HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-07-09 Opioid Settlement Funds Advisory Committee Minutes Opioid Settlement Funds Advisory Committee
Minutes for the Wednesday July 9, 2025 Meeting
6:OOp I Council Chambers
Members Present: Councilor Susan Hawes, Chair, Scott Knowles, Lisa Williams, Shelly
Yankowsky, Scott Pardy,Jayson Hunt, Alison Small, Bangor Police Chief Mark Hathaway, Bangor
Prevention Program Manager Jamie Comstock
City of Bangor staff and guests present: Carollynn Lear, City Manager; Jennah Godo, Maine
Opioid Settlement Support Center; MacKenzie David, Maine Opioid Settlement Support Center
Call to Order
Call to order at 6:OOpm
Review of Freedom of Access Act (FOAA) and Code of Ethics
• The City Solicitor outlined the general requirements under the FOAA and the City's Code
of Ethics.
• A robust discussion was held amongst Committee members regarding the potential for
conflicts of interest in the Committee's work and how to address those concerns.
• The Committee also discussed the types of confidential information they might
encounter in their work.
Discussion of guidelines for awarding settlement funding
• The City Solicitor highlighted each of the broad categories of approved uses, each of
which contain several subcategories that the City Solicitor suggested the Committee
members read.
• 85% of settlement funds must be used for approved uses.
• Next week, the City Manager will discuss the amount/schedule for receipt of settlement
funds.
• Member Comstock noted the level of uncertainty that has been created with the federal
budget and the elimination/potential elimination of federal funding. Member Pardy and
others agreed that federal uncertainty has caused challenges but also warned against
letting that uncertainty lead to delays.
Discussion of Ideas
• Member Pardy brought two ideas to the discussion:
o A short-term project to fund scholarships for recovery housing for Bangor
residents; and
o A longer-term idea for funding an Overdose Prevention Center.
o The Committee discussed the importance of post-detox housing and that
recovery housing can often be self-sustaining, eliminating the continued need to
provide funding.
o Member Yankowsky noted to the need to fund prevention activities in schools
and also the risk of overdose for older adults.
• Chief Hathaway added that looking at helping existing programs as opposed to creating
new programs would be a way to ensure that the funding was deployed more quickly.
• Member Hunt outlined a three part plan that would focus on:
o Case management services for those who are HIV positive;
o A quick deployment of already received settlement funds to existing programs;
and
o A process to allocate new funds to existing programs as they come in.
• Member Small noted the need to also support child welfare and the desire to get money
out quickly.
• Through discussion, the Committee approached consensus around part 1 of Member
Hunt's three part plan to fund case management services for those who are HIV positive
through the creation of case management services within Bangor Public Health.
• City Manager Lear committed to work with Director of Public Health Gunderman to
create an estimate of the cost to provide those services at the next meeting.
Closing
• Next meeting Wednesday, July 23, at 6 p.m.