Residents say waterfront-fence murals were installed without required review; councilors say they will follow up

During public comment at the July 14 Bangor City Council meeting residents raised concerns that mural panels installed on the waterfront concert fence were painted and displayed without the full review required by a lease amendment and commission process.

Suzette Furrow, introducing herself as a Bangor resident, said the murals are part of a proposed third amendment to a 01/2019 waterfront lease and that the amendment required waterfront to coordinate with the community and economic development department and to have final mural designs reviewed and recommended by the Commission on Cultural Development and approved by the city council. Furrow said the murals currently on display were painted by local artists (reported as about 20 artists and paid a $450 stipend each per earlier committee discussion), but that the full set of designs had not been posted on Bangor Beautiful's website and had not been fully reviewed by the cultural commission as required by the lease amendment.

"These paintings were approved by violation of the contract without being reviewed," Furrow said, and suggested the council consider a motion to rescind the previous approval or to refer the matter for an internal review or possible legal action for breach of contract.

At least one council member said they shared the concern and requested follow-up. A councilor noted that while the waterfront organization had worked with the city and that some artwork appeared appropriate, the process as it was followed did not appear to match the committee-level review described in the contract amendments and that staff should look into whether required reviews occurred.

The council did not rescind any approvals during the meeting. Councilors asked staff to follow up and to report back on whether the cultural commission's review requirement and the lease amendment's approval steps had been observed.