Committee roundup: airport leases, CPACE opt‑in, planning report and property dispositions sent to full council

The Bangor City Council Business & Economic Development Committee on June 16 forwarded several routine and policy items to the full City Council, heard a midyear planning update and an airport operations briefing, and approved sending letters of support for two outside grant applications.

Votes and referrals

- The committee voted to forward the city’s annual agreements for ride‑share operators Lyft and Uber at the airport to the full council for placement on the council agenda.

- The committee voted to forward a CPACE ordinance to allow the city to participate in a Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy program administered by Efficiency Maine. Staff said the ordinance would permit commercial property owners to use CPACE financing for energy-efficiency projects; the city would not provide funding and would not be liable for capital provider losses other than routine administrative expense recovery. The ordinance would require the city to approve individual project agreements and to file a notice for each CPACE lien.

- Following an executive session under state statute ORSA §4056(c) to discuss disposition of real property, the committee approved forwarding two property dispositions to the full council: 39 Florida Avenue and 110 Hildreth Street. Both items were moved and seconded in open session after the executive session and will appear on the full council agenda.

Planning and development

Planning Officer Anya Colette gave a six‑month report for the planning division. Staff reported a slow year overall for development applications, with a relative increase in commercial activity driven by two larger projects earlier in the year (Encompass Health and a BankNew Savings Bank waterfront addition). Two residential applications were on hold due to sewer capacity and state permitting requirements; one residential application was under review and a new application had arrived the day before the meeting. Staff said consultants are preparing a public draft of the land development code update and that the historic preservation ordinance review is expected to come to council in July.

CPACE explained

Staff described CPACE (Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy) as a financing mechanism that creates a lien on participating commercial property to secure financing for energy improvements. Efficiency Maine would administer the program and provide a list of capital providers; the city would not be responsible for capital provider defaults except to recover its administrative costs if a CPACE lien left unpaid amounts after higher‑priority claims were satisfied.

Airport briefing

The airport director briefed the committee on summer operations and runway rehabilitation. The director said the runway is on a multi‑year replacement cycle and that the airport planned closures with added schedule buffers after setbacks encountered in prior years. The director said the runway closure that began the morning of the meeting was scheduled to reopen Wednesday afternoon in a shortened configuration and that one additional 17‑hour closure is expected in mid‑September. He added that temporary routes to Detroit and Atlanta have seen strong demand, with carriers upgrading aircraft on the routes and extending seasonal service windows.

Letters of support

The committee approved sending letters of support for two external grant applications: one from the Wabanaki Public Health & Wellness Group seeking funds to improve storefront windows and signage downtown, and one from the University of Maine offering support for a proposed Coverdell Fellowship internship program connecting returned Peace Corps volunteers with local internships. Staff said neither request required city funding at this time.

What happens next: all forwarded items will be scheduled for the full City Council to consider at its next meeting.