RANGELEY — Plans for a Safe Routes to School sidewalk project were presented at a public hearing Wednesday night.

Jeff Preble and Amanda Bunker of the Wright-Pierce Engineering firm made a PowerPoint presentation of the project, which covers approximately 1,500 linear feet of sidewalk on Main Street between Allen Street and Loon Lake Road.

The plan calls for widening the existing sidewalk from 4 to 5 feet and for the new installation to match that.

At the intersection of Loon Lake Road the wide business entrance for pull-in parking will be narrowed to Department of Transportation standards with the addition of an island. Drainage at the intersection may need to be redone, with another catch basin added to the existing one. A new culvert and some ditching may be needed along the length of the project. The Allen Street intersection with Main Street will need a handicap ramp and a pedestrian island at the crosswalk, the engineers said.

Preble said he has met with Central Maine Power Co., and the project will have little impact on the overhead utilities, except for replacing some sidewalk guy wires to CMP poles.

He said the project needs town approval by the end of June to be eligible for MDOT funding for June 2013. The state would pay 80 percent of the project.

At the selectmen’s meeting that followed, the board heard a proposal for a second vehicle from Caroline Bates-Hoffman of the Rangeley Region Health Appointment Transportation program. The program has a van for wheelchair patients but is looking to purchase a smaller all-wheel drive vehicle for use in the winter.

A recent donation of $15,000 toward the purchase could buy a used vehicle with limited warranty, but $7,000 more would allow it to purchase a new Subaru with a factory warranty.

Board members voiced a preference for the new vehicle, and suggested looking into further donations to make up the difference before asking for the funds at the town meeting.

The board granted several permits and renewals, including a temporary liquor license to Philbrick Enterprises of Oquossoc for a beer and wine garden at the moose lottery weekend scheduled for June 22-24. The drawing will take place at 4 p.m. Saturday, June 23.

Steve Philbrick said the festivities will include a climbing wall, a kids’ playhouse, nine food vendors and 47 commercial vendors. He said off-site parking and courtesy buses will be available.

The board approved an outdoor festival permit and renewed the vendor license for the Strawberry Festival, sponsored by the Rangeley Region Guides and Sportsmen’s Association. It also approved the liquor license renewal and special amusement license for Parkside and Main, which plans some acoustic music events on their deck during the summer.

After hearing from Robert Duplisea Jr., vice president of RJD Appraisal, a municipal assessing service from Pittsfield, the board agreed to extend the company’s contract.

The board also approved taking $300 from the selectmen’s operating budget to pay for the printing of the town park master plan.