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Roadside rock may become town fountain

WILTON – When orga­nizers planned the park in the middle of Main Street several years ago, a foun­tain was part of the layout.

The time has perhaps arrived to put one there.

Patsy Belt, a member of the Wilton Main Street As­sociation Design Commit­tee, and WMSA member Alison Meltzer met with the Board of Selectmen re­cently to talk fountains. An artist from Vermont has been chosen to design it.

"We want a local stone appropriate to the site with minimum upkeep," Belt said.

The fountain will not have a pool and will sim­ply flow over the chosen rock in Main Street Park.

After looking at many suggested rocks, Belt said they chose a boulder that sits beside the road where Isaac Frye Highway cross­es Burton Highway, ap­parently within the town’s right-of-way.

"We want the rock," she said, and asked if the town would donate it to them.

If it belongs to abut­ter Stanley Young, he has said they are welcome to it. They are not asking the town to move it, she said.

"We have to make the arrangements for place­ment," Belt said.

Selectmen said they had no problems with the idea, but suggested they talk with Steve Elliott, the public works director, "as a courtesy to see if he has any."

Longtime road agent Charlie McGettigan said the rock was placed there "60 or 70 years ago when the road was worked on and the town had no equipment big enough to move it."

The rock has scars along one side as if hit by a snowplow, but McGettigan said he didn’t recall that happening on his shift.