Maine Turnpike Authority officials today said they would hold a third public hearing in July on the relocation of the York toll plaza.

The announcement came as the Turnpike Authority Board of Directors met in Portland with York selectmen. The selectmen recently passed a strongly worded measure opposing the Turnpike Authority’s plan to build a new toll plaza on one of four proposed sites in York.

“I don’t know if we heard anything different today, but the board seemed to be a warm and responsive board,” said York Selectman Chairman Mike Estes, who estimated that about 25 citizens attended the meeting.

The Maine Turnpike Authority wants to replace the 39-year-old York toll plaza just north of Exit 7 on the Maine Turnpike with a modern, $35 million facility that is more motorist-friendly and can accommodate new technology. Each of the proposed sites would require the removal of at least one York resident’s home.

The plan has drawn opposition from some local residents. Three members of the citizens' group Think Again spoke at today’s meeting, according to York Town Manager Robert Yandow.

Turnpike officials have said they prefer a new facility because the existing one was built on wetlands and is sinking at a rate of about an inch a year. The current plaza also is located near an interchange and on a curve at the bottom of a hill, so motorists have trouble seeing every lane as they approach the toll plaza, they said.

Each of the proposed replacement sites - at mile markers 8.7, 9.9, 11.3 and 13.2 - is located on a straightaway and away from off and on ramps.

Estes said York was in the process of setting up a working committee of eight to 12 people to work with the board on this issue. He expected that the selectmen and the board would meet again in the future.

“The (message) was to not be in a hurry, to take another look at the data surrounding the existing toll plaza and to meet and respond to concerns by selectman and citizens,” Yandow said. “The Turnpike Authority is in the process of formulating some answers to questions and concerns that were presented at the two public meetings.

The date of the public hearing in July has not been set.

Comment from members of Think Again and the Maine Turnpike Authority were not immediately available.