Government Operations Committee OKs further study of proposed Sept. 11 resiliency monument

At a regularly scheduled meeting of the Government Operations Committee, members voted to allow the Maine Infantry Foundation to continue formal discussions with city staff about siting and refining a proposed Sept. 11–inspired monument on the downtown waterfront.

The proposal, presented by Daryl Line, president of the Maine Infantry Foundation, grew out of a long-running Sept. 11 remembrance event organized by the Bangor High School JROTC. “I am the president of the Maine Infantry Foundation,” Line said, describing a concept meant less as a battlefield memorial and more as “a monument to the resiliency of our city in those 20 years after those horrific attacks on September 11.”

Line outlined a multi-element installation that he said would preserve sightlines to the Penobscot River, include seating and sculptural “spheres” representing local responses (for example, troop send-offs and Gold Star families), and feature a rotating globe element and donor wall. He described the primary material as cast cement and said smaller elements would be hollowed to reduce weight. “We would like to talk to the city engineer and work out what’s underneath there because these would be heavy,” he said.

Committee members raised questions about scale, placement and community input. Councilor Campbell said he liked the concept but voiced concern that a more reverent monument might make the area less usable for festivals and other events. “It just seems to me that this would really shut that old area off in community events,” Campbell said. Several councilors suggested referral to the Cultural Commission and the city’s DEI committee and recommended consulting the Penobscot Nation on interpretation and placement.

Presenters said they have an architect and renderings but did not include full, scaled images in the committee packet because the superimposed designs made the concept look oversized. Line said more detailed, scaled renderings could be produced: “We can actually make those renderings available. Absolutely.” Committee members also asked for engineering analysis of ground-bearing capacity and for the design to be sized so it would not dominate the space.

A councilor moved that staff be authorized to continue discussions with the foundation and return with updated renderings and process recommendations; another councillor seconded. “All right, seeing none, that motion has passed,” the chair said.

Next steps identified by the committee include more detailed scaled renderings, a review by the city engineer about subsurface conditions at the proposed site, and outreach to the Cultural Commission, the DEI committee and local tribal representatives. No final design approval or permit was granted at the meeting.