STANDISH – The Standish Town Council voted last week to hold a special town meeting at the town hall, Tuesday, Oct. 12, to vote on two warrant articles regarding the ongoing Oak Hill renovation project.

Voters will be asked whether to use $11,800 from the unreserved undesignated fund balance to match funds supplied from the Maine Department of Transportation for the Standish Village Sidewalk Project. The other referendum seeks approval for appropriating $24,000 from the unreserved undesignated fund balance to complete an engineering study related to the Oak Hill Connecter Road Project.

A majority of the funds for both projects are being provided by the state and federal government but will not be released to the town until matching funds are allocated.

“In order to receive the funds from the Department of Transportation, we have to have a design completed and paid for by June 30, 2012,” said Standish Town Manager Gordon Billington. “Once the design is complete we can then go through the federally regulated program to bid the construction contract out and complete the project.”

Both projects are part of the Standish Comprehensive Plan. Standish received state approval for a new comprehensive plan in 2006. The plan identified four growth areas, transitional and low growth areas, and critical resource areas.

Each year the town completes another step outlined in the comprehensive plan, the approval of funds at the special meeting is just another step on the way to completion. In 2007, the comprehensive plan earned Standish the honor of being selected as GrowSmart Maine’s Model Town Project.