City panel tackles variety of issues Council backs lease for EMHS facility

BANGOR – Proposals to build an ambulance facility on Union Street, develop affordable housing on Essex Street, hold a motorcycle show at the Bangor Waterfront and decide the next step for Union Place were among the items city officials tackled Wednesday night.

During a meeting of the City Council’s business and economic development committee, representatives of Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems outlined a redevelopment proposal for the former Harold S. Slager Memorial U.S. Army Reserve Center, a 7-acre, city-owned property adjacent to EMHS’ health care mall on Union Street.

City councilors who attended the meeting were supportive of EMHS’ $2 million proposal, largely because of the successful redevelopment of Westgate Mall, a onetime eyesore that EMHS acquired in the mid-1990s and transformed into a complex of medical and business offices and related health care facilities.

The committee decided to forego the usual request for proposals and deal directly with EMHS.

“This is ready to move, and I think we should move on it as soon as they are ready,” said Councilor Peter D’Errico, a member of the council committee.

Plans call for the construction of a $2 million facility that would house Meridian Mobile Health, one of EMHS’ for-profit divisions. As such, the facility would be taxable, City Solicitor Norman Heitmann confirmed during the meeting.

EMHS is seeking to lease the city-owned 7-acre parcel, with an option to buy it, as well as an easement that would provide access to the site, according to Bangor lawyer Andy Hamilton, a member of the health care organization’s project team.

Existing buildings on the site would be demolished and a new 10,000-square-foot ambulance facility would be built, with offices in the front and garage space in the rear.

Terms and conditions for the lease and easement will be addressed soon.

In other business, the committee members:

. Received a briefing on the United Bikers of Maine’s plans to hold a motorcycle show at Bangor Waterfront on May 21. Though no committee action was required, Sally Bates, a city development officer, and City Engineer Jim Ring, both of whom are avid bikers, said they wanted to make councilors aware of the event because it wasn’t typical for the waterfront.

. Extended an option agreement to Penview Associates, a local partnership working to build a high-end condominium complex on a city-owned parcel at Bangor Waterfront. Local officials also agreed to expedite the sale of the property to the developers, who must own the site in order to secure financing. The option, originally due to expire Dec. 31, was extended through the end of next June.

. Agreed to send the Union Place Neighborhood Conservation Project out for another round of proposals. The first round of proposals did not result in a development agreement for the .83-acre parcel off Union Street that the city acquired and cleaned up for reuse. Proposals are due by 2 p.m. Jan. 19.

The city is seeking a residential development for the site, which includes a four-unit apartment building in need of repair or replacement. The site, as currently zoned, can accommodate up to eight residential housing units in up to two buildings, with a maximum of four units per building.