The money Bangor received from the state as part of the jobs bonds came with a cost — signing the agreements bled a pen dry.

The city received five grants, for a total of $2.3 million, one of the largest allocations in the state.

With the money the city will build a new fire station, construct an addition to the police station, expand the Public Works building, install the sewers and roads for Maine Business Enterprise Park, and reonvate a variety of buildings at Bangor International Airport.

In a ceremony a few weeks ago, City Manager Edward A. Barrett signed the five agreements. They arrived as a packet of paperwork 2 inches thick.

“I had to sign in four places on four copies for each grant agreement, a total of 80 signatures,” he said. Sixty of those signatures had to be accompanied by the date. By one reckoning he signed at the rate of 5.3 a minute for 15 minutes.

Four other people at City Hall had to sign on a total of 80 more places. Then City Clerk Russell McKenna had to notarize each copy of each agreement.

The ballpoint pen Barrett used had to be retired. It ran out of ink.