KEEP POLICE DOWNTOWN

Shall the council of the city of Bangor adopt the following order, authorizing construction of a police headquarters building at 240 Main Street, Bangor, Maine?

By voting yes on municipal question 1, Bangor voters have a chance to put the city’s new police station where it should be – downtown.

When it became clear that the Bangor police station needed a new home, city councilors, after months of review, chose a site on Main Street. Six months later, after the University of Maine System decided to move downtown to play a larger role in Bangor’s economic development, the council decided to buy the UMS parcel near the airport for the police station, saying it allowed more space for expansion. Frustrated, city residents collected enough signatures to put a question on the ballot stipulating that the new station go downtown.

The citizen petition chose to prescribe a specific spot – 240 Main St. – when it could have simply required any spot downtown. However, the chosen site was originally supported by the city council and it is now owned by the city. It is a good spot for a police station for many reasons.

One that has not been talked about much is the positive impact a well-designed police station can have on this area of town. The parcel in question consists of rundown buildings and lots of asphalt – on a main thoroughfare into the heart of the city just a block from the recently redeveloped waterfront. Sketches of a potential police station, commissioned by the council when it approved the Main Street location, show an attractive building that could well lead to the revitalization of the area, a process helped by the extensive renovations of the former Penobscot Theatre now being done by Merrill Bank. Though there is some added cost to a downtown site, it is not much spread out over the expected half-century life of the building and if the city invests in a police station here it will have the added benefit of helping to revitalize an important part of Bangor.

Municipal and state officials are working hard to boost downtowns. In May, Gov. Baldacci signed an executive order emphasizing that the economic prosperity of the state is tied to the vitality of downtowns, which serve the regional needs of citizens and businesses. A Maine Downtown Center was created to promote the importance of downtowns and to provide financial and technical assistance to reinvigorate Maine’s cities. By moving a vital government service out of downtown, Bangor signals that it does not want such assistance. It also sends the mixed message that businesses should locate downtown but government services can be on the outskirts.

Relocating the police station downtown not only enhances the security of the area but sends a message to developers – some of whom are currently planning a condominium complex on the waterfront – that the area will be well protected.

The police station will cost at least $6 million and should last for decades, so it should be in the right place. Questions such as room for expansion (building the structure so an additional floor or two can be added later) and parking (lease space nearby) can be answered.

The city bought 240 Main St. to put a police station there. It is time to move forward with the project.