Bangor panel tables spill bill

BANGOR – Better late than never?

Not when it comes to bills from the state Department of Environmental Protection.

During a meeting Monday night, city officials discussed what to do about a $40,821 environmental cleanup bill from the DEP. The bill stems from a 1995 spill at city-owned Bangor International Airport.

The DEP picked up on the billing oversight during a recent records audit, Assistant City Solicitor John Hamer said during the meeting held at City Hall.

Though the spill was caused by a former airport tenant, which city officials identified as NSI Petroleum, that company no longer exists, as far as Hamer could tell.

It now appears the city is liable for the tab, Hamer said.

The bill generated some discussion among city councilors who attended Monday’s meeting of the council’s finance committee, chaired by Councilor John Cashwell.

“We ought to have 10 years to pay it, if they took 10 years to bill it,” Cashwell said.

Councilor Richard Stone asked if there wasn’t a time limit for collecting on such oversights.

“There is no limit,” Hamer said.

“Is there some way we can go after individuals on this?” queried Councilor Geoffrey Gratwick.

Apparently not. “That’s the purpose of corporations,” Hamer said.

Stone asked if the city might be able to negotiate a cheaper settlement, given that the city wasn’t responsible for the spill itself.

The finance panel tabled the matter for two weeks to give the city’s legal staff time to look into that.

In other meeting business, the committee:

. Recommended approval of a council resolve appropriating $2.7 million in airport reserves to fund all costs connected to the purchase of the former Irving Oil building at the corner of Maine Avenue and Godfrey Boulevard for lease to L.L. Bean.

. Reviewed the terms of renewing the city’s contract with the Bangor Humane Society and recommended approval. The contract price for next year will remain at $63,575, the same as this year.

. Heard an overview of the Essential Programs and Services model for funding kindergarten through grade 12 education in Maine’s public schools from Superintendent Robert Ervin and Alan Kochis, the school department’s business manager.