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Residents press council for action on housing delays, warming center and Teresa’s Place opening
Summary
Several residents used the public comment period to praise council housing efforts while urging faster action on Teresa’s Place, more affordable housing, and plans for a winter warming center for unhoused residents.
During public comment at the Aug. 11 Bangor City Council meeting, multiple residents praised the council’s recent housing work but urged speedier action on projects and better immediate services for people who are unhoused.
Scott Pardi, a Bangor resident, thanked the council for advances on housing — including use of pandemic recovery funds to ready a city-owned parcel on Grandview Avenue for up to 75 workforce housing units and conversion of the former Pride Pine Tree Inn into supportive housing — but criticized delays in opening Teresa’s Place, the supportive housing project at the Pine Tree Inn site. Pardi said the building remains empty after a ribbon-cutting months earlier and described delays as “largely due to complex federal inspection requirements and waiting for final approvals,” leaving applicants who are experiencing chronic homelessness in limbo.
Jamie Beck, also a Bangor resident, praised the renovated council chambers and the new HVAC, then urged the city to prepare for climate extremes by ensuring warming-center capacity this winter. Beck noted the state RFP for warming-center funding closes Aug. 29 and asked what immediate plan Bangor will use if regional warming-center funding is not received. “We cannot allow preventable deaths due to systemic inaction,” Beck said, reporting that nearly 100 people experiencing homelessness were observed downtown and urging options such as an affordable housing bond, CDBG funds, state and federal matching grants, or tax incentives for donated space.
No formal city action was taken on these comments during the meeting. Councilors later referenced housing work elsewhere on the agenda and recognized the need for additional housing and outreach resources. Public comment remarks were entered into the record and will inform council and staff considerations going forward.
