WILMINGTON, MA — At Monday’s Selectmen Meeting, Town Manager Jeff Hull provided the board with a memo outlining the game plan for attaining the proper approvals to hold a carnival as part of this year’s Fun on the Fourth festivities.
Go Through The RFP Process
Hull’s office will finalize a request for proposal (RFP) for carnival services this week. It will be advertised both locally and in the state’s Goods and Services Bulletin. The RFP deadline has not yet been finalized, but it will be no earlier than April 14, AFTER the Planning Board and Board of Appeals vote on the matter.
Meet With Planning Board
Hull will be meeting with the Wilmington Planning Board at a special meeting on Monday, March 21 at 7:30pm to “make the case that the Town’s application for a special permit is specially and materially different from the application made by the Fourth of July Committee.” Hull noted some of the differences between the applications, including the carnival’s hours of operations, number of rides (reduced from 15 to 12-14) and number of concession stands (reduced from 15 to 12).
Meet With The Board of Appeals
If the Planning Board agrees and allows the application to move forward, Hull will meet with the Wilmington Board of Appeals on Thursday, March 24 at 7pm to “present the case to them that the Town’s application is specifically and materially different from the prior application they received.” Hull needs at least 4 members of the Board of Appeals to agree with his position.
Board of Appeals member Ed Loud, who recused himself from the original application, received an opinion from the State Ethics Commission which found that, with the appropriate disclosure, he CAN participate in Board of Appeals matters related to the application for the special permit for the carnival.
The addition of Loud’s vote to the mix is widely expected to provide Hull with the 4th vote necessary to move the permit process forward and ultimately grant the permit.
Meet With The Board of Appeals (Again)
Hull will then meet with the Wilmington Board of Appeals again on Wednesday, April 13 at which time the Town Manager will make a formal presentation to the board. The hope is, at that time, the board would vote on the permit.
Fun On The Fourth Plans
Best case scenario: If the town’s carnival permit request is granted, the Wilmington Fourth of July Committee would conduct a programming beginning on Thursday, June 30 and concluding Sunday, July 3. The firworks dispaly would occur on Saturday, July 2 at 9:30pm with a breakfast on Sunday morning to close out the event.
Worse case scenario: If the town’s carnival permit request is denied or never heard, the Wilmington Fourth of July Committee would conduct a 2-day event beginning Friday, July 1 and concluding on Saturday, July 2 with a fireworks display.
Cross Your Fingers An Affirmative Vote Isn’t Appealed
Hull noted that a contract likely wouldn’t be executed between the town and a carnival operator until three weeks after the Board of Appeals decision, presumably on April 13. Hull noted there is a 20-day period after any Board of Appeals vote in which a “party of interest” (e.g., abutter) can appeal. It is unclear how such an appeal would effect the tight timeline.
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