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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-09-02 Business and Economic Development Committee Minutes BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE TUESDAY, September 2, 2003 Meeting Minutes Councilors Attending: John Rohman, Frank Farrington, David Nealley, Gerry Palmer, Richard Greene, Anne Allen Staff Attending: )onathan Daniels, Kate Weber, Ed Barrett, Stan Moses, Sal4y Bates, Steve Bolduc, Kathy Patterson Others Attending: Donna McNeil, Alan Holt, CHCS Staff The meeting convened at 5:00 p.m. 1. ConsentAgenda a. Approval of lease for Joseph L. Beal D/B/A All Drafting & Design — Lease of space at 93 Florida Ave. for use as business office. b. Approval of submission of grant — Grant is through the Boating Infrastructure Grant program and would be utilized for a new dock structure to accommodate large passenger vessels. c. Approval of support for the Bangor-to-Old Town Recreation and Conservation Corridor Project. The Committee approved items la and lb. : Weber said that the City of Bangor met with the Corridor Committee to discuss the grant application for the Land for Maine Future's Board and the Maine ! (, Outdoor Heritage Fund. Weber said that the City developed a Recreation and � r Conservation Corridor from Essex Woods to Pushaw Lake that encompasses portions of publicly owned and conservation areas in Bangor, Veazie, Orono, Old ' � , Town, Alton, and Hudson. She said that the Corridor Committee has asked for ' municipality support of their grant application. She said that the City has taken an approach of balance between conservation and growth. This has been the main theme of the Comprehensive Plan and the effbrts of the Council over the last several years. She said that the draf� resolve reaffirms the Comprehensive Plan goals which match the Corridor project goals, and to recognize the relationship between public entities, conservation organizations, landowners and the conceptual agreement that this Corridor is a good idea. She noted that the � e towns along the Corridor have endorsed the project. ,; The Committee recommended the resolve to full Council. ' yr i� t 2. Discussion and presentation by Community Health and Counseling (CHCS) on a proposal to develop Stillwater Academy on the site of the former Naval Reserve Center on Essex Street. Bolduc said that the Economic Development department has been working with CHCS to locate several projects. CHCS has submitted a preliminary proposal for the former Naval Reserve Center site on Essex Street for development of a school for children with developmental disabilities such as autism and mental retardation. A representative of CHCS said that there is no opportunity for expansion of services at the current school's location, therefore the need to look for a new location. He said that they have examined a number of possibilities within Bangor, however there were drawbacks to each. He said that CHCS has a conceptual plan for a one-story building just under 10,000 square feet. He said that the property is already zoned as government and institutional use similar to the Mary Snow School which abuts behind it. Rohman clarified that the school is non-profit. The CHCS representative said that it is a private non-profit organization. Allen wanted to know if this was a grant-related program. Lynne Maddocks, another CHCS representative said that they are a private special purpose school licensed by the Department of Mental Health as well as the Department of Education. Nealley wanted to know the number of people they will employ. The CHCS representative said that the staff level would be around 25 people. Palmer asked if they had examined the tra�c patterns for this location. The CHCS rep said that they had not yet reviewed this, however would utilize a traffic engineer. The CHCS rep said that school hours are 7:45 a.m, to 1:45 p.m. Greene wanted to know the days of operation and whether they foresee any problems with the proximity to the Mary Snow School. The CHCS rep said that the school is open Monday through Friday, with staff arriving at 7:15 a.m. and children arriving from 7:20 to 7:45 a.m. Staff leaves around 5:00 p.m. and children leave from 1:30 to 1:45 p.m. With the hours of the CHCS school, there should not be a conflict with the traffic to and from the Mary Snow School. Greene wanted to know if it was necessary to use all three acres. The CHCS rep said that it is necessary, because of the number of features that must be incorporated into the school. One of which is the footprint of the building itself, the parking areas, setbacks, buffers, vehicle loop and green space for athietics and outdoor events. Rohman said that in executive session, the Committee will be discussing zoning changes, site plans, and tax issues. Daniels wanted to know where the students come from. Maddocks said that students come from the greater Bangor area and from as far away as Milbridge. Farrington wanted to know the anticipated growth for the next 10 to 15 years. Maddocks said that she did not see the school growing beyond 35 students. The CHCS rep said that they plan to break ground sometime this fall, however due to design requirements and developer issues; it may be early spring. Bolduc said that over the years there have been a number of parties interested in the property. � Barrett reminded the Committee that there had been a request for proposals for the building in the past. Palmer wanted to know if there are any issues due to the fact that this used to be a landfill. The CHCS rep said that this particular lot i had some organics buried in it. CHCS will do surveys for brown field and toxic substances. 3. Presentation and discussion on the development of a public art program for the City of Bangor. � Daniels said that Sally Bates has been reviewing the need for an arts policy in our district. He said that there is a great base to establish a citywide arts policy. He said that the City of Portland has had an arts policy in place since 2001, and representatives from Portland have agreed to make a presentation about their program. McNeil of the Maine Arts Commission said that she is familiar with arts policy at the state level. She said that Alan Holt is here because he helped establish the � policy for the City of Portland. McNeil said that Holt brings the methodology of creating an arts policy. She said that Portland's policy was crafted from models taken from across the country and ' 25-year old arts programs at the state level. She said that they could discuss the ; "hows" of putting together an arts policy, but if the Council does not embrace the"whys" of a public arts policy, then it will be a failed system. + She said that the effectiveness of public arts depends on several points; does it provide or enhance a natural gathering place, does it serve to inspire the passerby, and does it hone arts in the community in a way that is exclusive and of value? She said that when evaluating what you want out of an arts program, make sure that decisions are made by people who are highly visually literate, who understand that public art is not for decoration, that it is does not go away with fashion, that it is forever. She said that public art is your legacy to the community. Holt said that the City of Portland has adopted three planning documents in their comprehensive plan that talk about public arts in downtown. He said that the Public Arts Committee in Portland was appointed ten years ago. He said that program didn't work due to the way it was set up with the developer having the control of the pieces of art, and resulted�in two pieces of work in eight years. The Portland City Council adopted the Portland Public Art Program ordinance in the spring of 2000 in order to preserve, restore, enhance and expand the City's public art collection. The ordinance established the City Council-appointed Portland Public Art Committee to oversee the administration of the Public Art Program, which has a responsibility to present an Annual Art Plan containing recommendations on establishing projects and budget from the annual percent- for-art allocation. Holt said that 1% of the capital improvements budget is typically what municipalities allocate. He noted that Portland allocated �/z of 1% or $50,000 for their public art program. Holt explained that Portland's Public Art Committee is comprised of 10 people, one of which is a city councilor. The Committee's charge is to empower legislation for start up of the program, and to present an annual art plan. Holt presented two of Portland's Public Art Annual Plans. An annual art plan establishes recommendations on how to allocate funds for the arts program. He said that their first order of business was to assess the art that the city already had that could comprise a collection. The Committee established guidelines for the program. In the first year, Portland spent their funds to conserve the art already in their possession. The second year, the plan included expressive art, functional art, and community based art. He noted that Portland is including cultural diversity in their program. Rohman discussed the various pieces that the City already has in place. Palmer said that we do need to leave a legacy to our children and grandchildren. Farrington wanted to clarify the funding procedure that the City of Portland uses. Holt said that the '/z of 1% is automatically funded each year. Farrington wanted to know that in the case of a catastrophic event that necessitated huge capital project expenditures, would the �/z of 1% still be automatic. Holt said that Portland's ordinance lists certain projects that are exempted from the program. McNeil noted that art could also be a part of functional pieces or buildings that might need refurbishing after a catastrophic event not necessarily stand alone sculptures. Farrington wanted to know how they would handle public outrage at certain pieces of art. McNeil said that as a democracy, they believe in freedom of expression. She said that this is a very tough question, and you as a Council � have to make the decision on what and how much you want to limit the artist. Holt said that when art is placed in the public realm forever, there is a high standard of responsibility that the artist has in working with appropriateness. He 6 said that in the ordinance there are rigorous guidelines for the artist selection process. , Nealley wanted to know how we have managed to maintain the pieces of art that the City currently has. Barrett said that we did receive a grant for the work on the river drivers and � Hannibal Hamlin statues. He said that we received a grant from the V.F.W. to refurbish the lady liberty statue. The USS Maine was done through private donations, and there is a small fund for maintenance. Paul Bunyan's work was done through a City Council aliocation. He noted that most of the City's pieces are in pretty good shape, and we have a staff inember trained to take care of the bronze. He discussed future project ideas. Daniels said that he would like to continue this discussion over the next couple of weeks and to get feedback from the Council and then have staff formulate a proposal over the next month. Barrett said that there are some technical issues to examine such as bond issues and what determines a capital improvement project. Palmer said that he likes the concept of pooling resources and not having them tied to a particular capital improvement. The Committee voted to go into executive session. 4. Executive Session — Proposal to develop Stillwater Academy on the site of the former Naval Reserve Center on Essex Street. 5. Executive Session — Land disposition and status of tentative developer for Bangor waterfront.