RANGELEY – A heated, year-round restroom comfort station could be wholly or partly installed by Fourth of July weekend in Lakeside Park.

That will be good news for tourists and others who have had to make do for years with a seasonally operated restroom located a ways from Main Street at the public beach swimming area.

According to a report Wednesday from Rangeley Lakes Scenic Byway coordinator Rebecca Kurtz, final plans by Maine Department of Transportation engineers will be completed by the end of this month. The project will then go out to bid shortly after, she said. It’s estimated to cost $199,445, according the the MDOT project advertising schedule.

A comfort station has long been sought for the public in both Rangeley and Oquossoc, Nancy Perlson, executive director of Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust, said Thursday night by phone in Madrid.

“Rangeley has been trying to put a restroom in the village for almost 10 years, I think,” Perlson said.

“They raised $60,000 for both a restroom in Oquossoc and one in Rangeley 10 years ago, then, put the project out to bid and learned it would cost $100,000. So, unfortunately, they couldn’t do it until now when scenic byways program money, both federal and state, became available.”

Leftover scenic byway money from the new Route 4 overlook on Dallas Hill was also rolled into the restroom fund, along with grant money, Perlson said.

At a Jan. 29 public hearing, Maine’s Scenic Byway coordinator Bob LaRoche unveiled the plans, which were 50 percent complete. Rangeley selectmen, Perlson and Kurtz and representatives from Rangeley Lakes Scenic Byway, the Rangeley Lakes Chamber of Commerce, and several businesses attended the meeting, Kurtz said.

During the 60-minute hearing, people voiced strong support for the project while providing LaRoche with ideas about desired exterior features and the appearance of the comfort station, and the types and quality of fixtures, and its hours of operation.

Rangeley will own and maintain the restrooms when they are completed, Kurtz said, so, the issues of functionality and attractiveness were important factors.

Knowing that the project has a tight budget, people wanted the restrooms to have an exterior power outlet, an exterior recessed spigot, a generator for power outages, and energy-efficient “Green” lights that are either motion-sensitive or timer operated, Kurtz said.

People also wanted industrial-grade sinks, faucets and toilets installed with motion-sensitive “electric eyes” to control the flow of water. And, they wanted the restrooms’ exterior colors and features to match those of the chamber building to the greatest extent possible given budget limitations, Kurtz said.

“Ideally, the restrooms will have a porch, two side windows, four frosted/translucent front windows to let in light, and will be light gray in color with a darker gray roof,” she added.

Perlson said MDOT would take the suggestions into consideration and incorporated them into the final plan as the budget allows.

Kurtz said the new restrooms would likely be open daily, but the hours would fluctuate based on public demand and the time of year.