Bangor council weighs emergency aid for Together Place, backs grant letters

At a July 27 workshop, Bangor councilors agreed to send letters supporting a library literacy grant and continued federal transit funding, and heard updates on community paramedicine, police staffing and vacant building enforcement. Councilor Joseph Leonard moved to suspend the rules to add a possible opioid settlement funding package for Together Place, which faces a financial crisis, but councilors raised questions and no funding decision was made.

Key points

• Councilor Susan Deane chaired the workshop in the absence of Council Chair Susan Hawes, with no objection from councilors.
• Councilors agreed to send a letter supporting the library's $10,000 Pizza Hut literacy grant for a New Year's Eve book giveaway, and a letter to Senator Collins urging continued Federal Transit Administration funding for state and local transit systems, including the Community Connector.
• City Manager Carollynn Lear reported the state approved the city's EMS license for the community paramedicine program, and that BCAT recorded 32 new interactions in May and 46 in June after higher counts in March and April.
• Lear said the police department is down 18 to 20 officers, just under 25 percent of staff, and is rolling out a more user-friendly online reporting tool for non-emergency requests.
• City Solicitor David Szewczyk reported 10 vacant building matters resolved by administrative consent agreement, up from four at his last update, with 34 properties registered and current and 30 not registered.
• Councilors voted 5-2 to suspend the rules to add Together Place as a workshop agenda item, with Councilor Wayne Mallar and one other councilor opposed; discussion of emergency funding drew concerns about the organization's finances and the opioid settlement process, and no funding vote was taken.

Next steps

• City Manager Carollynn Lear and Director Gunderman are scheduled to meet Tuesday with Together Place's executive director and board vice president to clarify the group's funding situation.
• Councilors may revisit Together Place funding at a special meeting or at Monday's government operations committee meeting, depending on what the meeting yields.
• Councilor Daniel Carson asked staff for data on vacant properties that also owe taxes, and Councilor Carolyn Fish asked for data on registration fee revenue and properties that reached the $4,000 cap.
• Councilor Joseph Leonard said he wants a future government operations discussion on expanding the city's public health department.

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