BANGOR – Where will Bangor’s next Wal-Mart store be built?

That’s the question behind a fund-raiser now under way at the Wal-Mart store on Springer Drive. Those who think they might know the answer can help raise money for kids.

The beneficiary is Children’s Miracle Network of Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems, according to Don Emmons, Wal-Mart’s regional community relations supervisor.

For the past several years, the company has been working toward replacing its 86,000-square-foot store, which opened in January 1993, with a 224,000-square-foot Supercenter.

The new megastore would feature a full-service grocery department and wider aisles, among other things.

The existing store on Springer Avenue no longer meets the company’s space needs, and the site isn’t large enough to accommodate an expansion, Emmons said.

Development efforts originally centered on a 28-acre parcel at the corner of Stillwater Avenue and Gilman Road. Problems with that site forced the company to scrap it.

The fact that the site was so close to the Penjajawoc Marsh, which many believe to be a valuable bird habitat, proved problematic for the Widewaters Group, the DeWitt, N.Y.-based developer originally tapped to provide the site for the Supercenter.

Environmental concerns led to the formation of Bangor Area Citizens for Responsible Development, or BACORD, the group that last year orchestrated the project’s defeat.

After contentious public hearings and deliberations that spanned several months, the state Board of Environmental Protection last spring voted 5-3 to deny the necessary development permit.

The proposed Bangor Superstore would be the second in the area. Although a smaller Supercenter on Wilson Street in Brewer opened last June, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. remains committed to building a Supercenter in Bangor, Emmons said.

The giant retailer just doesn’t know yet – or isn’t saying – where it will put the replacement, he said.

City Hall staff said they had not received any documents from Wal-Mart indicating where the proposed Supercenter might be located.

For now, Wal-Mart is making do with its existing facility.

According to Emmons, the contest is not meant to stir up any political turmoil.

“By no means,” Emmons said emphatically during an interview this week. “It’s just something to create some excitement and raise money for kids.”

BACORD spokeswoman Valerie Carter was not amused.

“First of all, I would say that I think having a raffle like that is like trying to provide the illusion of community or public input into the public planning or decision-making process when it clearly is not having any impact on the outcome,” she said.

“If indeed Wal-Mart is planning to again try putting a Supercenter right in the vicinity of the Bangor Mall, I don’t have enough information yet to know what kind of environmental issues it might pose,” she said. “I’m hoping it’s not going to be one that’s going to be as environmentally problematic as the first choice was.”

According to Emmons, the contest, a 50-50 raffle, is the brainchild of an employee working the night shift.

Here’s how it works:

For $1, shoppers get to guess where the proposed Supercenter will be built. They get to pick from seven undeveloped sites near the Bangor Mall, including the original site.

The choices are based on a city map showing several parcels in the Bangor Mall area that are large enough to accommodate the Supercenter.

The privately owned sites range from 20 acres to more than 80 acres. Most already have the necessary zoning and are served by the necessary infrastructure.

Each correct answer will be entered in a drawing in which one winner will be chosen, according to the notice attached to the right-hand side of the map.

The winner will split the pot with CMN. Emmons said the raffle will remain open until a site is named.