Wilmington Town Supervisor’s Report on 10.25.26
Hello, and welcome to another Town Supervisor’s Report. Here is some of the news from Wilmington.
1. Budget
There is a consensus on the town board that we will be able to stay below the state tax cap (which the state has set, via a cryptic formula, above 3% for Wilmington this year).
There have been some bumps in the road, but we continue working to stay below a 2% increase in the tax levy.
We are going to hold a special meeting on the budget on Monday, 10/26, at 5 p.m.
Our regular end-of-the-month meeting is on Wednesday, at 6 p.m.
***
2. Survey
The Community Priorities Survey has been very successful. We mailed out around 650 surveys and have received more than 250 responses. We will continue to accept and tabulate responses through November 1.
The first question on the survey was “What are the biggest issues facing you, your family, and/or Wilmington? Please choose up to three.”
Responses where the participant selected more than three choices were not included in the tabulation.
Here are the current numbers:
1. Property taxes & assessments (121)
2. The housing shortage (74)
3. Speeding on rural roads (61)
4. Sediment accumulation in the river (59)
5. Split school districts (54)
6/7. Too much land clearing and/or deforestation (49)
6/7. Too little regulation of short-term rentals (49)
8. Division in the community (46)
After that, there is a drop off. The next-highest responses are Lax zoning codes (32) and Lack of support for elderly residents (28).
The survey’s second question was, “Wilmington has received more than $100,000 in “community tourism enhancement” (“bed tax”) money a year, and now has hundreds of thousands of dollars of this “community enhancement” money in a reserve fund. There are restrictions about what bed tax money can be spent on. What would you like to see the town spend it on? Please only choose two.”
Here are the current results:
1. Lowering property taxes (112)
2. More sidewalks and bike lanes (75)
3. Dredging the river (73)
4. Purchasing vacant land for workforce housing (43)
5. Creating additional trails and/or maintaining existing trails (37)
6. A skating pavilion (25)
Here is a good article about the survey results:
https://suncommunitynews.com/news/128343/wilmington-highlights-results-of-community-survey/
***
3. Speeding
At this point there can be no doubt that speeding is a primary concern for Wilmington’s residents. The town board was aware of this, but the survey results really underline it.
This year we have explored various ideas to address this issue, including: requesting an increased state police presence (not feasible on a durable basis due to staffing levels and the size of the area covered); hiring a town constable (not feasible due to the extreme expense of the undertaking); using cameras to issue tickets (not feasible due to New York State law); and, most recently, requesting an increased presence from our County Sheriff.
The good news is that our County Sheriff is willing to commit more resources to Wilmington and maintain an increased presence here.
Speeders beware.
***
4. Capital Improvement Funds
Due to a significant surplus in sales tax revenue, the County Manager and the Board of Supervisors have agreed to provide a one-time disbursement to the county’s 18 towns for capital improvements.
Wilmington’s share is more than $117,000.
I have suggested to the town board that we should divide this money roughly into thirds, with 1/3 set aside to replace antiquated equipment in the water plant, 1/3 for new sidewalks and/or bike lanes, and 1/3 for other needs or desired projects.
We received the check fairly recently, and the town board has made no decisions about how to allocate this money.
But we know that we are going to need to invest money in our water plant in the coming years, and we know that the townspeople would like to see expanded sidewalks and bike lanes.
***
5. Homestead Housing
The good news continues with a recent milestone in the “Homestead Housing” effort across the street from the Wilderness Inn: The APA recently toured the site and provided our developer and non-profit partner with conditional approval, pending the results of perc tests.
(After years of unsatisfactory progress, this year the town board made the decision to step away from our previous nonprofit partner on this effort. We’ve now partnered with the Essex County Land Bank. The Land Bank plans to bring 24 “Cross-Mod” homes to Essex County next year through the “MOVE-IN NY” program. Six of these homes will be in Wilmington.)
I had a good meeting with the Land Bank’s President & CEO recently and took notes.
Here is my favorite note: “This is happening, and this will happen.”
In the coming months the Land Bank will work with our planning and zoning boards to receive the necessary approvals from the town.
***
6. Senior Van
This month the County Board of Supervisors agreed to allocate $68,000 for the purchase of a new van to provide transportation for Wilmington’s senior citizens!
The credit for this goes to the leadership of the Essex County Office of the Aging and town board member Randy Winch, who brought forth this idea, spearheaded this effort, and put in a lot of time, patience, and persistence to make this happen.
Now Randy is van shopping.
Look for more news on this in the months ahead.
***
7. Assessor
If you’ve been following town news for the past few years, you know that our search for an assessor has been quite a journey.
Doug Dreissigacker recently stepped up and filled the position — for which the town board is very appreciative.
Unfortunately, the position will be on the ballot next week.
I am encouraging everyone to write in his name — Wilmington needed an assessor for roughly two years prior to Doug’s appointment, so hopefully no dark horse candidate emerges at the last moment!
You can just write in “Doug D.”
Thanks for taking the time to read this newsletter.
Sincerely,
Tim Follos