Bangor City Council approves Friends of Together Place purchase of four‑unit with ARPA funds

Bangor City Council at a June 23 workshop authorized Friends of Together Place to purchase a four‑unit residential building at 106 Forest Avenue using American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, after resolving a question about contract language and a possible appearance of conflict of interest.

City Manager Carolyn Lear told the council the council packet contained a contract that described an "estimated minimum of 6 units," while the summary of the council order that authorized the contract used language reading "minimum of 6 units." Lear said the discrepancy prompted staff to bring the proposed four‑unit purchase before the workshop to get the council’s guidance. "There was maybe some different language in the various supporting documents," Lear said, and staff believed the contract language that included "estimated" would allow a four‑unit purchase.

The workshop also included a brief statement about a potential appearance of conflict of interest. One councilor disclosed that his wife had signed a contract with Maine Mental Health Connections and worked with the Together Place peer‑run recovery center; he said he did not have a financial relationship with Friends of Together Place Housing. City staff read an email from Joseph Hartell, identified in the packet as the interim executive director of the Together Place Peer Run Recovery Center, noting a new grant writer had been hired and that the recovery center and Friends of Together Place Housing operate as separate entities. "I'm the new executive director at the Together Place Peer Run Recovery Center," the email excerpt read.

Council members asked whether the councilor’s wife had a financial interest in the Friends of Together Place housing entity; staff and the councilor said she did not. The chair called for a roll‑call on whether the councilor had a conflict; the roll call recorded no conflict.

A motion to allow Friends of Together Place to use the ARPA funds to purchase the identified four‑unit property was moved and seconded (mover/second not specified in the workshop record). During the roll call on the motion, councilors recorded affirmative votes and the motion carried.

Council Chair Pelletier told the councilor who raised the potential appearance issue to declare that disclosure again if the item returns to full council for final authorization.

The council’s action at the workshop will be reflected in the item packet if it appears on a future full‑council agenda, including the contract and the grantee’s purchase proposal for 106 Forest Avenue. The workshop record did not include the mover and seconder by name for the motion; the packet lists the grantee’s letter explaining difficulties finding a six‑unit property under the original funding amount.