Do you think?

Well, I think you're right.

Good evening.

Welcome to the regular meeting of the Bangor City Council.

It's December 22nd, 2025.

It is 7 p.m.

You are aware we always start our meeting with a pledge of allegiance, and I'm going to ask Katie Bryden to lead us.

One nation under God, individual injustice for all.

Thank you, Katie.

Okay, this is the portion of the meeting set aside for general public comment related to city business that do not appear on this evening's agenda.

Public comment requires a person to state your name and whether you are a resident of Bangor.

The City Council has adopted a public comment policy that we will adhere to that governs topics, comments considered out of order or offensive, and items that are confidential.

As a reminder, topics that are considered out of order include situations that are in litigation, discussing individual employees or employee groups for which complaint or grievance procedures are in place.

Personal disputes between the speaker and other private residents, matters not germane to city business, support or opposition to any candidate for political office, and personal complaints pertaining to individual employees.

There is a time limit of 15 minutes at the beginning of the meeting with the ability of the chair at the conclusion of the regular business meeting to move another 15 minutes to the end of the meeting.

The public comment period is for city council members to listen, not to respond or debate with persons during the public comment period.

If you do not live in Bangor or own property in Bangor, please allow those who do to have the opportunity to speak first.

If you'd like to offer comment on any item related to city business not appearing on the regular agenda, you may approach the podium.

Alternatively, counselors may be reached via email at counselors at Bangor Main.gov.

A link to the adopted public comment policy can be found on the city's website, public comment policy.

Oh, yeah.

We do have a new timing uh timing device.

It's over here on the wall.

Um it's louder, and we're gonna have her test it in a minute so you can all hear it.

We have had some people that were speaking that did not hear the timer when it went off, and it caught it caused a little bit of um discussion because their time ran longer than somebody else's.

So hopefully this will help.

Um give it a whirl.

Can you all hear that?

Okay, I'm seeing nods.

Good.

Okay.

Um, my name is Sonia Mallor.

I'm a taxpayer of the city of Bangor.

I am here to speak on behalf of the seniors in our city that don't dare to speak out.

Over 50% of the taxpaying citizens of Bangor are seniors at each council meeting when members of the council vote to spend money on the unhoused who don't pay taxes, and are a very small percentage of people residing Bangor.

Do you ever think of the seniors who are living on Social Security or small pensions who wonder when you vote to spend money?

How that group of citizens feels about the taxes going up.

Most members of the council have jobs with benefits and salaries.

They increase every year.

Seniors may get a small increase in their income, but have to turn around and pay for Medicare increases.

Maybe we can pay our taxes, but not heat our homes.

Buy a medicine, pay electrical bills, or buy food.

And Krieg and Economic Development want us to turn our houses into one bedroom apartments.

That puts seniors at risk of fraud and crime.

Bangor Housing wants seniors to sell their homes.

But where will seniors live?

Unhoused people with vouchers cannot attain housing as landlords won't rent to them.

Look at the mess at the encampments with trash cans, et cetera, provided for them.

You need to start thinking of our senior taxpayers before you vote to give more money to the unhoused.

We need to stop funding the unhoused that pay no taxes in Bangor and come here from other places.

According to Ms.

Gunderman, Bangor's health department relies on the Eastern Area on Aging to work with the seniors of Bangor.

Bangor isn't doing anything for our needy citizens who are too proud to ask for help.

All the nonprofits wanting to give monies, Bangor monies to the non-taxpaying unhouse should think of the taxpaying seniors who cannot afford increases in their taxes.

When us is rounding towns picking up their share of services to the unhoused.

Remember that lots of seniors will be alone during this holiday season.

Take the time and check in on seniors that you know will be spending the holiday alone.

Happy holidays.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Good evening.

My name is Scott Pardy, and I am a resident of Bangor.

I think as a community, we have been stuck on the homeless situation long enough.

Maintaining the status quo is a significant financial drain on Bangor taxpayers.

Without a dedicated centralized center, the city remains stuck in a cycle of whack-a-mole encampments and expensive cleanouts that address symptoms rather than causes.

Accountability is crucial.

While it opened in August 2025, it provided 41 units of supportive housing.

Reports indicate that only 28 people from the 96 at Camp Hope successfully entered any form of permanent housing upon its closure, and even far less have gotten into Theresa's place.

I heard of only two.

I don't know if that's true.

I heard someone say here last week, right in these chambers, that Theresa's place was never meant to house all the people from Camp Hope.

And that's probably true.

If that is true, we have been duped.

The closure was delayed until Theresa's place could open, and that was delayed months later.

If only a small fraction of those residents are at Theresa's place, it highlights a bottleneck in our local system, a centralized center at a site like the Parks and Rec building that Parks and Rec doesn't even want, offers a hub model by co-locating medical, mental and city health and housing services, we can reduce the $25,000 per person annually spent on emergency rooms, police calls, and jail stays.

Efficiency requires a single point of contact to prevent people from falling through the cracks.

Investing in a permanent facility isn't just about compassion, it's about ending the repetitive costly cycle of emergency response that currently consumes municipal time and taxes.

As a person who works with homeless population in the housing area and a taxpayer, I demand that the hub model be created.

We need to address this and move on.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Hello, counselors.

My name is Katie Bryden.

I'm a resident of Bangor.

And I am here to express my concerns about the response of the recent closure of the encampment down by the railroad tracks.

I recognize that the window was short, but even in that time, I think a lot of us were hopeful that something could be done.

There were several individual groups, organizations, committees that put together actionable steps, nonprofits that were ready to provide support, residents that were living at the encampment that provided ideas, and it was, I felt minimally engaged, and were right back within a fiscal year doing the same thing of clearing another encampment, losing so many funds, displacing individuals, putting them at risk.

And it's frustrating to see this happen time and time again when people sit at a table and talk about solutions, but then it doesn't happen.

We're not seeing it put into action.

It's a part of a repeating pattern.

Encampments are cleared, people are displaced, funds are spent, and no long-term outcome has been achieved.

But there are individuals in the city that have expertise, experiences, and resources available.

So what I'm asking is for the council to please authorize the city manager to act.

She's made it perfectly clear.

The staff can't find new places to create spaces for individuals to go.

They can't mobilize city staff to help with this issue unless the council votes and gives her the authority to act.

Right now we're, I think I heard 45 individuals that have been disconnected from outreach teams, case managers, medical providers, the site's been bulldozed.

Friday was a terrible day.

If you left your stuff there, probably got frozen to the ground and now it's been cleared.

Everything that you could have used to safely and dignified with dignity, move toward housing has now been lost.

We can't get a hold of these individuals.

And the vouchers that they're using don't seem to be able to be used with the lack of available rental inventory.

So I would ask that the council please consider the creation of a temporary sanctioned stabilization site where residents can safely stay and maintain contact with case managers and medical teams, coordinate outreach and service delivery across nonprofits providers and city staff, include individuals with lived experiences, including those living at the encampment, to ensure solutions are practical, humane, and dignified, protect personal belongings, and use this site as a bridge to long-term housing, helping the residents access vouchers, employment, health care, and other supports effectively.

I think that this is, you know, seeing this several times in one year is painful for a lot of us.

And we know that it is difficult.

And with all due respect to the very hard work you have and the complexity that you are dealing with, um, I ask you to please consider that.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Mrs.

Stillan.

Okay.

Um, good evening, counselors.

Uh, my name is Brett Johnson.

I'm a resident of the Tree Streets uh here in Bangor.

Um, I've been living in Bangor for about four years with my family.

I'm not originally from Bangor.

In that time, I I feel like I've I've seen um uh kind of a monumentous drama play out in our community um with the the unhoused uh population.

Um I'm gonna do something that I don't hear people stand at this podium and do very often.

I'm gonna congratulate all of you for the excellent work that you've done over the last four years.

Maybe some of you haven't been involved in that for that, you know, nearly that amount of time, but I just want to thank you all because this is a national crisis that we're dealing with.

Sometimes we forget that.

Bangor is a very small community.

And the steps that have been taken, they get really uh harshly criticized by um folks, I think unfairly most of the time.

Uh oftentimes when when folks, you know, do get that opportunity to seek services.

I've seen time and time again, and I think it's been widely reported that many people do decide um, you know, to take that first step into stable housing and stabilize their lives.

So I think this this whole narrative around, you know, your approach being misguided.

I I would just uh I would just ask you all to reflect back on the last several years and the accomplishments that have clearly been made.

Um, I think to uh counselor Leonard's point during the workshop.

I think now is the time for us to start building real capacity within our city government and our city services.

We need to stop relying on a patchwork of different organizations providing these services.

We need to start streamlining these services, and we need to start investing in capacity within our city to tackle these issues long term.

If we keep sending out money to all of these different organizations, we lose track of the impact, we lose track of where the money goes.

And ultimately the taxpayers in Bangor not served as adequately.

So I I think in closing, we need to start thinking about our city government as the center of services and what really holds this entire region together.

I'd also like to express that the um our representatives at the last meeting that we had uh stood up at the podium and said, you know, give us give us a proposal so that we can go fight for it in the legislature so that we can get it funded.

I think we need to stop thinking about these issues as city issues and start thinking about them as regional issues.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

We're not recording.

We'll share.

Thank you.

Okay.

Okay.

Hello.

Uh my name is Andrew Laverdier.

I'm one of the few remaining taxi drivers in this town.

I live here.

Uh and this petition is or this resolution is about the need of from the national level, uh, something you can do to address the problem uh because every town in Penobscot County and other counties are facing a budget crisis.

Mostly because of, like I said, the way the jail right now is running up.

Uh well, it's going over budget because of crime.

So this is addressing uh this issue of like said what's the problem, which is nationally, the economy is run by a bunch of mafioso wall street speculators.

And the resolution is going back to the uh res well, it's what Franklin Roosevelt did to deal with the economic depression, because we are in a sense in a depression, right?

The homeless problem is just like the Great Depression, facing the same thing, lack of uh basically the tax revenue base has collapsed because we don't have manufacturing anymore.

So this resolution is how you can actually address this problem because we do have to have a credit system that puts manufacturing back.

We have to bring back manufacturing, we have to have a productive economy again because we don't.

And we I mean, just the problem of how many old people we have.

So it's an untenable situation that's almost like uh the old uh metaphor of the Guardian knot, right?

Which you can't solve just within Bangor in and itself, right?

You have to you have to have the federal government basically clear the debts, wipe out the speculative debts, and start issuing federal credit that's gonna rebuild infrastructure because heaven knows we need a lot of infrastructure rebuilt, God knows.

And uh through that kind of issuance of federal credit, just like Franklin Roosevelt did with the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, you can get a massive burst of re-employment.

But hey, that that would require allocate a lot of training schools.

Uh that's how Franklin Roosevelt dealt with the problem then.

So there you go.

Basically, this is your Christmas gift because this is the way you can push the government to go back to a system that uh, well, it worked.

It worked for sixty years until uh well, it was destroyed by Wall Street when Clinton signed or repealed the Glass-Steagall Act.

So there you go.

Like I said, there's your Christmas gift.

You can act on it.

Um that's it.

Uh, what's your policy on um endorsing like to these kind of resolutions?

We don't we don't really have yeah, I I don't think we really have a per se policy, but um, I know that sometimes uh residents do collect petitions to show that there is a lot of support for this as well.

Um I mean, I I personally do support this, but uh uh this would be something that uh we would have to talk about as a council um anyway, but uh that that there really is no strict policy on on how to bring forward a resolution of council.

Plus, uh if I was able to build some uh tiny houses for basically no cost of the city, could I borrow one of the city's trucks?

No, if I could build some tiny houses for homeless at no cost of the city, could I borrow a truck?

Sir, I can't answer that question, but I do have to tell you your time is up.

Thank you for bringing forward your idea.

Good evening, everyone.

I'm Shane Boyes.

I'm a resident of Bangor.

Um, I don't have a funny joke this time.

I'm not wearing my cow sweater.

I'm it's a cat Christmas tree.

Hopefully, this isn't a catastrophe.

Sorry, I had to, I had to.

Um, but seriously, all jokes aside, I'm I'm speaking tonight just to express my concern and frustration um with the speed at which you all are able to act.

And I know that that's not entirely within your control.

Um, however, it seems like now for weeks and weeks and weeks, I've attended meetings, workshops, full council meetings where there's discussion and discussion and discussion and no action or very, very little action.

I would echo uh the speaker earlier who said, please empower the city manager to uh put the city staff on some of these issues.

Um, while I appreciate that you all want to solve the issues if you're only able to discuss things when you meet and you meet so infrequently.

Uh, I I do think putting this in the hands of the capable folks who work for the city who have a full-time job where they're working 40 hours a week to solve the city's problems might benefit all of us.

Um I did hear uh city manager Lear say in the previous workshop that um you all are being given a gift of not meeting on Monday uh because of the holiday.

And I just would encourage you to, while you are sitting at home enjoying your nice warm home, think about the folks who don't have access to that and think about ways that we can try to come together as a city to support our unhoused neighbors.

Enjoy your day off.

Just know not everyone gets one.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Good evening, Jamie Beck, resident of Bangor.

Um, today was a really hard day for a lot of people.

Um a lot of things that happened today could have been avoided.

In my house, we have a saying, remember that time.

Remember that time on August 11th when I came and talked to you guys about how Bangor Air Homeless shelter wasn't gonna have a warming cell shelter, a warming center, and a plan needed to be made.

Remember that time I emailed you on September 24th when the brick church didn't get funding for a warming center, and then we went into panic mode.

Remember that time?

March and April of this year when we had a giant spike in overdoses after the close of Camp Hope.

Remember that time in January and February of also this year where we had a significant spike in positive HIV cases.

Remember that time on December 1st when another citizen of Bangor came to talk about how there were serious public health dangers of doing a sweep, which included overdose and significant increase in HIV cases, and we still don't have all of them identified.

There have been lots of people that have come up today to talk, and every single time you guys have a meeting.

It's like groundhog day, but we keep hitting the snooze button.

Let's stop hitting the snooze button, please.

There's a lot of back and forth about what happened with the sweep.

There was a lot of confusion, even today.

People were not sure that people were gonna be there to show up in bulldozed tents who were still there.

There's a lot of confusion of what's going on.

Please, please, we need to stop kicking the can down the road.

It's gonna get people killed.

It has already gotten people killed, or had an overdose, or infected with HIV or Hep CEP B, all of the things, right?

Today was avoidable because we had all of these conversations up until these points.

And like previous speakers today, I said we actually need to have a timeline that has an aggressive milestone achievement that gets us to some sort of resolution that isn't just having more conversations about what we're not doing or are doing and what's going wrong or what's not going wrong.

Updates are great.

Real-time updates are even better.

But having a plan of what to do with those updates other than well, we'll see at the next meeting.

That's got to happen.

I do want to thank you for your work, but we still have a lot of work to do.

You've got a community that's ready to willing to jump in and help.

Please utilize this.

Let's do something quickly.

Let's not be here.

Groundhog day again next December.

This can't happen anymore.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Excuse me.

Adam Baker, uh, Bangor resident.

Um I just wanted to share a little bit this past weekend.

Um, I volunteered at the Together Place for the warming shelter for the first time.

And it was very mind opening just to see how many people it helps and just like puts in perspective whenever we go to sleep at night that we take it for granted too much.

And I just with everybody else just advocating that you take action and just not do nothing again.

Um, these are human beings.

Please have empathy for them.

Think about them.

I also want to say thank you again, because I feel like I always criticize the council, but I do thank you for at least having conversations.

You're moving in the right direction, but it's time for actual action.

So thank you.

Thank you.

Anyone else.

Hi, Tim Bush, not a Bangor resident, but a Bangor business owner and a property owner in Bangor.

One, I just want to thank you guys for all being here tonight.

And all of you guys with differing opinions.

I thank you guys for coming and sharing them as well.

One of the things that makes our country and even our community incredible is that we do have difference of opinions and we can voice them in a civil discourse for meaningful change.

So thank you guys all for coming and doing that tonight.

I'm a real estate agent in Bangor.

One of the things I love about our community is when I get people that move in from away, they ask me, what's the political makeup of Bangor?

And I go, that's great.

We're a melting pot of everything.

We've got a little bit of everyone in every single part of the community, and it makes it a really fun place to live.

I'm not usually asked about politics.

Um are you a Republican, a Democrat?

Which way do you vote?

I just watch citizens get along, have a great community, and honestly, it's been a wonderful place to raise our kids and why we haven't left.

I do want to say one of the things as a resident of the Penobscot Plaza, it's been difficult.

And though we understand that you guys are really passionate about these projects, the one thing that doesn't come up is the safety for our employees.

The terrorizing that happens afternight.

My family owns Hero Sports Grove.

And I remember back in 2018 when we watched the man burn alive under the bridge.

That was a really, really difficult time.

These are not new issues to the plaza.

One of the things I will will remind everyone of is that you don't see a lot of discourse coming from the plaza over the last couple decades of us asking to remove encampments.

They've been there.

We've lived with the homeless throughout our building and around it.

What's been happening recently has actually been acts of terrorizing us.

Needles left on our front steps, individuals breaking in under drug comatose states.

My brother-in-law and I actually had to get an individual out of Henry's, and then we're told by the police they couldn't be arrested that day after they'd terrorized about six women in that store.

They felt like they could return to the parking lot.

And though they weren't excited to see people evacuated on Christmas week, it was a really tough time for us of the last six months.

And so I just want to thank you guys all for your time.

Thank you guys for the input that you put in.

We do want to see the unhoused have someplace to go.

However, you have to abide by the laws while you're there.

Terrorizing individuals, breaking into businesses, throwing needles on our front steps.

That's not the way to do it.

We want to be good neighbors.

We want to ensure people can come to the city and live and work in the community that we also love.

Thank you guys so much for your time.

Thank you guys for all being passionate and continue that passion in 2026.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Anyone else?

Hey.

Say no one approach.

We will move on to the consent agenda.

Council Dean.

Yes.

Uh I request removal of Council Order 26-049 from the Kent Cent agenda and its placement onto new business.

Second.

Doesn't really need a second.

That's okay.

So moved.

It will be removed.

I will go to new business.

Council Flew.

Thank you.

I request removal of Council Order 26-050 from the consent agenda and its placement onto new business.

Okay.

Second.

Okay.

It will be removed and placed under new business.

Anyone else have anything?

Okay.

Madam Clerk.

Minutes of Bangor City Council regular meeting of December 8th, 2025.

26 046 order authorizing the execution of a municipal quick claim deed for real estate located at 123 Hussin Avenue.

26 047 order authorizing the execution of a municipal quick claim deed for real estate located at 256 Grove Street.

26-048 order authorizing the execution of a municipal quick claim deed for real estate located at 412 Essex Street.

26 051 order authorizing the city manager to execute an amendment to the airport concession agreement with Enterprise Rent A Car Company of Boston, LLC doing business as enterprise rent a car.

26-052 order authorizing the city manager to execute an amendment to the airport concession agreement with Hertz Corporation doing business as Hertz and Dollar Rental Car.

26 053 order authorizing the city manager to execute an amendment to the airport concession agreement with enterprise rent a car company of Boston LLC doing business as Alamo Rent a Car and National Car Rental.

26 054 order authorizing the city manager to execute an amendment to the airport concession agreement with Avis Budget Car Rental LLC doing business as Avis.

26 055 order authorizing the city manager to execute an amendment to the airport concession agreement with Avis Budget Car Rental LLC doing business as budget payless.

26 056 order authorizing the city manager to apply for $7 million in grant funding for the military airport program for the rehabilitation and relocation of the airport fuel farm.

26 057 resolve ratifying the city manager's execution of an easement to versant power at city owned lot located at 289 Main Street.

Do we have a motion?

I move for passage of council's consent agenda.

Second.

Seeing none, the consent agenda has passed.

Referrals to committee and first reading.

26-058 ordinance amending the land development code section 165-13 definitions to remove Ohio Street and State Street from the Minor Arterial Street Definition and add Ohio Street to the major arterial definition.

First reading and referral to planning board meeting on January 6, 2026.

26-059 resolve appropriating an amount not to exceed $900,000 from the airport unappropriated fund balance to fund the phase one design of the fuel farm facility.

First reading.

Second.

25-296 ordinance authorizing modifications to city code of ordinance, chapter 165 to allow city departments to review projects requiring stormwater law permits.

Councilor Mallor.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

This ordinance would allow the city departments to review projects requiring stormwater law permits.

The City of Bangor Planning Department and the Engineering Department routinely review site plans for many elements to ensure they comply with city ordinances as well as state laws.

Projects that develop over three acres of impervious area are subject to the site location of development act, site law or slower.

Projects that develop more than one acre but less than three of impervious area are subject to stormwater law.

Both Sloter and the Stormwater Law are state statutes that are enforced, reviewed, and monitored by Maine Department of Environmental Protection, Maine DEP.

Since at least 2005, the City of Bangor has reviewed developments that are subject to the requirements of site law through delegated authority from the main DEP.

The main DEP has recently contacted and met with the city staff from planning and engineering regarding the possibility of the city using main DEP designated.

Since staff are already reviewing site plans for land development permits, the additional review of stormwater is currently attainable.

Local review also expedites permitting for developers.

In order to make a municipal capacity, the city would need legal authority through a modification to the city code of ordinances.

As previously mentioned, the city site law legal authority is in the code of ordinances, chapter 165 land development.

Addition to language to chapter 165 to include reference to state stormwater law and rules would give the city the needed legal authority for municipal capacity.

Maine DEP also suggested we add reference to chapters 501 and 502, which are both DEP rules to the section related to site law.

This item was reviewed and unanimously recommended for passage at the planning board meeting on December 9th, 2025.

I move passage of ordinance 26.

Oops, I've lost it.

25.

296.

Second.

Okay.

So I moved and seconded.

This is an ordinance, and we'll recall a and we'll need a roll call vote.

Councilor Beck.

Yes.

Councilor Carson?

Yes.

Council Dean?

Yes.

Councilor Falloon?

Yes.

Councillor Fish?

Yes.

Counselor Leonard?

Yes.

Counselor Mallor.

Yes.

Councilor Walker?

Yes.

Councilor Haas.

Yes.

Nine, yes, zero no.

Chair, could I have the floor for some?

I just wanted to confirm that that passage was the that the appropriate number was read.

25296.

Okay.

Thank you.

Next item.

Whoops, we don't.

25-296.

The ordinance does have passage.

There.

That wraps it up.

Put them all on it.

Okay.

26-023 ordinance.

Amending chapter 165 land development code district map to rezone a property located at 38 Blue Hill East from Urban Service District to High Density Residential.

Councillor Dean.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

This ordinance would amend the land development code district map to rezone the property at map lot R22-003-B, located at 38 Blue Hill East from Urban Service District, USB to high density residential, HDR.

The total area requested to be changed is approximately 0.92 acres.

The applicant is TCK contracting and the owner of record is Kenneth Nagel.

This area is within the growth boundary shown in the 2022 comprehensive plan and the future use map in the plan shows this property in the neighborhood residential area, which consists of medium density residential development with limited commercial and institutional uses that are complementary to the surrounding residential uses.

This item was reviewed and unanimously recommended for passage at the planning board meeting on December 9th, 2025.

I move passage of Council Ordinance 26-023.

Second.

Councilor Beck?

Yes.

Councilor Carson?

Yes.

Councillor Dean?

Yes.

Councilor Falloon?

Yes.

Councilor Fish?

Yes.

Councillor Leonard?

Yes.

Councillor Mallor.

Yes.

Council Walker?

Yes.

Councillor Haas?

Yes.

Nine, yes, zero no.

Ordinance 26-023 has passage.

Next item.

26-024 ordinance.

Amending chapter 165 land development code district map to rezone a property located at 195 Thatcher Street from Industry and Service District to Urban Industry District.

Councilor Falloon.

This ordinance.

Sorry if I'm not doing this right.

This ordinance would amend the land development code district map to rezone the property at map lot 017-015, located at 195 Thatcher Street from Industry and Service District, INS to Urban Industry District UID.

The total area requested to be changed is approximately 6.42 acres.

The applicant owner of record is LMP properties.

This area is within the growth boundary shown in the 2022 comprehensive plan.

And the future land use map.

In the plan shows the property in the industrial area, which consists of a range of industrial and commercial uses that benefit from proximity to I95 and the associated highway interchange.

Keep going.

Sorry.

Sorry.

I move passage of item number 26-024.

Second.

Okay.

It has been moved and seconded.

Seeing no discussion.

It will require a roll call vote.

Madam Clerk.

Councilor Beck.

Yes.

Councillor Carson?

Yes.

Councillor Dean?

Yes.

Councillor Falun?

Yes.

Counselor Fish?

Yes.

Councillor Leonard?

Yes.

Councillor Mallor.

Yes.

Counselor Walker.

Yes.

Councillor Hawes?

Yes.

Nine yes, zero no.

Ordinance 26-024.

Does have passage.

Next item.

26-025 ordinance.

Amending chapter 165 land development code district map to rezone a property located at 557 Hammond Street from contract urban service district to urban service district without contract conditions.

Council Walker.

This ordin ordinance.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

Sorry.

This ordinance would amend the land development code district map to rezone the property at map map lot 013-077 located at 55 557 Hammond Street from Contract Urban Service District to Urban Service District without contract conditions.

The current contract limits the types of uses on the property to financial institution, office, or retail, limits the square footage to 3,000 square feet and limits the operating hours.

The total area requested to be changed is approximately 0.44 acres.

The applicant is David Wade.

The owner of the record is Alan and Karen Algy.

This area is within the growth boundary shown in the 2022 comprehensive plan and the future land use map in the plan shows this property in the urban neighborhood which area which consists of medium to high density residential neighborhoods surrounding the downtown and encompassing most of his the historic residential areas includes limited commercial and institutional uses that are compliment complementary to the surrounding residential uses.

This item was reviewed and unanimously recommended for passage at the planning board meeting on December 9th, 2025.

Second.

Madam Clerk.

Councillor Beck?

Yes.

Councillor Carson?

Yes.

Councilor Dean?

Yes.

Councillor Falloon?

Yes.

Councillor Fish?

Yes.

Counselor Leonard?

Yes.

Councillor Mallor?

Yes.

Counselor Walker.

Yes.

Councillor Haas.

Yes.

Nine yes, zero no.

Ordinance two six-zero two five has passage.

Next item.

26-041 resolve authorizing the city manager to accept and appropriate 243,225 in grant funding from the coal foundation to support a community paramedicine program.

Councillor Mallor.

Thank you, madam.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

This resolve would authorize the city manager to accept and appropriate 243,225 in grant funding from the Cole Foundation to support community paramedic paramedicine program.

Community paramedicine is a health care model that enables paramedics and emergency medical technicians, EMTs to operate in expanded roles, assisting the public health, primary health care, and preventive services for underserved populations within the community.

The goals are to improve access to the care and prevent duplication of existing services per the rural health information hub.

The Cole Foundation through the Community Care Partnership of Maine is supporting five community paramedicine pilot programs in Maine and the City of Bangor was approached to be one of these sites.

This shortage of primary care strains on hospital emergency departments and demand for preventive health care.

This program will may provide needed relief and support for community members.

The Bangor pilot program will be a collaboration between Bangor Fire and Bang Bangor Public Health and Community Services.

Funding for 18 months would not start until January 2026, and we'll support one full-time community paramedic as well as a vehicle supplies, part-time staff for coordination activities, visits, training, medical direct oversight, and other project related costs.

This item was reviewed and recommended for passage at the government operations committee on December 8th, 2025.

I move passage of 26-041.

Second.

Resolve 26-041 has been moved and seconded.

Is there any further discussion?

Any objections.

Seeing none, the resolve will have passage.

Next item.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

This resolve will authorize the city manager to accept and appropriate $625 from Maine Health Access Foundation for Bangor Public Health and Community Services time and effort for providing technical assistance.

Bangor Public Health and Community Services provide feedback, guidance, and expertise on the evaluation of Meehaf's community response grants.

In addition to a staff, in addition, a staff member participated in a panel discussion.

This funding is meant to help offset their time and effort.

This item was reviewed and recommended for approval at the government operations committee meeting on December 1st, 2025.

I move passage of council resolve 26-042.

Second.

Resolve 26-042 has been moved and seconded.

Is there any further discussion?

Any objections.

Seeing none, the order has passage.

Next item.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

Madam Chair, I move passage of council resolve 26-043.

Second.

This resolve authorizes the city manager to accept and appropriate $150,000 in grant funds from Maine's Office of Behavioral Health for an overdose response program.

This is the seventh year of the grant, which established an overdose response team in Bangor to provide follow-up with individuals who have experienced an overdose and connections to recovery, harm reduction, and other resources, including those related to basic needs and self-sufficiency.

The project is a partnership with options liaisons through community health and counseling services, the Bangor Police Department, and Together Place.

The team also provides training, technical assistance, and support to communities throughout Penobscot County working to improve their response to overdose.

This item was reviewed and recommended for passage at the finance committee meeting on December 15th, 2025.

Point of order.

The listing here should I step away for this vote?

Yes, she should.

Okay.

Um resolve 26-043 was moved and seconded.

Is there further discussion?

Are there any objections?

Seeing none.

Resolve 26-043 has uh passage.

And we will let the record show that counselor Beck did leave the room.

Okay.

New business.

Public hearing application for special amusement license of Bangor Motor and Corp.

Doing business as Bangor Inn and Suites and Conference Center, 701 Hogan Road, Councillor Beck.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

Uh Madam Chair, I move opening of the public hearing for the application for special amusement license of Bangor Motor and Corp doing business as Bangor Inn and Suites and Conference Center 701 Hogan Road.

Second.

It's been moved and seconded that the um blank.

Thank you.

That the public comment is the public hearing is open.

Make it easy.

Madam Chair, seeing no one approach, I move that we close the public hearing.

Second.

Seeing no one approached, the public hearing is closed.

Madam Chair, I move passage of the application for special amusement license of Bangor Motor Incorporation.

Uh DBA, Bangor Inn and Suites and Conference Center 701 Hogan Road.

Second.

Okay, it's moved and seconded.

The amusement license of Bangor Motor Inn uh and Bangor Inn and Suites and Conference Center does have passage.

Next item, please.

26-049 order appointing constables for the year 2026.

Council Adine.

This order will appoint constables for the year 2026.

This is an annual action that authorizes certain individuals known as constables to enforce city ordinances.

This includes employees of reef parking, fire prevention, harbor master, code enforcement, and animal control divisions.

This action is in accordance with the state law, and city constables shall not be allowed to carry a weapon concealed or unconcealed in the presence of their duties.

Second.

Okay, council order 26-049.

I need to I need to amend.

Interimment.

I thought you know I'm going to amend it.

Oh I move to amend council order 26-049 by substitution to replace its attached list of constables with the amended list of constables that has been provided to the council.

Second.

I move passage of council order 26-049 as amended.

Second.

Okay, council order.

Just one second.

There needs to be a uh the first vote was on to amend the motion, and I did not hear that there would that that motion had passed.

Somebody stop me on the thing.

I'm sorry to to amend the uh to amend the order.

Right.

I did not hear that that had passed first before the second motion was made.

So I think there needs to be a showing as to whether the first motion to amend had passage.

Okay.

Um 26-049 was uh moved and seconded to amend that order by substitution.

Was there any discussion or objections as passage for um amending and then now you have to do the other one?

I move passage of council order 26-049 as amended.

Second.

Okay, council order two six-049 um has been uh moved and seconded.

Is there any discussion?

Objections.

Seeing none.

The order has passage as amended.

Next item.

26-050 order authorizing the city manager to negotiate with Sheridan Construction for Construction Manager Services for the Bangor Central Kitchen Project at 50 Cleveland Street.

Council of Falloon.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

Okay.

If approved, the order will authorize the city manager and or designee to negotiate a contract for construction manager services for the Bangor Central Kitchen Project with Sheridan Construction to oversee the full execution of the project, including demolition, site work, and new building construction in accordance with the approved design and all federal and local requirements.

This project will involve the demolition of the existing uh 18,167 square foot structure at 50 Cleveland Street, formerly the officers club on the former Dow Air Force Base and the construction of a new prefabricated metal building of approximately 18,000 square feet designed to house a commercial kitchen incubator serving the Greater Bangor region.

The central kitchen will support shared use food production space, entrepreneurship, education, and community events.

It represents a key public investment in local food infrastructure and small business development.

The city received seven proposals to the RFP and after careful review of experience, capacity, and overall fit.

Staff's recommendation is to enter into negotiations with shared and construction.

Sheridan construction has an outstanding reputation, improving track record, and specialists of free fabricated prefabricated metal buildings.

This item was reviewed and recommended for approval at the business and economic development committee meeting on December 15th, 2025.

I move passage of Council Order 26-050.

So second.

Second.

Okay.

Um Council Order 26.

There's gonna be a motion.

Go ahead.

Okay.

Um Madam Chair, I move to postpone Council Order 26-050 to the regularly scheduled city council meeting on January 12th, 2026 at 7 p.m.

Second.

Okay, it's been moved and seconded that this uh council order 26-050 be postponed to the regularly scheduled city council meeting in on January.

What's the date?

12th, 2026 at 7 p.m.

Is there any discussion?

Any objections.

Council order will be postponed.

Next item 26-060 order amending the city of Bangor's remote participation policy.

Council of Beck.

Thank you, ma'am clerk.

This order would amend and update the city of Bangor's remote participation policy to re-implement allowing public comment via remote means with added procedures in place.

At the council meeting on November 10th, 2025, Council adopted amendments to the city's remote participation policy to discontinue allowing public comment via remote means to address the recent disruptive behavior encountered during Zoom public participation.

Council now wishes to reinstate allowing public comment via remote means with additional procedures in place to decrease the incidence of disruptive behavior.

This item was reviewed and recommended at the government operations committee meeting on December 15th, 2025.

I move passage of order 26060.

Second.

Order 26060 has been uh moved and seconded.

Is there any discussion?

And yes.

Um generally I'm in favor of this, but I just want to say that if we continue to have the problems that we had in the past, and and I know we said that we can revisit this, but I definitely want to revisit it because I think things have gone pretty smoothly um since we've sworn in this new council and made that decision to postpone those.

And I'd like to see these mooting these meetings continue to go smoothly.

So thank you.

Anybody else?

Okay.

Same no objections.

Order 26-060 has passage.

That brings us to the end of our agenda.

Any comments from staff.

Oh, look.

Just shakings of the head.

Anyone back here?

Okay.

Council Carson.

I just want to wish everybody Merry Christmas and happy holidays.

Good night and stay warm.

Council Beck.

I would just like to say thank you to all of the city staff for their hard work this year.

It's been a long year.

And uh couldn't couldn't get through it without our awesome staff.

So thank you.

And also to wish a very Merry Christmas and a happy holidays uh to all of my colleagues and all the staff and all the people of Bangor.

Any holiday you you celebrate, I appreciate that you share those traditions with all of us.

And I wish everyone in the city uh warmth and food and joy and just hoping that 2026 is is a better year for everybody.

Thank you.

Councillor Dean.

A common theme, I guess.

Wish everyone happy holidays.

I'll be celebrating Christmas, so I wish myself happy Christmas and anyone that celebrates that, but happy Hanukkah.

Any holiday you celebrate, any time with your family, please enjoy a little time off if you get it.

It's very important.

Also, I always like to remember the end of the year brings the dog licensing.

So if you have a puppy dog, try to get in before January because it is much cheaper to do it in December.

And we all love our pups.

So happy holidays, everyone, and goodnight, Bangor.

Council Leonard.

Happy Christmas, happy holidays, and a happy good night.

Council Fish.

Um happy holidays and um stay warm.

And I just want to um shout out to our airport director, Jose.

Uh today was exciting to have the ribbon count cutting out there today and hear the history, the great history of the airport and what an asset it is, and the plans for the future.

So I think there's a lot of good things.

There's a lot of um, you know, negativity we hear here, but Bangor's got a lot of good things happening.

We've done a lot, we're doing a lot, and um I'm I'm very excited about 2026.

So uh good night, everybody, and till next time.

Council Mallor.

I wish everyone happy holidays and safe holidays.

Uh I'll see you next year.

Bye.

Council Walker.

Um happy holidays to everybody.

Um, I wanted to mention that I do recognize that the last few days have been very emotional for our unhoused population.

And I also have been hearing the um the public comments in regards to the businesses and how it's affected the businesses as well.

Um, I think uh, you know, I respect all opinions, and um, I just want to say it's been a hard, it's been it's been rough.

Um I'm sad moving up forward.

I'm sad that I missed the airport ribbon cutting thing, but congratulations, Jose.

Um, and I definitely hope that I'm I'm praying that everyone is warm and safe over the holidays.

Um, and that is it.

Good night, Bangor.

I just want to say um I understand the frustration that some of you guys have expressed about the amount of time that it's taking for us to come up with a solution.

And I don't think it's because we we don't care.

It's not we really do want to make sure that we get it right.

And I know that this has gone on for a number of years, but this council has been together for a very short time, and we really do want to get it right.

Um, and we're gonna continue to do that.

And um, I want to say happy holidays to everybody and to our unhoused neighbors.

You will definitely be in my thoughts, and we will continue to try to come to a solution.

So thank you so much and have a great holiday and good night.

I'd like to wish everybody happy and safe holidays.

And we are adjourned.

See you next year.