Plans for a new parks and recreation center were rejected again by the Bangor City Council Monday, leaving the facility’s future in limbo.
All nine councilors voted against sending a $75 million proposal to voters, saying the center is needed but too expensive and further changes to the proposed facility should be made.
“I don’t think any of us have said we don’t think it’s needed, correct me if I’m wrong, but just maybe not this particular plan,” Councilor Susan Faloon said.
The proposed building would be built on Griffin Road with three basketball courts, two ice sheets, two outdoor turf fields, child care areas and a suspended track. It would replace the parks and recreation facility in the former Bangor Armory on Main Street and Sawyer Arena in Hayford Park on 13th Street.
A previous proposal for $68 million was rejected last August because of the high cost and desired changes.
The council’s decision halts three years’ worth of planning and lays an uncertain timeline for the future of parks and recreation buildings in the city.
During the meeting, councilors agreed to discuss possible changes to the plans at the next government operations meeting in April, including different funding options.
“We’ve got people in the hockey community right now who are excited about the idea of new ice,” Councilor Michael Beck said, adding that community members have talked about starting funding campaigns or donating to build the facility.
Attempting to secure congressionally directed funds in early 2027 could also be a possible route, Councilor Daniel Carson said.
The bond amount the city was estimating to fund the project would add at the most $300 a year in property taxes to a property valued at $250,000. The spike in taxes would be less than that in some years, according to the city. The bond is for 30 years.
Residents would still be able to vote on a bond in June or November if the council approves the plans in time, but if the council took more than six months between voting on proposals as it did in this instance, the issue would not make it to the June ballot.
Although 17 residents spoke about the project during Monday’s meeting, councilors decided to vote against the project during a council workshop before Monday’s meeting, making the public hearing more of a formality for the full room of residents who did not attend the workshop beforehand.
Similarly to councilors’ opinions, almost every resident said a new rec center was needed for the city but property taxes are already too high for residents to afford.
Former City Councilor Jonathan Sprague echoed the thoughts of some councilors, saying the new center is not only too expensive, but may overlap too much with services a new YMCA would offer.
“This project is too large, too expensive, and too duplicative with other community programs, specifically the new YMCA and it is a long consultant assembled wish list that will be an albatross around the necks of taxpayers,” he said.
Other residents who spoke, including parents and hockey coaches, said they would be willing to pay increased taxes to have better sports facilities for children in the area.
Having an updated center where kids can interact with each other and play organized sports at a lower cost than travel teams could bring more people to the community and help kids grow up with less screen time, resident Rich Trott said.
“Community involvement is imperative for the kids, and if they’re not worth investing in, then what is really,” Trott said.
