Bass Park proposal would force Bunyan to find new home

BANGOR – Paul Bunyan, don’t get too comfortable.

A new proposal for a Bangor Auditorium and Civic Center could force the 31-foot statue out of its familiar home in the park off Main Street – or at least make him move over a little bit.

A rough sketch of the plan, which was presented to the Bangor City Council’s strategic issues committee Monday night was generally well received, with six of the seven councilors in attendance voting to explore cost estimates for a study of the plan.

“Right now we’re working in the world of multiple choices,” Mayor Michael Crowley said, referring to the four designs – none of which has emerged as a clear favorite among the councilors – for a new Bass Park design.

“If we don’t take the lead on this, nothing’s going to happen,” he later added. “We’re the champion of this cause if there’s going to be a champion.”

Previously, the Main Street park had been off-limits.

But frustrated with sputtering efforts to make the $30 million project a reality, councilors Monday looked to come closer to at least settling on a location, preferably one that would avoid the wrath of harness racing enthusiasts concerned that the new facility would overtake the historic Bangor Raceway.

But City Councilor Dan Tremble, who cast the lone dissenting vote against moving ahead with the new study, said the new plan would not be the best use of the parcel. Instead, he favored a $20 million plan that would keep the existing civic center but place a new auditorium on the track.

“Part of the problem is we’ve tried to make everybody happy, and we’re not going to make everybody happy” Tremble said, noting objections to placing a new facility on the nearby raceway at the north end of the park. “I think we can all agree that the future of harness racing in Bangor, Maine, is not long.”

In the sketch presented Monday, the new facility, with a 90,000- to 100,000-square-foot footprint, would sit in the southwest corner of Bass Park, next to the 43-year-old Paul Bunyan statute. However, the plan assumes the city will buy a parcel of land on Main Street now owned by hotel owner Larry Mahaney.

If the deal doesn’t go through, the facility could be moved to the southeast corner of the parcel at the corner of Main and Buck streets. That alternative would likely force the statue – and the new skateboard park, for that matter – to relocate.

City engineering staff emphasized that the plan was hardly set in stone and many questions remained.

One question yet to be resolved is just how the city would pay for what would far and away be the most expensive project in its history.

The Legislature is expected to vote later this week on a proposed $15 million bond to help fund a new auditorium complex in the city. If the full Legislature approves, which even the plan’s most ardent supporters say is doubtful, the question would go on the November ballot for consideration.

The bond’s likely defeat, coupled with the death of a local option sales tax that could have helped pay for the facility, caused some city officials to bemoan the perceived lack of legislative support for the regional project.

While some of the dissension has come from within the city’s own delegation, Tremble on Tuesday also had some harsh words for neighboring delegations.

“Brewer’s been pathetic. Thanks, Dusty, for nothing,” Tremble said, referring to a recent vote by Rep Charles “Dusty” Fisher, D-Brewer, against a $15 million bond. “This is a regional effort and they need to come to the table.”

Bangor City Manager Edward Barrett also chimed in, taking Rep. Stephen Stanley, D-Medway, to task for his vehement opposition to legislation that would allow a community to impose a local option sales tax. The tax plan, which died in committee, was touted by city officials as a means of paying for a new auditorium without borrowing money.

“You might as well be talking about building a resort on Mars as far as he’s concerned,” Barrett said, referring to Stanley’s position that there would be little benefit to his outlying community if Bangor were to build a new auditorium.

Even though questions remain about how to pay for the project, many on the council said they needed to settle on a specific plan – such as that presented Monday – before they were likely to see any private money.

“We need to know where it’s going to go and what it’s going to look like,” said Councilor David Nealley.