Railroad land on Bangor panel agenda

BANGOR — The city of Bangor is gearing up for the pending purchase of 28.8 acres of waterfront property from Maine Central Railroad.

The finance committee will discuss a loan to facilitate the purchase when it meets at 5 p.m. Monday at City Hall. The city anticipates borrowing about $500,000, but has asked for authorization to issue up to $700,000 in general obligation notes.

The loan probably will come up for City Council approval on Sept. 25, and will require a two-thirds majority to pass.

City officials have been discussing the possible purchase of the land from the railroad for several years, and have earmarked some Community Development Block Grant funds for the purpose. In recent months, the sale has been delayed until the conclusion of an environmental examination of the site.

According to Community and Economic Development Director Rodney McKay, the city wanted to make sure that the money needed for environmental remediation was calculated so it could be subtracted from the purchase price.

The finance department has obtained information from local banks on the cost of the loan, and has obtained a low quote of 4.2 percent interest. The railroad had offered to finance the sale at an interest rate of 8 percent.

The final price of the property has not been announced. McKay said in June that the cost would be about $1 million, but that the amount needed for environmental cleanup would be subtracted from that.

About half the property would be used for a park along the waterfront, and the rest would be available for development.

On Tuesday, the possible changing of a crosswalk in the area of Mary Snow School will be discussed at a 5 p.m. meeting of the municipal operations committee at City Hall.

At the request of parents of schoolchildren in the area, the committee started a discussion two weeks ago on the possibility of adding a crosswalk on Center Street at the end of Linden Street.

City staff have since looked into the traveling patterns of pupils who walk through that area to the school, and have initiated discussions with the owner of Center Street property that many of the youngsters cross to reach Broadway.

City Manager Edward Barrett said Friday that if an agreement could be worked out, the city might change the crosswalk and location of the crossing guard from Poplar Street to Linden Street at Center.

Also on Tuesday, the committee is scheduled to discuss proposed revisions to the city’s ordinance on juvenile curfews. The ordinance was last amended in 1966 and has not been enforced in recent years.

The new ordinance would be more limited geographically, applying only to streets, parks and other public places in the downtown. It also contains a provision for annual review by the City Council, with a sunset clause if the council does not extend the effective dates on an annual basis.

Tuesday’s meeting of the planning board has been canceled.

Meeting on Wednesday will be the sewer committee at 4 p.m., and the community and economic development committee at 5 p.m.