November 15, 2024
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Bangor OKs moratorium on drug facilities

BANGOR – City councilors authorized Monday a six-month moratorium on drug treatment facilities.

The moratorium generated no debate during a council meeting at City Hall. The measure, which will be in effect for 180 days and can be extended for another 180 days if needed, had the support of all nine members of the council.

The moratorium would give the newly established Special Committee on Land Use Policy Governing Medical Facilities time to review current regulations regarding all types of medical facilities, including methadone clinics, and, if appropriate, to implement the panel’s recommendations before any new clinics open.

The moratorium was prompted by Colonial Management Group’s plan for a clinic at Maine Square Mall, a busy retail shopping center across Hogan Road from the Bangor Mall.

Colonial’s plan caught the city off guard, largely because Acadia Hospital already had been running a methadone program for more than three years.

The moratorium, however, would not apply to Colonial’s proposal, which already is in the pipeline and as such would be grandfathered, or exempted, from the measure, City Solicitor Norman Heitmann said earlier this month.

In other business Monday, councilors:

. Directed staff to begin the process of establishing a mall area development district. The process will require a public hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.

. Adopted a resolve indicating the city’s intent to work with Bangor YMCA to address parking needs around its facility at the corner of Hammond and Court streets;

. Appropriated $15,000 for repairs needed to keep the Bangor Auditorium in compliance with life safety codes, and $1,780 for the annual summer camp fair and the barbecue after the citywide cleanup;

. Accepted grants from Northeast Delta Dental Foundation for 1,600 toothbrushes and $1,000 for educational material for the oral health program for public school pupils in kindergarten through grade five;

. Increased the mileage reimbursement for employees using their vehicles for city business from 33.5 cents a mile to 40.5 cents, the current rate approved by the Internal Revenue Service;

. Approved a liquor license and special amusement permit for Club Gemini, opening soon at the former home of the Spectrum nightclub at 190 Harlow St., and a special amusement permit for the Elks Club on Odlin Road.


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