RUMFORD – Selectmen set a public hearing on the possible discontinuance of a 1,700-foot section of Railroad Street, that if approved, would pave the way for a land exchange between the town and NewPage Corp.

The hearing is scheduled for 6 p.m. on March 29 at the American Legion Hall on Congress Street.

NewPage Corp. spokesman Tony Lyons said the mill wants to close a portion of the street that begins just past the former Agway building and ends at the entrance to Veterans Bridge so that a electric substation can be built.

In return, the mill will deed about 33 acres to the town, largely comprising recreational property already used by the town. These lots include Veterans Park, the Virginia ball field, an area next to the Androscoggin River on which the town dumps snow, Morency Park, the so-called municipal parking lot located along River Street, and a couple of other parcels.

Residents will vote on the proposed land swap/discontinuance of a portion of Railroad Street at a special town meeting in April.

The board also granted the local access channel, WVAC, $12,500 from the town’s cable franchise fees. Another $12,500 had previously been granted to the Moontide Water Festival Committee so that a July Fourth celebration could be held this year.

WVAC spokesman Joe Volkernick was not pleased with the amount selectmen decided to grant the station this year.

He said the channel needs $11,000 to operate the station. The town’s grant left little to make improvements, adding that last year the town gave nearly $24,000.

Board Chairman Jim Rinaldo said the town could not give all of the remaining $22,000 from the franchise fees because of unanticipated legal and other expenses this year.

“We need to pay our bills. We need to help ourselves,” Rinaldo said.

Volkernick said without additional funding, the station cannot improve.

“We’re doing more taping than 31 other stations I’ve called,” he said.

Neighboring Mexico and Dixfield also kick in some funding for the station’s operation, although neither town provides nearly as much as Rumford.

Also on Thursday, the board granted a liquor license and special entertainment permit to The Shak.

Tim Lecours of Byron Street, a bar neighbor, objected to the approval, saying that the noise, strewn beer bottles and fights that he said often occur at The Shak are disruptive to his family.

The Shak owner, Tommy Tompkins, said he has bought a decibel meter to measure the noise level.

The town is working on drawing up a special entertainment ordinance that will, among other things, establish a maximum decibel level. Rinaldo said residents will likely have a chance to act on the proposed ordinance in June.

In other matters on Thursday, selectmen:

• hired Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments to oversee several federal grants until a new town manager is hired. Payment for the work will come from the grants.

• approved an amendment to the fire department union contract that requires an employee to work the scheduled day before or scheduled day after a holiday in order to be paid for that holiday.

• accepted the resignations of parks department employee Ken Harlow and Board of Appeals member Linda French.

The board also met in several closed sessions regarding the town’s revolving loan fund, complaints lodged against or by selectmen, and an undisclosed legal matter. No votes were taken as a result of the closed sessions and details were not provided.