Wilton Publishes Coronavirus Update For April 6

Press release from the Town of Wilton:

April 6, 2021

April 6th - "Yesterday, the Governor announced 288,000 vaccine doses will be received this week. That is a 44% increase from the 200,000 announced for the previous week. We are hearing reports of increasing appointment availability. If you don’t have an appointment for your first dose or if your appointment is several weeks away, we encourage you to continue to check various providers or call the State’s appointment phone number. Information is available here.

At last night’s meeting, the Board of Selectmen approved the following bonded projects for presentation at the May 8th Annual Town Meeting and the May 15th adjourned machine vote. The projects total $4.438 million.

Up to $1.5 million for road paving-This request represents the final borrowing for the 5-year, 75-mile road restoration program. The proposed borrowing is less than half of the amount originally projected for this year. This is because we were able to use BOS budget savings and state grants to fund the balance.

The calendar year 2021 paving schedule is available here. The schedule is determined based on the pavement index score derived from road scanning performed in the summer of 2019. You can check your road’s score here.

Up to $583,000 for the bridge restoration program-This is the second year of a multi-year program to address required repairs identified during an evaluation of town-owned bridges. We have applied for state and federal grants, which will cover part of the cost. The requested amount represents the Town’s share.

Up to $1.450 million to replace the Town’s 17-year-old aerial (ladder) fire truck. The aerial truck is a key apparatus within the department. It is used when responding to all commercial building calls, structure fires and rescue calls. An analysis was performed of the cost to refurbish the current truck versus the cost to purchase. A refurbished truck would have a life expectancy of half that of a new truck with a cost greatly exceeding 50% of the cost of a new truck.

Up to $350,000 to replace the Middlebrook tennis courts. The courts have outlived their useful life and will be replaced in the same manner as the high school courts. The cost of materials have significantly increased since the high school replacement. The requested amount includes a contingency for continued price escalation. As with all capital requests, if the full amount is not required it will not be spent and the monies not borrowed.

Up to $600,000 for Cider Mill roof replacement. This is the second roof replacement of a multi-year replacement plan for the school roofs. As part of the development of the plan, imaging of all roofs was performed to properly assess their under-surface condition and their remaining life.

At last night’s meeting the Board of Selectmen also voted to join the Housatonic Resources Recovery Authority (HRRA). HRRA is a regional governmental waste management & recycling authority. The Authority currently serves 12 communities in Western Connecticut, including Weston, Ridgefield and Redding. The decision was made after more than a year of investigation of options to address the ongoing and increasing annual operating deficits of the transfer station operations. There are many benefits to membership in addition to reduced costs. More information about HRRA is available here. A Public Hearing on a required enabling ordinance will be held on Tuesday, April 20th at 7:00pm on Zoom.

Tonight and possibly tomorrow evening, the Board of Finance will meet to deliberate and approve a recommended budget and mill rate. The proposed budget and mill rate are available here. Public comment may be emailed to Jeffrey.rutishauser@wiltonct.org .

Vaccine & Case Information

Today CT DPH reported the following:

• 809,663 or 22% of residents are fully vaccinated.
• 45% of all residents aged 16 and up have received at least one dose.
• As of March 31st, 40.22% of all Wilton residents had received at least one dose. Since March 31st, the statewide first dose rate increased by 11 points. Assuming the same growth, potentially more than half of Wilton residents have now received a first dose.

Please practice the 5 W’s and behave as if you have the virus and as if those around you do as well.

5 W’s

• Watch your distance
• Wear a mask/face covering when you can’t maintain 6 feet of distance whether indoors or outside
• Walk, run or bike to the right in single file when passing another person on the NRVT, sidewalks and trails
• Wait to host indoor gatherings
• Wash your hands

If you have a question, please email me at lynne.vanderslice@wiltonct.org."

Lynne Vanderslice

First Selectwoman

This press release was produced by the Town of Wilton. The views expressed here are the author’s own.