Representatives from the Missile Defense Agency and the U.S. Navy will be at Rangeley Lakes Regional School Tuesday evening, soliciting comments and questions from residents about the potential for a missile interceptor facility in Franklin County.
The facility would be housed at a Navy Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape school in Redington Township, but agency officials stressed that the U.S. Missile Defense Agency plans to conduct preliminary environmental impact studies and that the Redington Township location is one of four locations being considered.
The hearing, in an open-house format, will take place at Rangeley Lakes Regional School Tuesday night from 6 to 9 p.m. and Wednesday morning at the school from 9 a.m. to noon.
Rather than a presentation-based meeting, the open-house format of the event will encourage one-on-one conversations between residents and government experts. The hearing will be arranged around a number of tables with an agency representative who will be available to answer questions or listen to comments, according to Thomas Kreidel, Navy Public Affairs Officer.
He said the planned format allows for more interaction than if it were just a series of speeches.
Kreidel said the Navy will have three officers present to speak on the environmental impact of the facility, while the Missile Defense Agency will have representatives explaining aspects of the installation itself.
Two other sessions will be held at the University of Maine Farmington Thursday from 9 a.m. to noon and again from 6 to 9 p.m.
For more information, visit the Missile Defense Agency website.
Jesse Scardina — 861-9239
Twitter: @jessescardina
Send questions/comments to the editors.
