Bangor panel OKs policy on monuments, public art Ordinance’s fairness to gays, lesbians debated

BANGOR – City officials debated Tuesday night whether the wording of a new policy regulating monuments and public art would unfairly single out gays and lesbians and other groups before finally approving the ordinance.

The City Council will consider the policy at its Monday meeting, following Tuesday’s approval by the transportation and infrastructure committee.

If adopted, the ordinance would give Bangor its first set of guidelines and procedures for evaluating and accepting public art and monuments to be located on city property.

Councilor Geoffrey Gratwick expressed concern that a section of the policy requiring that a public monument be relevant to the community as a whole, rather than a distinct subset, could be interpreted to exclude some groups.

The ordinance was prompted by a proposal to erect a memorial to Charlie Howard, a 23-year-old gay man who was thrown from a bridge into the Kenduskeag Stream, where he drowned 20 years ago in July.

Gays and lesbians “could be construed as being a distinct subset of the community,” Gratwick said.

Dan Williams, executive director of the Bangor-based Charles O. Howard Memorial Foundation, is satisfied with the policy and recent revisions, including an added section requiring that the artistic merit of proposed public art be reviewed for its relevance to the community, according to City Engineer Jim Ring. Williams was not present at Tuesday’s meeting.

During an April 6 meeting with city officials, representatives of the foundation outlined a proposal to commission and erect, at the foundation’s cost, a monument at the site of Howard’s death.

While it should be re-evaluated, the requirement would prevent numerous interest groups in the city from erecting monuments honoring people or events unimportant to the rest of the community, City Manager Edward Barrett said.

“It prevents the cat lovers of Bangor from erecting a statue to the importance of cats in society,” he said, carrying the point to an admittedly “absurd” extent.

“If we dig back far enough in history, we could find a number of individuals to memorialize,” committee chairman David Nealley said.

A resident committee will review all applications for monuments and public art and make a recommendation to the City Council, which will have final approval under the new policy.

“It’s very unusual to have a majority of people, a plurality, like everything,” Gratwick said.