The town of Damariscotta will have a special town meeting this week to to see whether or not citizens will give the go-ahead to pursue a grant that could potentially reshape part of the downtown area.

The town meeting will begin at 5 p.m. Wednesday, March 4 at the town office on School Street, and will precede the usual board of selectmen meeting.

The special town meeting is being called to see if voters will approve moving $61,000 from the town's surplus fund to cover the cost of a matching-fund grant for a Community Development Block Grant. Another $30,000 will come from the Richard Else Sidewalk fund to bring the total to $91,000.

The voters will also be asked to approve a grant application for the Public Infrastructure Grant Program.

If awarded the grant, the money would be put towards repairing the surface and infrastructure of Elm and Theater Streets, and repairing or replacing the sidewalks. Previously, Damariscotta has used similar funds to repair Church, Hodgdon and Chapman streets and sidewalks.

The project was the subject of a public hearing during the Feb. 18 selectmen meeting, and during a presentation by Wright-Pierce Project Manager Travis Pryor, the depth and breadth of the project was presented.

Elm Street's height would need to be adjusted, and the sidewalks would likely need to be widened to meet Americans with Disabilities Act requirements. There would also need to be grading changes on the north side of the street, and some of the telephone poles, which are currently in the street, would be moved out of the roadway.

While most of the discussion during the Feb. 18 meeting centered on whether or not Elm Street should be switched from its current two-lane setup to a one-way street, the decision has not yet been made.

Following the public meeting, there will be a public hearing on five subjects, including two liquor licenses for two restaurants. There will also be a planning board public hearing to make amendments concerning the land use ordinances.

That public hearing will be focused on the proposed adult entertainment ordinance, which would change portions of the zoning regulations for businesses, namely by regulating where adult-themed businesses can and can't open within town limits.

The proposed adult entertainment ordinance would restrict such businesses from setting up within 1,500 feet of schools, churches, playgrounds and daycare centers.

There will also be a public hearing on amendments to the harbor shellfish and harbor management ordinances.

Recently, Newcastle and Damariscotta began making the switch to have one town handle all mooring and harbor requests, while the other will be in charge of the shellfish ordinances. Previously, the two ordinances were split up between the two towns.

Following the public hearings and meetings, the board of selectmen will meet.

Among the items on the board's agenda is an outstanding bill to Pinkham's Plantation. In 2014, when the Chapman Street project was nearing its end, it was discovered that an additional $38,000 was needed for drainage and catch basins, and after those changes were implemented, a homeowner's lawn required approximately $6,400 in repairs. The homeowner agreed to pay $2,000, but the selectmen will need to approve moving the remaining $4,400 from the contingency account.

The meetings are open to the public.