discussions at a recent BOF meeting, the hiring for the position will be conducted through the Town’s Human Resources department (not by Raimondi directly); the cost will be paid through the BOS budget (not the budget reserve at the BOF’s discretion); and the employee will report to the Town Administrator (potentially also adding support to the Town’s Finance Department).
The selectmen voted to appoint Ileana Barns Slavin to the Inland Wetlands Commission. The vote was 4-0, with Selectman Ross Tartell abstaining from the vote because he was not present when Slavin was interviewed.
[Editor’s note: Boucher gave the selectmen a detailed update and assessment on the damage from the Aug. 19 flooding, which GMW is reporting in separate stories.]