Wilton has $72,000 in American Rescue Plan Act money to spend, funding that will expire if it’s not committed to projects at the end of the year. 

After Select Board Chair D.J. Garcia brought the issue to the attention of his colleagues, they discussed options during Monday night’s meeting. Garcia suggested that about $15,000 be set aside in a grant or incentive that the town’s small businesses could apply for, with the goal of supporting Wilton’s economic development and local business owners. 

Fellow board members Kermit Williams and Thomas Schultz were open to the idea, although Williams said that the board should confirm whether or not ARPA money –allocated as part of a national economic stimulus package in response to the COVID-19 pandemic -- could be given to private businesses before making a final decision.

“Certainly when [ARPA] started, you couldn’t do that unless somebody could share a specific loss based on the pandemic,” Williams said. “Since then, the Treasury Department’s said, ‘Spend it on other stuff,’ but I would want to be sure of that.”

Garcia presented several other suggestions to the board, including additional funding for the upcoming library water main expansion, roof repairs and the installation of improved access for people with disabilities at Town Hall and purchasing updated communication for the town’s emergency response personnel. 

Garcia also said he would be interested in reaching out to other department heads to see if they had any projects that needed funding. He said he was open to other suggestions, and he was interested in hearing what ideas, if any, the other board members had about how the money should be spent. 

Schultz noted that the Wilton Heritage Commission was planning on restoring the information kiosk outside the police station, and suggested that some of the money could go to that support that project. He also supported the repair of the Town Hall roof, noting that several of the slate shingles were in disrepair. 

“I would like to see a project brought forward sooner rather than later to get the roof repaired to remove the leak that’s happening up there,” Schultz said.

All three selectmen were interested in potentially allocating ARPA money for repairing the roof, and agreed to discuss it at their next meeting.

The board also met with interim Public Works Director Wayne Titus to discuss cleaning out the storm drain catch basins outside of Wilton’s downtown district, many of which haven’t been cleaned for a year or more. Ultimately, the board allocated $20,000 from the highway block grant to fund the cleaning of the town’s storm drains.

Board members also discussed renewing their franchise agreement with Comcast, which allows the company to provide internet and cable via the town’s copper lines. The new agreement, developed by Comcast, brings the agreement from a 5-year period to a 10-year commitment, and Garcia noted he did not see any language about price protection or revenue guarantees. Before accepting the agreement, the board will look at the previous franchise agreement in order to compare and contrast the two agreements.