Bangor OKs lease for UMS offices

BANGOR – A City Council committee Wednesday approved a short-term lease for the University of Maine System, which is beginning to move into its new downtown digs later this month.

The three-month lease agreement with the city is needed because the condominium documents related to the transfer of space in the W.T. Grant building at 6 Central St. are in the process of being completed.

The short-term lease would remain in effect from Oct. 6 through Dec. 31 or when the transfer of ownership to UMS takes place, whichever comes first, according to a background memorandum from Rod McKay, the city’s community and economic development director.

About 120 university system employees are moving from their current workspace on Maine Avenue near Bangor International Airport to the top three floors of the Grant building as part of a property swap with the city. The move is being conducted in stages and is slated to be complete by Oct. 21, a UMS spokesman said last week.

During Monday’s meeting, members of the council’s business and economic development committee, chaired by Councilor Dan Tremble, authorized City Manager Edward Barrett to sign the necessary documents.

Also Wednesday, the committee addressed business relating to the city-owned Maine Business Enterprise Park.

Members gave their stamp of approval to the final plans for the Sunbury Primary Care medical building now under construction in the business park with the exception of one detail – the material chosen to screen the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning unit will sit on top of the building.

The main concern was that the screening material would detract from the rest of the building, which will be finished in brick and stucco.

The material at issue, corrugated and silvery gray in color, “looks like a culvert,” City Engineer Jim Ring said.

“It sounds like a picky point, but I think it makes a big difference,” Tremble said.

Councilor Peter D’Errico, who also serves on the committee, agreed: “I support the concern of the staff.”

The committee directed staff members to ask the building’s designer to choose a more complementary shade.

After an executive session to discuss a development proposal, the committee endorsed a request for tentative developer status through Jan. 10, 2006, for one of the lots elsewhere in the business park.

The request, from Paul and Liz Leonard, is subject to approval from the full council during its next regular meeting, set for Oct. 12.

The Leonards want to build a 10,000-square-foot day care facility, according to city documents.