RANGELEY — Selectmen approved Tuesday the Rangeley Region Health and Wellness Partnership’s application to hold its outdoor music festival this summer.

This will be the partnership’s fourth festival and the third consecutive one.

Set for Saturday, July 28, the festival’s featured act is scheduled to be country music star Travis Tritt.

The board also approved the partnership’s application for a one-day liquor license for a beer garden to adjoin the concert area.

Selectmen also approved liquor license renewals for Bald Mountain Camps and Mingo Springs Golf Course.

Town Manager Tim Kane requested $6,000 to fund an extension of the committee working on the area’s comprehensive plan. The plan, now scheduled for completion in October, will be an approximately 170-page document that identifies the region’s strengths and weaknesses. Kane said that the plan opens the door for funding from the state and that two open meetings will be announced for the public to look at the document and offer input before it is finally adopted.

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Judy Morton of the Rangeley Lakes Chamber of Commerce reported that the chamber is using money from the June appropriations to implement its area marketing plan. She attended the Eastern Maine Sportsman’s Show and, along with local Maine Guides, promoted the moose lottery, which includes three days of events scheduled for June 22 through 24. Co-sponsors of the events are the Rangeley Public Library and the Health and Wellness Partnership.

The chamber, along with the Rangeley Highlander, is featuring the area as a site for weddings. Morton will represent Rangeley at the Freeport Wedding Show on April 1, and the Highlander is planning a wedding guide.

Other activities of the chamber include an Appalachian Trail Community Festival on Sept. 15. Morton said that similar festivals along the trail attract thousands of visitors, and Rangeley has that potential. She touched on the updating of the National Scenic Byway plan, co-sponsored by the Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust. The plan is moving into an active marketing phase, and the public is invited to give input at a meeting at 5 p.m. on April 5 at the Town Office.

Morton said that the chamber’s Facebook fans have grown from 500 to 8,200, and that chamber members are encouraged to post on the page. The chamber is planning to use 60 to 70 percent of its marketing budget online, for example on banner ads and Google ads.

The board accepted the resignation of Everett Quimby, tendered by mail on Feb. 22, from the Park and Sewer commissions, and formally thanked him for his service.

Selectmen also approved the appointment of Virginia Castle, Brenda Rogers and Tom Sullivan to the Park Commission to fill terms of members who resigned. Castle and Rogers will serve through June 2012, and Sullivan through June 2013.

The board voted to move $5,000 from the Park Reserve to pay for the recently completed rebuilding of the town dock. The project was done with pressure-treated lumber, and it was noted that arsenic is no longer used in pressure treating. It also moved to allocate $2,000 to rebuild walkways and docks at the Oquossoc fish gate.

Selectmen voted to sign the agreement for Fire Department services between the town of Rangeley and Oxford County commissioners. Kane said that fire Chief Rudy Davis had studied and approved the agreement.


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