KINGFIELD — Voters at a special town meeting next month will decide if the town should help fund a seasonal shuttle bus to Sugarloaf ski resort.

Western Maine Transportation Services has contracted annually with the town to transport area residents from the Herbert Hotel to the ski resort, but this year, funding fell short of the required amount, Kingfield’s Administrative Assistant Douglas Marble explained to selectmen on Monday night.

For nearly 15 years, the Kingfield Recreation Department had received partial funding for the service from the annual Sugarloaf Homecoming auction. This year, Marble said, auction proceeds went instead to the new Carrabassett Valley Public Library. Kingfield’s Budget Committee had not included the entire shuttle cost for 18 months during the transition to a new fiscal year, he explained. Compounding the problem, he said, was the fact that the Recreation Department did not have funds to pay the balance and wanted the town to take over the annual cost. Selectmen have tried to find approximately $2,500 to keep the shuttle going during this ski season.

“We’ve got a $1,000 commitment from Poland Spring, and now we’ve got to raise another $1,500,” Marble said.

The shuttle cost will be one of several warrant articles at a special town meeting at 6 p.m. on Jan. 24 at Kingfield Elementary School. The free shuttle is still scheduled to leave the Herbert Hotel parking lot, Marble said, starting on Dec. 26. Riders should arrive by 7:15 a.m., to unload their gear. The shuttle will return to the hotel by approximately 4:10 p.m. The service will run daily during area schools’ Christmas vacation break and there are plans to run during February and April vacations.

“People can call the town office if they need any more information,” Marble said.

Selectmen also heard an update on the Quad Runners ATV Club proposal to connect two town trail heads to become part of a North Franklin County network. Club members hope to get permission to travel along Route 27, across from the Poland Spring bottling plant, into the downtown area. ATVs would cross from Route 27 onto Depot Street and connect with the trail head behind New England Wire Products on Route 142. From there, they would connect to dozens of trails around the western mountains to the Canadian border. After a public hearing in November, selectmen asked for data and support from the Maine Department of Transportation before taking the issue to the town as an article at a special town meeting on Jan. 24. MDOT will approve the application if the town makes a formal decision to grant permission, Marble said.

Posted and enforceable regulations include a 25 m.p.h. speed limit, designated parking away from vehicular traffic, and six months of trail use, from May 15 through Nov. 15. Trails are off limits until one-half hour after sunrise and one-half hour before sunset. The Quad Runners will provide information to contact members and law enforcement, and access routes will be maintained. If the rules are not followed, MDOT’s permission will be revoked, Marble noted.