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CITY oF BANGOR
Government Operations Committee
Monday, March 4, 2024
Minutes
Councilors Present: Dina Yacoubagha (Chair), Susan Dean, Carolyn Fish, Daniel Tremble, and
Gretchen Schaefer
Non-Committee Council Members: Richard Fournier, Joseph Leonard
Staff: David Szewczyk, Grace Innis, Courtney 0'Donnell, Debbie Laurie
Committee Chair Yacoubagha opened the meeting at 6:17p.m.
1. Administrative Consent Agreements—Vacant Properties
City Solicitor Szewczyk provided an overview of this item. The item is a proposed ordinance
change in the relevant section of code to give the Director of C&ED authority to sign
agreements, based on the recommendation of the Code Enforcement Director, that would
allow us to enforce the vacant property registration outside of court action. It is a practical
measure that would allow staff to act in a more efficient manner. Solicitor Szewczyk
recommends approval. Councilor Leonard said he sees this as a method to prevent
gentrification.
A motion was made by Councilor Tremble, seconded by Councilor Schaefer, all in favor for
recommending approval to the full Council.
2. Community Connector Update
Assistant City Manager Courtney 0'Donnell provided an update on the Community Connector,
including fixed stop transition, staffing levels, and ridership.
Staff originally anticipated starting the transition period from flag stop to fixed stop in March
but in an effort to be proactive, we are working closely with the contractor to ensure placement
of each sign is in the best possible location. We hope to begin the transition period in April.
There will be a six-month transition period with lots of notice posted to ensure riders are aware
of the change. She also explained that while we are close to "fully staffed" on paper, we are
evaluating our current structure because between folks being out on medical, needing training,
callouts, and vacation time, we often need multiple employees to work doubles to ensure
coverage. There was significant discussion about ADA paratransit service, reasonable
accommodations on fixed route, bus barn renovations, technology, as well as ridership. In
particular, it is noteworthy that ridership is rebounding to pre-pandemic numbers which is
great news as our funding take that into account.
The meeting was adjourned at 6:32 pm. Main Street parking request
