Old Town officials remain undecided about future of municipal building

OLD TOWN – The decision about whether to construct a new building or renovate the current municipal building is still up in the air a year after city officials determined the 1958 facility is inadequate and out-of-date.

Members of the Public Safety Building Design Review Committee Thursday night agreed to gather more information before making a recommendation to the City Council. After a public hearing, the committee agreed to discuss with police officers and firefighters whether the current municipal building could be renovated to meet the needs of their departments.

About 40 people attended the hearing. Robert Foster, an architect with Harriman Associates of Auburn, explained the pros and cons of the 20 sites the committee considered.

Most of them were eliminated because they were too small to accommodate a public safety or municipal building or were not for sale. Committee Chairman Jack Cashman said the city was reluctant to take property by eminent domain.

That left on the list three of the four schools that would be abandoned if voters approve building a new school behind the shopping center on Stillwater Avenue and a parcel of city-owned land next to the library. Using a rating system designed by Foster, the Helen Hunt School, with an acquisition of property that would allow access to South Main Street, received the most points.

Matthew Costello, a Bangor firefighter who lives in Old Town, urged the city to renovate the current building for the fire and police departments and construct a new municipal building next to the library. He said that the Helen Hunt School was too far from the hub of the residential area, where 80 percent of the department’s calls originate.

Residents who live near the school also objected to having the building razed for a combined fire and police station. Cashman countered that if the public safety department was moved from its current location, it would probably go into a residential neighborhood.

Previous discussions have focused on constructing a new public safety building and renovating the current structure for municipal offices. To accommodate the space needs of the police and fire departments, the existing building would have to be expanded as well as renovated, according to Foster.

The committee will meet again next month, but has not set a deadline for making a recommendation to the City Council.