Dear Friends & Fellow Community Members,

The first regular monthly meeting of the new town board is in the books. Thank you to everyone who attended.

After four years of effort and discussion, on Tuesday, January 13, 2026, the town board took a meaningful step toward amending the zoning code.
Pending the outcome of a public hearing and various procedural requirements, these will be the first four zoning code updates and improvements enacted by the current town board. ​

I do not believe they will be the last updates and improvements to the zoning code enacted by the current town board.

We also set the wheels in motion to update the Comprehensive Plan.

And we started the meeting by accomplishing something overdue: naming a park after Greg Winch.

Here are some of the other things going on in Wilmington.

1. Congratulations go out to Stephanie Gates & Carol Wiebe on their appointments to the town’s Planning Board, to Pat Winch on her reappointment to the Planning Board, to Ben Hobday on his appointment to the town’s Zoning Board of Appeals (“ZBA”), and to Jim Grant on his reappointment to the ZBA.

2. The town board still needs to appoint two “alternate members” of the Planning Board and one ZBA alternate. We’ll do that in the near future. We have a larger number of qualified applicants than there are available seats on these boards. It’s a good problem to have, and it will be a hard decision. I’m glad I don’t have to make it on my own. Thank you to everyone who has stepped forward.

3. We will have several committees and official seats to fill in the weeks and months ahead, so I hope that the people who don’t receive the honor / curse of a seat on the Planning Board or the ZBA will stay engaged – there are many ways to get involved. Speaking of which …

4. We are looking to get the Comprehensive Plan Committee seated in the next several weeks. I’ve received some correspondence from people looking to get involved, but there are still plenty of seats available on this committee. If you want to have a say about Wilmington’s future, or simply want to learn more about the Comprehensive Plan, please contact me or any other member of the town board.

5. The town has a longstanding need to hire a third assessor, and a semi-pressing need for members of the Board of Assessment Review. Serving as an assessor is a long-term commitment. Serving as a member of the Board of Assessment Review (“BAR”) is a short-term commitment. The town’s assessors are paid $6016 annually; the members of the BAR receive $400. For more information, please contact anyone at the town hall.
I know I speak for the entire town board in extending a sincere thank you to our assessors, and to the previous members of the BAR.

6. On a somewhat related note: town employees and officials have been playing “musical offices” for the past few months. The assessors have moved upstairs, into the old Clerk to the Supervisor’s office. The administrative support employees have moved downstairs, into what was until recently the assessors’ office (also formerly Randy Preston, and, before that, Jeanne Ashworth’s, office). And I have moved into the office formerly used by Roy Holzer and Randy Preston.

7. Overall, there is a need for additional office space in the town hall, and one reason for that is the collection of bric-a-brac, treasures, ancient records, outdated machinery, and “surplus items” filling several rooms in the community center’s first floor. One medium-term project will be a concerted effort to reclaim at least one of those rooms for office space.
If you would like a Wilmington bicentennial pennant or an antique desk in decent condition, please contact the town hall.

8. There will be an Essex County Tax Foreclosure Real Estate Auction on January 21. I have several catalogues listing the properties to be auctioned. I’ll leave them out in the town hall for anyone who would like to take one.

9. If you need help covering your heating costs, the Whiteface Community United Methodist Church can help. For more information, or to donate to the Fuel Fund, please contact Pastor Rebecca Richards.

10. The Wilmington town board is going to host a Town Hall Forum on Thursday, January 22, at 6 p.m.

We want to hear your ideas, goals, and concerns. We also will be glad to answer your questions.

The location of this event?
The town hall.

We hope to see you there!

11. The public hearing on the zoning code amendments discussed earlier in this report will take place at 6 p.m. on January 28, at the town hall. The town board’s monthly “work session” meeting will follow the public hearing.

12. Congratulations to the new members of Wilmington’s town board: Hanna Cromie & Randy Winch. And a big congratulations to our new Deputy Supervisor: Laura Dreissigacker Hooker. As I said when she was elected a little over two years ago, the townspeople are lucky to have Laura working for them.

 

Thank you for taking the time to read this report.

Best wishes,

Tim Follos