WILTON — The town has been invited to apply for a $400,000 Downtown Revitalization Grant to address blighted areas, Town Manager Rhonda Irish told the Board of Selectpersons on Tuesday.

The town’s letter of intent for the Community Development Block Grant has been accepted. The slum and blight designation for a portion of the town was approved, she said.

The next step is to submit an application for the grant by April 17 for the $400,000, she said. Three other towns, Rockland, Fort Kent and Lisbon, also are applying for the money, she said.

The town should know the outcome before July, she said.

A public hearing will be held before submitting the application. The hearing is planned for 7 p.m. at the March 17 board meeting.

The town would be responsible for a 25 percent match, or $100,000, she said. State capital paving plans and sidewalk work being planned on Main Street downtown Wilton could be counted for the match, she said.

Because the town does not qualify for a CDBG based on the percentage of low-to-moderate incomes, the designation allowed the town to be considered under CDBG requirements for a slum and blighted area.

Voters accepted the slum and blight designation at a special meeting in December to start the application process. A letter of intent to apply was filed in January.

The designation pertains to Depot Street from Route 2 to Main Street and Main Street from Academy Hill School to the lake, according to Irish.

The grant was considered to pay for infrastructure improvements in that area, a gateway to the town. If received, the grant can be used for public infrastructure, including roads and sidewalks.

Irish updated the board on plans for Main Street sidewalk improvements and Maine Department of Transportation and town paving also on Main Street.

Along with the town’s capital road plan, work on sidewalks on both Main Street in East Wilton and Main Street in Wilton will be undertaken over the next few years, she said. The sidewalk project is estimated to cost $40,000 for which about $14,000 has been set aside, she said.

Plans for paving Main Street under MDOT capital plans include only a 22-foot strip which does not cover the sides of the road downtown. The town wants to pave the area not covered by the MDOT work.

If the town doesn’t receive the grant, the work will still continue. The order in which sidewalks are tackled first may have to be altered.

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This story was changed to correct the date of the public hearing and the official name of the grant.