Snow covers the shoreline Tuesday of Wilson Pond in Wilton where the town plans to replace the rock section of the retaining wall. The Select Board this week designated $217,906.81 from the American Rescue Plan Act toward the project. Donna M. Perry/Sun Journal
WILTON — The Select Board on Tuesday designated the town’s remaining $217,908.61 from the federal American Rescue Plan Act for replacing the rock section of the retaining wall at Wilson Pond off Lake Road.
The town has put aside $273,778 toward the estimated $813,540 project, which includes other improvements.
Discussion on the project began in 2019 under former Town Manager Rhonda Irish. Meetings were held in 2020 to get input from townspeople on replacing the rock section of the retaining wall, improving stormwater drainage, parking and pedestrian safety. The board chose a design in April 2021 that incorporated residents’ feedback.
Jeffrey Read, senior civil engineer from Sevee & Maher Engineers in Cumberland, gave the board an overview of the plan Tuesday.
The project includes updating the parking area to 18 paved spaces, he said. The board previously chose a design that featured diagonal parking spaces.
The stairs down to the water will be replaced with safer ones, Read said.
The second entry into the lake will also be replaced. There will be a sidewalk to improve pedestrian safety and provide easier access to downtown.
A railing will be installed where needed along the waterfront. The plan also includes improving catch basins to capture sand or silt and other soils that could run into the pond.
Read suggested the project be done in two phases. Permitting will be done all at once, including those from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and a site plan review from the Planning Board.
Requests for bids are slated for late summer or fall of 2025.
Town Manager Maria Greeley told the board she feels the cost of the project is a discussion that needs to happen in the near future. She plans to recommend financing some of it, she said.
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