The recent announcements of the plans for the Bangor waterfront on the Penobscot River and the desire to build a new civic center auditorium look wonderful. Brand new commercial and retail space, an amphitheater, a new motel-convention center, a new civic center and open green space along the river seem ideal. A revitalized waterfront would be a sea change from the glory days of Bangor’s timber barons.

Every person from Augusta and north would benefit from such a vast undertaking. The creation of jobs and a focal point for our economy would be tremendous.

Where does the money come from? One reality that our planners must face is the prospect of limited financial resources. Do they really think that if they merely dream it, it will come? Surely we cannot rely upon state or local funds for a lavish venture in these times of budget austerity. The concept of private enterprise funding the project sounds good, but who is likely to invest in a commercial project of this size when current commercial space in the city remains chronically vacant and there are more vacant motel rooms in the city than there are rental cars in Orlando?

To succeed, the planners must start from a principle of austerity, a central Yankee value. We cannot afford to spread our precious capital all over the downtown area without focus. The new civic center cannot afford to be placed on one end of the target area while other core features are spread along the waterfront.

Has there been any thought of making the proposed civic center a central focus of the waterfront complex, as opposed to an appendage at the perimeter? This could facilitate economies of scale, i.e., one large parking garage, as opposed to separate facilities for a conference center, amphitheater, etc. It would not be necessary to use the most valuable riverfront land to site the building; since civic center events are indoors, there is no need to be right on the water, but views of the river from inside the building would be a nice feature.

Perhaps it could be situated along Main Street in the center of the envisioned project. Perhaps the facility could be conjoined with the amphitheater and the conference facility in some manner so that core facilities could be centralized.

Another possibility would be to place the civic center at the base of a larger office building or the motel to minimize the capital expenditure and to shift costs to the private sector. While this type of facility may not be the ideal, it has worked with success elsewhere, such as Boston’s Fleet Center above North Station.

The resplendent drawings of planners and architects have tremendous price tags attached. We need to focus how and where we spend public dollars to facilitate the dream for Bangor’s future. Once the buildings go in, it is too late. Planning now will save grief and dollars in the future; just ask Wal-Mart if it should have created its original site to allow for future growth.

While I am on the subject of the civic center, has there been any effort to build a reserve fund from existing operations? For instance, I am interested to know whether ticket prices for civic center events have been raised even nominally to allow for the creation of a capital account. If not, why not? I am sure basketball fans and concert-goers would not hesitate to pay a dollar more per event if those funds were dedicated to the future efforts to build a modern facility.

Brett D. Baber, of Veazie, is a Bangor attorney with Baber & Weeks PA.