Bangor council passes zoning changes, constables, remote comment policy

[0:19] Susan Hawes: 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. I [0:45] Speaker B (unidentified): pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you, [1:04] Susan Hawes: 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 bangormaine.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, a timing device. It's over here on the wall. It's louder, and we're going to have her tested 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 caused a little bit of discussion because their time ran longer than somebody else's, so hopefully this will help. Give it a whirl. Can you all hear that? Okay, I'm seeing nods. Good. Okay, first [4:01] Speaker C (unidentified): Speaker, okay, hello, my name is Sonja Maller. 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 percent 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 Cregan Economic Development want us to turn our houses into one-bedroom apartments. That puts seniors at risk of fraud and crime. Bengal 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 that the encampments with trash cans, et cetera, provided for them. You need to stop 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 and 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 non-profits wanting to give Bangor monies to the non-taxpaying unhoused should think of the taxpaying seniors who cannot not afford increases in their taxes. Winners 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. days. Thank you. Thank you. [7:02] Speaker D (unidentified): Good evening. My name is Scott Party 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. Here's an example. Teresa's Place, 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 Teresa'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 Teresa's place could open and that was delayed months later if only a small fraction of those registered residents are at Teresa'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. If you don't like my idea, then I demand that you at least come up with an idea of your own. We need to address this and move on. [9:15] Speaker E (unidentified): Hello, councillors. 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 school 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 sanction stabilization site where residents can safely stay and maintain contact with case managers and medical teams, coordinate outreach and service delivery across non-profits, 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. This problem is not new, but our response can be. 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, I ask you to please consider that. Thank you. Thank you. [12:21] Speaker F (unidentified): This is still on, okay. Good evening, counselors. My name is Brett Johnson. I'm a resident of the Tree Streets here in Bangor. I've been living in Bangor for about four years with my family. I'm not originally from Bangor. In that time, I feel like I've, I've seen kind of a monumentous drama play out in our community with the unhoused population. 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 harshly criticized by folks, I think unfairly most of the time. Oftentimes 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, you know, to take that first step into stable housing and stabilize their lives. So I think this whole narrative around, you know, your approach being misguided, I would just ask you all to reflect back on the last several years and the accomplishments that have clearly been made. I think to 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 are not served as adequately. So 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 our representatives at the last meeting that we had 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. [16:01] Speaker G (unidentified): We'll share, thank you. Okay. [Speaker B (unidentified): Okay.] Hello, my name is Andrew Lavertier. I'm one of the few remaining taxi drivers in this town. I live here and this petition is, or this resolution is about the need of from the national level, something you can do to address the problem, 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, well, it's going over budget because of crime. So this is addressing this issue of, like I 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 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, 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 the old, the old metaphor of the Gordian knot, right, which you can't solve just within Bangor in and of itself, right? You have to have the federal government basically clear the debts, wipe out the speculative debts, and start issuing federal credit that's going to rebuild infrastructure, because heaven knows we need a lot of infrastructure rebuilt, God knows. Those. And 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 reemployment. But hey, that would create a lot of training schools. 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 well it worked it worked for six years until well it was destroyed by wall street when clinton signed or repealed the glass deagle act so there you go like there's your christmas gift you can act on it so that's it what's your policy on endorsing like to these kind of resolutions yeah [19:05] Joseph Leonard: I don't think we really have a per se policy, but I know that sometimes residents do collect petitions to show that there is a lot of support for this as well. I mean, I personally do support this, but this would be something that we would have to talk about as a council anyway. But that there really is no strict policy on how to bring forward a resolution to council. Plus, if I was [19:35] Speaker G (unidentified): able to build some tiny houses for basically no cost to the city, could I borrow one of the city's trucks? Now, if I could build some tiny houses, homeless, at no cost to the city, could [19:52] Susan Hawes: 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, okay, idea. Good [20:13] Speaker I (unidentified): evening everyone i'm shane boys i'm a resident of Bangor. I don't have a funny joke this time. I'm not wearing my cow sweater. It's a cat Christmas tree. Hopefully this isn't a catastrophe. Sorry, I had to, I had to. But seriously, all jokes aside, I'm speaking tonight just to express my concern and frustration with the speed at which you all are able to act. And I know that 's not entirely within your control. 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, little action. I would echo the speaker earlier who said, please empower, power the city manager to put the city staff on some of these issues. 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, 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. I did hear City Manager Carollynn Lear say in the previous workshop that you all are being given a gift of not meeting on Monday 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. [22:03] Susan Hawes: Thank you. Good [22:13] Speaker E (unidentified): evening, Jamie Beck, resident of Bangor. Today was a really hard day for a lot of people. 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 going to have a warming self 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 going to be there to show up in bulldozed tents who were still there 's a lot of confusion of what's going on 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 c hep 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 what 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 us. Let's do something quickly. Let's not be here groundhog day again next December. This can't happen anymore. Thank you. [25:08] Speaker G (unidentified): You, thank you. [25:19] Speaker J (unidentified): Excuse me, Adam Baker, Bangor resident. I just wanted to share a little bit. This past weekend 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. These are human beings. Please have empathy for them. Think about them. I always 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. [26:30] Speaker B (unidentified): 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. 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 after night my family owns hero sports grow and I remember back in 2018 when we watched the man burn alive under the bridge that was a really difficult time these are not new issues to the plaza one of the things I 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 were told by the police they couldn't be arrested that day after they'd terrorized about six women in that store. I come to you today telling you that I know it was a really tough day for a lot of you. Our employees felt safe today. 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 over 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 some place 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. Members, 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 [29:26] Susan Hawes: else? Okay, say no one. Approach was is we will move on to the consent agenda. Council [29:39] Susan Deane: Dean? Yes, I request removal of Council Order 26-049 from the consent agenda and its placement onto new business. Second. Doesn't really need a second. It's okay. [30:06] Susan Hawes: So moved. It will be removed. I will go to new business. Council Flew. [30:17] Susan Faloon: I request removal of Council Order 26-050 from the consent agenda and its placement onto new business. [30:27] Susan Hawes: Okay. Second. Okay. It will be removed and placed under new business. Anybody else have anything? Okay. [30:42] Lisa Goodwin: Madam Clerk, minutes of Bangor City Council regular meeting of December 8, 2025. 26-046, order authorizing the execution of a municipal quick claim deed for real estate located at 123 Hudson 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 Rent-A-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 businesses Budget Pay Less. 26-056, order authorizing the city manager to apply for seven million dollars in grant funding from 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 [32:47] Carolyn Fish: we have a motion I move for passage of council's consent agenda second is [32:55] Susan Hawes: there any discussion seeing none the consent agenda has passage referrals to committee and first reading 26-058 ordinance amending the land development [33:09] Lisa Goodwin: 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 nine hundred thousand dollars from the airport unappropriated fund balance to fund the phase one design of the fuel farm facility first reading is [33:41] Carolyn Fish: there a motion I move for referrals to [33:43] Susan Hawes: committee second it's been moved and seconded seeing no objection these will be referred to committee and first reading unfinished business 25-296 ordinance authorizing modifications to [33:59] Lisa Goodwin: city code of ordinance chapter 165 to allow city departments to review projects requiring stormwater law permits Councilor Mallar thank [34:12] Wayne Mallar: 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 excuse me 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 slowder projects that develop more than one acre but less than three of impervious area are subject to stormwater law both slaughter 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 Maine DEP the Maine DP has recently contacted and met with the city staff from planning and engineering regarding the possibility of the city Using Maine DEP designated municipal capacity to review projects subject to stormwater law. 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 opacity main 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 25 025 296 for [36:54] Susan Hawes: A second okay so i moved and seconded this is an ordinance and we'll [37:00] Lisa Goodwin: Recall a and we'll need a roll call vote. Councillor beck yes, councillor carson yes, councillor dean yes, councillor falloon yes, councillor fish yes, councillor leonard yes, councillor maller yes. Councilor Walker? Yes. Councilor Haas? Yes. Nine yes, zero no. [37:24] Speaker P (unidentified): Chair, can I have the floor for a second? I just wanted to confirm that passage was that the appropriate number was read. Okay, thank you. [37:43] Susan Hawes: Next item. Whoops, wait a minute. 25-296, the ordinance does have passage. [37:53] Lisa Goodwin: Message there that wraps it up put a ball 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 Council of Dean thank you madam clerk this [38:15] Susan Deane: 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 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 26-0 2 3. Second it. [39:20] Susan Hawes: Has been moved and seconded. It is an ordinance will [39:23] Lisa Goodwin: require a roll call vote. Madam Clerk. Councillor Beck? Yes. Councillor Carson? Yes. Councillor Deane? Yes. Councillor Faloon? Yes. Councillor Fish? Yes. Councillor Leonard? Yes. Councillor Malheur? Yes. Councillor Walker? Yes. Councillor Haas? Yes. Nine yes, zero no. [39:46] Susan Hawes: Ordinance 26-023 has passage. Next item. [39:53] Lisa Goodwin: 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. Council of Faloon this [40:10] Susan Faloon: 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. In 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 I-95 and the associated highway interchange. You [41:09] Susan Hawes: got the right one here. This item was reviewed. Mine [41:16] Speaker C (unidentified): doesn't look at the [41:17] Susan Faloon: wrong version of it. Sorry, this item was reviewed and unanimously recommended for passage at the planning board meeting on December 9th, 2025. Sorry, I move passage of, sorry, I move passage of item number 26-024. Second. Okay, it has been moved and seconded. [41:42] Lisa Goodwin: Seeing no discussion, it will require a roll call vote. Madam Clerk. Councillor Beck? Yes. Councillor Carson? Yes. Absolutely. Yes. Yes. Yes. 9 yes, 0 no. [42:05] Susan Hawes: Ordinance 2 6-0 2 4 does have passage. Next item, 26-0 2 5 ordinance amending [42:17] Lisa Goodwin: in 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. [42:28] Angela Walker: Council Walker, this order ordinance. Thank you, Madam Clerk. Sorry, this ordinance would amend the land development code district map to rezone the property at Matt Blot 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 Algae. 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 complement complementary to the surrounding residential uses. This item was reviewed and unanimously recommended for passage at the planning board meeting on December 9 2025. 25. I move passage of 26-025. [44:05] Susan Hawes: Second. It has been moved and seconded. It is an ordinance will [44:10] Lisa Goodwin: require a roll call vote. Madam Clerk. Councilor Beck? Yes. Councilor Carson? Yes. Councilor Deane? Yes. Councilor Faloon? Yes. Councilor Fish? Yes. Councilor Leonard? Yes. Councilor Mallar? Yes. Yes Councilor Walker yes Councilor Haas yes nine yes zero no [44:31] Susan Hawes: Ordinance 26-025 has passage. [44:36] Lisa Goodwin: Next item 26-041 resolve authorizing the city manager to accept and appropriate 243 225 dollars in grant funding from the Cole Foundation to support a community paramedicine program. Councilman Maller. Thank you madam. Thank you Madam Clerk. This resolve [44:57] Wayne Mallar: would authorize the city manager to accept and appropriate 200 243 225 dollars 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 would may provide needed relief and support for community members. The Bangor pilot program will be a collaboration between Bangor Fire and Bangor Public Health and Community Services. Funding for 18 months would not start until January 2026 and will 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. [46:49] Susan Hawes: Resolve 26-041 has been moved and seconded. Is there any further discussion? Any objections? Seeing none, the resolve will have passage. Next item, 26-042, resolve authorizing the [47:08] Lisa Goodwin: city manager to accept and appropriate 625 dollars from Main Health Access Foundation for Bangor Public Health and Community Services time and effort to provide technical assistance. [47:18] Susan Deane: Council of Dean, thank you Madam Clerk. This resolve will authorize a city manager to accept and appropriate 625 dollars from Main 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 MeHAB'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 [48:04] Susan Hawes: 26-042 has been moved and seconded. Is there any further discussion? Any objections? Seeing none, the order has passage. [48:16] Lisa Goodwin: Next item, 26-043, resolve authorizing the city manager to accept and appropriate 150,000 in grant funds from Maine Department of Health and Human Services for an overdose response [48:28] Daniel Carson: Program Counselor Carson. 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. [49:30] Michael Beck: Point of order. Earlier tonight, I disclosed a conflict of interest and I see here that Together Place is mentioned in the listing here. Should I step away for this vote? [49:43] Susan Hawes: Yes, you should, given jeopardy views. Okay, Resolve 26-043 was moved and seconded. Is there further discussion? Are there any objections? Seeing none, Resolve 26-043 has a passage and we will let the record show that Counselor Beck did leave the room. Could have a little whistle. I can hold on when I'm back in. Okay, new business [50:41] Lisa Goodwin: 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, Council of Beck. [50:52] Michael Beck: Thank you, Madam Clerk. 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. [51:07] Susan Hawes: It's been moved and seconded that the, yep, mine went blank. Thank you. That's a public comment. Is the public hearing is open. Make it easy. [51:26] Michael Beck: Madam Chair, seeing no one approach, I move that we close the public hearing. Second. [51:32] Susan Hawes: Seeing no one approach, the public hearing is closed. [51:36] Michael Beck: Madam Chair, I move passage of the application for special amusement license of Bangor Motor Incorporation, DBA, Bangor Inn & Suites, and Conference Center 701 Hogan Road. Second. [51:47] Susan Hawes: Second. Okay, it's removed and seconded. The amusement license of Bangor Motor Inn and Bangor Inn and Suites and Conference Center does have passage. [52:04] Lisa Goodwin: Next item, please. 26-049 order appointing constables for the year 2026. Council of Dean. Thank you, Madam Clerk. This order will appoint [52:16] Susan Deane: point 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. I move passage of Council Order 26-049. [52:50] Susan Hawes: Second. Okay, Council Order 26-049 has been... I need to... I need to amend. There was going to be a [53:01] Susan Deane: further motion, right, instrument? 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. [53:29] Susan Hawes: Second. Okay, Councilor. [53:34] Speaker P (unidentified): Just one second. there needs to be a the first vote was on to amend the motion and i did not hear that there was that motion had passed somebody stopped me on this right thing i'm sorry to amend the to amend the order right i did not hear that had passed first before the second motion was made it so i think there needs to be a showing as to whether the first motion to amend had [54:04] Susan Hawes: head passage. Okay. 26-049 was moved and seconded to amend that order by substitution. Was there any discussion or objections as passage for amending? And then now you have to do the other one. [54:30] Susan Deane: I move passage of Council Order 26-049 as amended. Second. [54:36] Susan Hawes: Okay. Council Order 26-049 has been moved and seconded. Is there any discussion? Objections? Seeing none, the order has passed as amended. [55:03] Lisa Goodwin: 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. Councilor Faloon. [55:19] Susan Faloon: Thank you, Madam Clerk. Okay, if approved, the order will authorize the city manager and or her 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 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 pre-fabricated 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 Sheridan Construction. Sheridan Construction has an outstanding reputation and proven track record and specialists of 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. [57:07] Susan Hawes: Second. Second. Council Order 26. [57:15] Speaker P (unidentified): There's going to be a motion. Go ahead. [57:18] Susan Faloon: Go ahead. Okay, Madam Chair, I move to postpone Council Order 26-050 to the regularly scheduled city council meeting on January 12th, 2026, at 7 PM. Second. Okay, so I moved and seconded that this [57:38] Susan Hawes: Council Order 26-050 be postponed to the regularly scheduled city council meeting in on January, what was the date, well 12th, 2026, at 7 p.m. Is there any discussion? Any objections? Council Order will be postponed. Next [58:06] Lisa Goodwin: item 26-060, order amending the City of Bangor's remote participation policy. Council of back. Thank you, ma'am. Clerk, this order would amend and update [58:17] Michael Beck: 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 10, 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 15, 2025. Madam Chair, I move passage of Order 26060. Second. [59:03] Susan Hawes: Order 26060 has been moved and seconded. Is there any discussion? [59:12] Susan Faloon: Yes. 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 I know we said that we can revisit this but I definitely want to revisit it because I think things have gone pretty smoothly 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 [59:44] Susan Hawes: 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 shaking his other head. Anybody back here? Okay. [1:00:18] Daniel Carson: Council Carson. I just wanna wish everybody Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. [1:00:23] Michael Beck: 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 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 to all of my colleagues and all the staff and all the people of Bangor. Any holiday you celebrate I appreciate that you share those traditions with all of us and I wish everyone in the city warmth and food and joy and just hoping that 2026 is a better year for everybody thank [1:01:03] Susan Deane: you Councillor Deane. A common theme I guess wish everyone happy holidays. I'll be celebrating Christmas so I wish myself a 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 good night, Bangor. Council Leonard. [1:01:44] Joseph Leonard: Happy Christmas, happy holidays, and a happy good night. Council Fish. [1:01:51] Carolyn Fish: Ditto, happy holidays, and stay warm. And I just want to shout out to our airport director Jose. 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, you know, negativity we hear here, but Bangor's got lot of good things happening. We've done a lot, we're doing a lot, and I'm, I'm very excited about 2026. So good night everybody. And until next time, councilman, I wish everyone happy holidays. [1:02:31] Wayne Mallar: And safe holidays, I'll see you next year. Bye council Walker, I happy holidays to everybody. [1:02:43] Angela Walker: 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 public comments in regards to the businesses and how it's affected the businesses as well. Well, I think, you know, I respect all opinions and I just want to say it's been a hard, it's been, it's been rough. I'm sad moving up forward, I'm sad that I missed the airport ribbon cutting thing, but congratulations Jose, and I definitely hope that I'm, I'm praying that everyone is warm and safe over the holidays. And that is it. Good night, Bangor. [1:03:34] Susan Faloon: I just want to say, 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 don't care. 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. And we're going to continue to do that. And 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. [1:04:29] Susan Hawes: I'd like to wish everybody happy and safe holidays and we are adjourned. See you next year.