BanAir OKs courier’s land purchase> Board approves leases for `incubator’ businesses

BANGOR — The BanAir board of directors voted Tuesday to recommend that the City Council accept a purchase offer for land at BanAir Industrial Park on outer Hammond Street.

Black Bear Couriers, a courier service employing 27 people, has offered to pay $22,700 for a .94-acre lot in the industrial park.

Stephen Bolduc, economic development officer for the city, said that the company would erect a 9,000-square-foot building on the parcel.

BanAir is a nonprofit organization that manages city-owned property at or near Bangor International Airport.

The board approved leases for new businesses hoping to move into the Bangor International Enterprise Center at 40 Johnson Ave. Each is an “incubator business” that would receive a favorable rent over a year or two, with the intent of growing and moving into other quarters.

Receiving leases were:

Jim Mabry, doing business as Vacationland Appraisers. Mabry will lease Office 118, 252 square feet of space, at a beginning cost of $199.50 a month. The cost will rise to $210 per month by next July.

Larrie Hawkes, doing business as Casco Machine Co. The company, now located in Brewer, will operate a machine shop to lathe and mill small parts. Hawkes will lease 900 square feet in Flex Area 130 of the building, with the cost rising from $300 a month initially to $525 by next June.

Gregg Stewart, doing business as Branch Co., manufacturer of LifePac Survival Kit for outdoor enthusiasts, and of first-aid kits for Whistle Creek Co. of Colorado. Stewart will lease 403 square feet of space in Flex Area 131 at a cost of $110.75 per month, rising to $201.50 by next August.

The board also approved a lease extension for Herman J. Miller, doing business as ASCO Corrugated at 104 Maine Ave. The three-year lease on 4,000 square feet of space will charge ASCO $1,110 a month initially, rising to $1,333.33 by Sept. 1, 1999.

Tabled on Tuesday was a lease for Bangor Arma Coatings, which planned to lease 2,842 square feet in the enterprise center.

Board members were concerned about having the business, which would apply polyurethane urea protective coating to truck beds, in the same building as other businesses, including offices.

“I personally don’t think it’s suitable,” said Vaughn Smith, describing the process as “very aromatic” and one that is done by people who are “fully suited.”

“Do we have a ventilation system in that building that could take care of it?” inquired Rodney McKay, director of community and economic development for the city.

Bolduc said the building did not, but that the business planned to do the work in a “segregated booth” and to use an air filter.

The board decided to table the matter and asked McKay to consult with the Fire Department, code enforcement and engineering about the effects of having the business in the center.

Members agreed that they would like to accommodate the business if the proper space were available.

Airport Director Bob Ziegelaar said he wouldn’t mind having the business “on the airport in an industrial facility.”