RANGELEY — The Board of Selectmen approved the purchase of a snowmobile for the sewer department Monday, Dec. 16.

“During the budget process last year, we identified on the Capital Reserve sheet that the sewer plant was ready for a snowmobile,” Town Manager Joe Roach said.

The purchase was budgeted for $18,000 but quotes from two businesses came in under $12,000, he added.

Oquossoc Marine quoted $11,261 for a 2024 Polaris 550 Voyageur. Mountain Side Powersports of Wilton quoted $11,374 for a 2025 Ski-Doo KASA. Both machines included studs, stud protectors and skid plate upgrades.

Roach said the Polaris was the preference of the sewer department. The board voted anonymously to authorize the purchase of the utility snowmobile from Oquossoc Marine.

The board also approved liquor license applications for The Hungry Trout and Moose Alley.

Highlights from the Monday, Dec. 2 meeting:

The board made a motion to officially establish in-town access routes for snowmobiles. The snowmobile access routes include Allen Street, upper Pleasant Street from Route 16 north, Center Street, School Street, Cross Street and Oquossoc Avenue. The board determined that travel on the extreme right of these public ways could be conducted safely and not interfere with vehicular traffic and established a snowmobile speed limit in these areas of 10 miles per hour. The board also recognized the MaineDOT separately established the portion of Maine Street from Manor Road to Allen Street as a snowmobile access route in 1994.

The board also reviewed a proposal from Franklin County Emergency Management for funding of the installation of two United State Geological Survey River gauges in Franklin County. The proposed locations for the gauges are at the Sandy River near the Fairbanks Bridge on Route 4 in Farmington and adjacent to the South Branch of Carrabassett River near Route 27. According to the proposal, the initiative is “essential for enhancing flood monitoring capabilities and improving emergency response efforts”.

The estimated cost of the project is $151,400 with an anticipated 75 percent funded by federal resources which would require a 25 percent, or $37,850, non-federal match. Funding for the match is proposed through a cost-sharing model based on the land mass of each municipality. Unorganized territories, which make up 50 percent of county land, would contribute $18,925. The remainder would be split between municipalities based on land size. Rangeley’s contribution under the proposed funding arrangement would be just under $1,200.

Town Manager Joe Roach said, “I did look at the budget and did not really find clear place where we could take the money from. A good starting point is to get some more information about it.”

Board members agreed and indicated they would like to a FCEMA representative speak about the project at a future board meeting.

The Town Office will close at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 24.