WILTON — Selectman Paul Gooch will resign at the annual Town Meeting in June, when voters will be asked to elect someone to fill the two years remaining on his term.
Gooch, 64, submitted his resignation this week, telling fellow selectmen he plans to move after more than 35 years in the community. The retired elementary school administrator has been a selectman since 2005.
“I’ve got deeply mixed emotions about leaving because it’s a great community, and it has been very supportive of the schools, the residents and me and my family,” he said.
Gooch and his wife, Susan, plan to spend their retirement on a family farm in Wells. The couple has two adult children who live in other states and have been planning the move for quite some time, he said.
His exit means two of the five seats on the town board will be open at the meeting on June 18. The other position is that of Selectman Tom Saviello, who is expected to seek re-election to another three-year term.
Gooch called the new Canal Street bridge built last fall one of his proudest achievements during his time as a selectman. He was chair of the town board in 2009 when the Maine Department of Transportation decided to replace the bridge, instead of removing it permanently.
The transportation department wanted to tear down the deteriorating bridge and selectmen successfully argued for its replacement, Gooch said. They convinced the state of how vital the bridge was to the community.
Gooch believes the town is positioned to keep making progress, saying recent projects have started to upgrade the aging sewer treatment plant and promote future economic growth.
“I’ve seen the town in its heyday with the manufacturing mills, and watched it decline when they closed before turning things around in recent years,” Gooch said.
“I think the town is in great shape for the future,” he added.
Nomination papers for the selectman races will be available at the town office on Monday, March 19. To become a candidate, a town resident must collect at least 25 registered voters’ signatures, with no more than 75, and submit them by 5 p.m. April 30.
David Robinson — 861-9287
drobinson@centralmaine.com
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