Jennifer Beck, chair of Wilton’s Economic Development Leadership team, outlined the town’s 10-year master plan to the Select Board in a meeting Monday, March 9, in the fire station.

In 2016, the Select Board established the Economic Development Leadership team to address its downtown commercial district, according to Beck. The all-volunteer group has spent the last 10 years surveying Wilton’s future needs.

“We split ‘economic’ and ‘development’ into two groups,” Beck said. “With economics we focus on keeping the town viable and resilient by assessing all the levers that impact major expenses and revenue pieces.” She said development not only consists of building things, but also community.

She said the town has unique economic challenges, including a downtown that is bypassed by major state routes.

Other challenges include Easterly communities siphoning business away and the fact that public schools are substandard, among other things, Beck told the Select Board.

The master plan’s vision is for Wilton to remain a sustainable, rural community that’s diverse, friendly and affordable while recognizing the value of its art and history, Beck said. She outlined the plan’s three goals: increasing town revenue, supporting a diverse multi-generational community and making Wilton a destination community.

“To increase revenue, the town needs to balance development with conservation goals and achieve maximum tax revenues without increasing the cost base,” Beck said. She emphasized pursuing state and federal grants for town projects rather than relying only on property taxes as one strategy.

Beck also said impact fees could serve as a separate alternative. Those fees are one-time charges levied by the the town on new development to fund public infrastructure.

Select Board Chair Kermit Williams said the town has to charge property taxes because that’s where the money is. “Other ways aren’t going to achieve the same result,” he said.

To support a diverse, multi-generational community, Beck said the town should promote policies resulting in a diverse population with a range of ages, backgrounds and incomes. She said such policies could provide a way for current and potential residents to live and remain in town.

Strategies she presented included marketing the town to young professionals, families and retirees as well as participating in state-wide efforts to create affordable housing.

According to Beck, making Wilton a destination town requires a walkable, attractive downtown village for shopping, food, arts and entertainment. “Many stores and restaurants in town suffer from a lack of foot traffic,” she said. “It needs to be a center for social connections for residents and visitors alike.”

She listed possible approaches that would promote Wilton’s natural beauty, identify new businesses that will promote social gatherings downtown while supporting and retaining existing ones, as well as promoting “agri-tourism” as possible approaches.

Select Board member Tom Schultz said the town is focusing on making its school system a destination district. “Part of making this a destination town is to make destination schools,” he said. “That’s how you draw families in.”

Beck’s recommendations for achieving the master plan’s three goals and implementing the strategies include conducting a joint planning review of both components.

“The Economic Development Team can’t do this alone,” she said. “We need to work with other groups like the Planning Board to set priorities and recruit diverse project teams.”

She also recommended the town develop an early warning system to anticipate future outcomes. “We would love to embed an early warning system that will better predict the impact of market forces, legislation, climate change and technology innovations,” she said.

Semiquincentennial events

During the meeting, Town Heritage Commission Chair Deb Mortvedt also highlighted upcoming events for the nation’s Semiquincentennial celebration in May.

Mortvedt said a week of community events is planned between May 2 and May 10. Events include a Colonial cooking demonstration, a conversation with Judy Granger about African American Revolutionary War hero Pomp Russell and a Sons of the American Revolution presentation.