RANGELEY — The Board of Selectmen approved new general assistance amounts this week after a brief public hearing and heard a push to move quickly on a proposed arch honoring Rangeley’s snowmobiling history.
Monday’s regular meeting opened with the hearing on the general assistance ordinance, which lasted three minutes and drew no public comments.
Town Manager Joe Roach said Rangeley adopted the Maine Municipal Association’s model ordinance in 2003 and the state’s amended version in 2024. Although the ordinance itself did not change this year, the state updated the appendices that list assistance amounts, requiring a public hearing and local adoption.
Monthly assistance is increasing this year. In Franklin County, a one‑person household will receive $1,002 instead of $842, with higher amounts for larger households. The updated appendices take effect Oct. 1.
After the hearing, the board added a discussion of the Cross Street housing project to the agenda, and developer Matthew Teare joined remotely to give an update.
Teare said construction has moved along well, with M&H Construction spending the summer installing underground water and sewer systems and building road beds. The homes were prebuilt in Pennsylvania by Backyard ADU and trucked to Rangeley. They arrived over the past couple of weeks and were set on foundations, with roofs installed in about four days last week.
Interior work, including plumbing, electrical and finish carpentry, is expected to begin next month.
M&H also needs to build stormwater ponds on each side of the Cross Street entrance. Teare said the goal is to obtain a temporary certificate of occupancy around Dec. 1, with initial occupancy targeted for Jan. 1, possibly earlier.
Final paving and landscaping are planned for spring or summer 2027.
Teare said marketing is just beginning, with advertising around town, on Facebook and through local employers. C&C Realty Management of Augusta will manage the development once it is complete, including tenant income verification.
He said the project is an 80 percent area median income program rather than a low‑income housing tax credit project, which simplifies tenant placement.
A board member asked how often tenants are reevaluated. Teare said he did not believe there was a drastic annual recheck but would confirm. He agreed to update the board after concerns were raised about the process.
A member of the public raised a concern about a roofing company recently working at the site at 3 a.m., alarming nearby tenants.
Teare said he was not aware of the incident and called it inappropriate.
He also said he would send written updates to the board over the next couple of months as the project progresses.
Chris Farmer, who spoke on behalf of the arch proposal, then brought forward a request that was not on the meeting’s agenda to build an arch recognizing the Rangeley Lakes Snowmobile Club and the region’s long snowmobiling history. He said organizers face a tight deadline because the arch will take three months to fabricate in Canada.
The Board of Selectmen said it wanted Farmer to bring the project to the Evergreen Cemetery Committee because the arch would require access through the cemetery to reach the trail, but Farmer said Monday that two committee members had conflicts at a suggested meeting time, leaving the committee without a quorum to consider the request.
Farmer said he reached out to the sexton and the town’s Public Works Department director, and both said the trucks needed to install the arch would not be heavier than a vault truck commonly used in the cemetery. He offered to make a $5,000 deposit or secure a bond to cover any damage, and said organizers would be willing to add a split rail fence to deter people from the open area near the trail.
Farmer also said the trees that will be cut are on private property and that crews would use skidder mats or shale and remove everything afterward. He said they plan to keep a buffer and add a restorative buffer, and that the trees being cut are small in diameter and will be chipped.
The arch is intended as a tourism piece, Farmer said, and a way to recognize the snowmobile club and people involved, including Craig Sargeant’s father, who fed a local bear named Blackie for 14 years.
Farmer said the arch is one of several planned around Rangeley, and that each will feature different wildlife and safety information.
He asked the board to consider taking action Monday, pending Planning Board approval and legal review for a one‑year permit. He apologized if he seemed pushy, saying the lead time is long and the project carries a significant cost.
A board member said he had been up to the site and did not see any issue with trucks on those roads, and he did not think graves could be touched. He said the trees are not on town land, so that did not bother him.
Another board member asked about cemetery lot ownership, and Roach explained that plot owners hold deeds with perpetual care from the town.
There was discussion about whether all lot owners would be notified, and Roach said that could be included as a term of the permit.
After a brief discussion about whether the cemetery committee should weigh in before the town proceeded, Farmer pushed back, saying the committee lacked technical knowledge of the project and that the town manager and the director of the Public Works Department were better equipped to make decisions.
Roach noted the cemetery closes Dec. 1, so work would not interrupt visitations.
In the end, the board did not take action.
Members agreed to put it on the Oct. 5 agenda as a placeholder, pending a Planning Board hearing and a Cemetery Committee meeting.
In other matters, the board approved a liquor license for Furbish Brew House & Eats, and approved a permit for a kids’ Halloween event pending a certificate of liability.
The board also briefly discussed a data center moratorium. Roach noted that the state may pass a statewide ban, but Board of Selectmen members expressed local concerns about water supply, grid capacity and fiber optic availability.
The board voted to send the issue back to the Ordinance Committee for review and recommendation.
Roach mentioned a proposed snowmobile park‑and‑ride to be established in cooperation with the Rangeley Lakes Snowmobile Club and High Peaks Alliance. One option is to site the lot next to the groomer barn and the other near the transfer station; the preferred site is next to the barn.
A grant of about $100,000 is available to do the work, and the club would develop and possibly maintain the site, including snow removal. The town would maintain ownership of the property.
Board members asked Roach to get more information before they take action on the request.
Roach also briefed the board on a request from Jim Jannace, a Depot Street abutter, who has asked about getting an easement across the town’s parking lot so he can access property he owns behind that lot.
The town owns the front portion of the lot, and the Rangeley Station Homeowners Association owns the private road.
Because of concerns about losing parking, the board scheduled a site walk for 5 p.m. Oct. 5, just before its next regular meeting, before making a decision.
