Take first things first as Bangor plans for its future

I once knew a boy who liked to eat dessert first. Trouble was, he often didn’t eat enough vegetables and other good foods necessary for a healthy, growing boy. So, he didn’t grow as strong, or as fast as most of his friends. If only he had put first things first he might have been the good athlete he always wanted to be.

There’s a lot of talk these days about building a new civic center in Bangor, and also about tearing down the Bangor Auditorium in three or four years. Somehow, our civic leaders are convinced that brand new facilities will transform Bangor into a mecca for major conventions, conferences, entertainment attractions and perhaps even professional sports. It all looks so good – on paper.

But just maybe these grand designs and high hopes are the dessert that comes first, leaving no room for the essential nutrition this region needs to survive and prosper in the 21st century.

Of course, the present civic center is inadequate, even for some local events, and the Bangor Auditorium has never met the needs it was supposed to.

To put it in simple terms: The city of Bangor got royally snookered when it bought the design for the new auditorium in the 1950s. As for the civic center, some will remember that it was built mostly with some federal dollars that just happened to by lying around unclaimed and the amount available dictated the kind of facility we got.

But they are what they are, and they are paid for. This isn’t the time to start dreaming impossible dreams. The economic and population growth projections in this area of Maine just don’t support an investment of $40 million to $45 million. There simply isn’t a market of potential users to support that cost.

One reason that Bangor will not be at the top of anyone’s priority list for the big conventions in the foreseeable future is the abominable air service at Bangor International Airport. There’s no one person to blame for this. It’s mostly the byproduct of deregulation – the worst thing to happen to the air travel industry since the crash of the Hindenburg.

Before we start dreaming about new auditoriums and civic centers, we need to devote every possible effort to improve the quality and quantity of air service in Bangor. It will take time, determination and money, but it must be done. In the meantime we should realize, and accept as a fact, that without decent air service, the big conventions aren’t going to come to Bangor. There’s just too much powerful competition to the south.

The same rationale applies to growing the regional economy. We need to do more, spend more and work harder to sell Bangor as a good business location. A marketing budget of one million dollars for this purpose isn’t all that unthinkable. Is it a “given” that the wood products industry is forever dead in this region? Can’t the success of companies such as Lemforder in Brewer and General Electric in Bangor be promoted to other companies, domestic and foreign? And couldn’t some of that million dollars be used to provide attractive financial incentives for existing businesses to grow and expand their productivity and work forces?

All of this is possible, and necessary, as Bangor taxpayers are asked to pay more each year to support our schools, infrastructure and essential services. We must expand the commercial tax base significantly in the next few years, or our population will continue to decline and our property taxes will continue to climb.

As for the auditorium and civic center proposals, let’s suppose we’d just be satisfied with building a high-tech conference and convention center – in the waterfront development district – where it will contribute to the revitalization of downtown Bangor. Our Convention and Visitors Bureau has done an excellent job of attracting new events to Bangor, despite our lack of many amenities, so they should be given the chance to show how much more they can do with a better facility, assuming the $12 million can be raised from sources other than the property tax.

But tear down the Bangor Auditorium in just three years? What is the city council thinking when they pronounce a death sentence on the building which, among other things, draws millions of dollars each year into our local economy with the annual basketball tournaments. The old dinosaur has a certain “mystique” about it when it comes to high school basketball, and it was foolhardy of the council to send a message of approaching demise to its potential users, including the Maine Principals’ Association. The MPA must already be exploring other possible venues for the tournaments. They would be remiss if they weren’t.

The council should rescind its fateful resolution immediately, before contracts are signed with the Augusta Civic Center for the 2005 tournaments. Despite its faults, the auditorium should be repaired and renovated rather than razed – until the money for a new house is in hand.

First things first: Improve our air service, strengthen our economic development efforts and be content to pay as we grow. Otherwise, the grandiose dreams now being summoned into reality could become a big-time Bangor nightmare.

Hal Wheeler is a former Bangor city councilor and economic development consultant.