Wilton’s Highway Committee is looking to find a new location for the town’s public works department to replace the current failing facility.
On July 26, members of the Select Board and the Highway Committee met with property owner Tom Quinn of Quinn Brothers Corp. to discuss plans to possibly expand Wilton’s highway facility. The town is considering using a 5- to 6-acre portion of 40 acres of town-owned property on lot E-23 off of Route 31 South, and according to Select Board Chair Kermit Williams, board members hope to claim up to an additional 3 acres of Quinn’s adjacent property to build a new highway garage for the town’s salt and sand trucks based on the flat terrain.
Williams said expanding Wilton’s highway facility is a priority, and is long overdue.
“We would likely keep what we got, but build something new because we don’t have a good place to store the trucks,” said Williams. “Our big 10-wheel dump trucks cost $160,000; we want to protect those.”
If Quinn and the town can settle on a deal to house a new highway facility, this will create two entry points for trucks to tackle road emergencies like ice storms and floods more efficiently, according to Williams. However, Quinn said no estimate was given to the board.
According to Select Board member Matt Fish, who serves on the Highway Committee, Quinn originally leased lot E-23 for a 15-year, $585,000 deal back in 2004. In 2019, Quinn proposed to renew the lease and donate part of his property, lot F1-73, back to the town. However, the warrant article failed due to Quinn’s proposal to build an asphalt plant in town, which is still under discussion.
Fish said a new facility would only use 5 to 6 acres of the total 40 acres due to environmental concerns of the wetlands that surround the property. The remaining portion would serve as a buffer for the aquifer, and the majority of the property would be left underdeveloped. Fish also said the town’s aquifer runs through the property, posing a potential problem if salt or diesel from the highway trucks penetrates the 10-foot buffer between the surface and the main water supply.
In addition, the town’s wellhead recharge area, responsible for refilling the aquifer, sits on Quinn’s property.
Despite the concerns, Fish said the town site seems promising for a new DPW facility.
“It’s beneficial to use a piece of town-owned land because it’s got on-site materials and state highway access,” said Fish.
The current DPW facility at 89 Whiting Hill Road is failing EPA code, including no heat and no emergency lightning, according to a document from the Highway Facility Advisory Committee presented to board members on June 6. In addition, the 2-acre facility, built in 1956, does not have enough space to house the 10-wheel sand and salt dump trucks used for highway emergencies.
According to Williams, the Select Board and the Highway Committee are in discussion with several other potential candidates to house the new highway facility, including the 5-acre recycling center at 291 Gibbons Highway in Wilton.
Despite the potential leads, Williams said the search for a new spot is ongoing.
“At this point we are just data collecting and finding out where we can put a new facility,” said Williams.