BUSINESS & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE Tuesday, August 18, 2020,

Immediately following Finance and Infrastructure Committees starting at 5:15 P.M. City Council Chambers

CONSENT AGENDA

1. Commission on Cultural Development COVID-19 Relief Grants Recommendation(see attached memo)

2. Extension of Lease Agreement with Vicki L. Trundy, LCSW (see attached memo)

REGULAR AGENDA

3. Broad Street Reopening Discussion (see attached memo)

4. Request from Downtown Bangor Partnership Regarding Chalk

5. Executive Session – Economic Development – Request for Lease of Land – 1M.R.S.A. § 405 (6) (C) (see attached confidential memo)

Memo

To: Business & Economic Development Committee

From: Tanya Emery, Director of Community and Economic Development

Date: August 7, 2020

Re: COVID-19 Relief Grants Recommendation

Staff reviewed all applications received by the close of business on Friday, July 31, 2020. 13 applications were received, and all 13 were deemed eligible. Based on the number of eligible applications received, all can be funded for the requested amounts within the $15,000 that the City Council allocated for this purpose. The recommended grant recipients and amounts are:

• Bangor Ballet, $1,000 • Some Theatre Company, $1,000 • Ten Bucks Theatre, $1,000 • Maine Student Film Festival, $1,000 • Bangor Area Youth Choirs, $1,000 • Bangor Historical Society, $1,000 • Maine Troop Greeters, $734 • New Renaissance Singers, $1,000 • Bangor Community Theatre, $1,000 • Launchpad, $1,000 • Maine Multicultural Center, $1,000 • Penobscot Theatre Company, $2,000 • Bangor Symphony Orchestra, $2,000

Total funding recommended to be awarded is $14,734.

The Commission on Cultural Development voted unanimously at their August 7th meeting to recommend this slate of awards to the Committee. If the Committee agrees, this recommendation for funding will be taken to the City Council on Monday, August 24 for final approval.

Memorandum To: Members of the Business and Economic Development Committee From: Stephen A. Bolduc, Executive Manager Date: August 17, 2020 Subject: Extension of Lease Agreement with Vicki L. Trundy, LCSW

Issue Vicki L. Trundy, LCSW wishes to extend a lease of a single office at 39 Florida Ave., Bangor for operation of a counseling business. Hannaford Bros. occupies the remainder of the office building. Ms. Trundy has leased the office since 2006 and has accepted the terms of this proposed agreement. Premises: a) Office J at 39 Florida Ave. 155 sq. ft. b) Shared use of the building's common areas with the other tenant. c) Right to use the driveway, use of one (1) parking space and use of the parking area

in the rear of 39 Florida Ave. Term: One (1) year, from September 1, 2020 to August 31, 2021 Rate: $181.34 per month

Use: The premises will be used as a business office and for no other purposes without the consent of the City of Bangor. Utilities: The City of Bangor will provide utilities furnished to the premises as listed: electricity, fuel oil, natural gas, storm water fees and water and sewer user fees. Maintenance: The City of Bangor will be responsible for all maintenance of interior and exterior portions of the building. Hannaford Bros. Co. will be responsible for the cleaning of the common areas. The tenant is responsible for cleaning the rented office. Taxes: Property taxes are the responsibility of the City of Bangor. Insurance: The tenant will provide public and property damage liability insurance. Recommendation Staff recommends approval of this lease agreement under the terms and conditions outlined above.

Memo

To: Business & Economic Development Committee

From: Tanya Emery, Director of Community and Economic Development

Date: August 7, 2020

Re: Broad Street Reopening

Broad Street is set to reopen on September 7th. Staff have received requests to both keep it open longer (Paddy’s Murphy’s) and to reopen the street ASAP (Evenrood’s, 25-27 Broad). Specifically, Rachel Dobbs requested via an email to Council on August 7th that the Council consider extending the closure of Broad Street and aligning it with the closure of the “Outdoor Area Permits” the City created in Emergency Regulation #9 on May 22nd. Those permits state that “the Outdoor Area Permit is a temporary permit that will expire upon the decision of the City of Manager or, at the latest, when the City’s State of Emergency terminates”. The City’s State of Emergency is currently is set to expire seven days after the Governor’s declared civil state of emergency is over. That is currently set for September 3rd, unless extended again.

Staff seek input to see if the Council wishes to consider these requests or keep the September 7th reopening date for Broad Street, and if there is interest in considering a set end date for Outdoor Area Permits, and/or aligning the two. We asked Betsy Lundy to reach out to stakeholders in the area, and she has provided the attached memo detailing her findings.

Memo

To: BED Committee

From: Betsy Lundy, Downtown Coordinator and Cultural Liaison

Date: August 17, 2020

Re: Request to extend Broad Street Closure until October 11

On June 1st John and Rachel Dobbs, owners of Paddy Murphy’s, wrote a letter on behalf of West Market Square businesses requesting that the section of Broad Street from Main Street to Merchant’s Plaza be closed to vehicular traffic to create more outdoor seating and a dedicated pedestrian space around West Market Square.

After discussion at the June 8th Pre-Council Workshop, City Manager Cathy Conlow signed an Executive Order closing Broad Street, which was then ratified by a Council Order at the June 15th Council Meeting. As a result of the order, 2 restaurants, Paddy Murphy’s and Happy Endings were able to create and/or increase their outdoor seating capacity.

The Broad Street closure is set to expire on September 7th. John and Rachel Dobbs have requested that Broad Street remain closed longer, perhaps until October 13th, the day after Indigenous People’s day.

Staff conducted a brief survey of business owners, property owners, and residents to capture impact responses and general perspective on Broad Street remaining closed. Respondents were broken into two categories for the purpose of this report: those who live, own property, or own a business in/or near Broad Street and those who live, own property, or own a business elsewhere in downtown.

We have attached two sets of graphs demonstrating impact for each of these groupings as well as their desire for Broad Street to reopen or remain closed.

2

Respondants self-identified as owning property, owning a business, or living Downtown:

3

Respondants self-identified as owning property, owning a business, or living on or near Broad Street

Memo

To: BED Committee

From: Betsy Lundy, Downtown Coordinator and Cultural Liaison

Date: August 11, 2020

Re: Ordinance to limit the use of chalk in public spaces Downtown

Current City practice allows for the people to write on sidewalks, plazas, and parks using chalk as a protected method for exercising First Amendment rights. The scale of cleanup necessary to maintain aesthetic standards has made continuing this practice complex and costly to the City who maintains public spaces. There is also potential conflict between different parties who may wish to chalk their own messages in the same spaces at the same time, therefore a policy could be helpful.

At the August 11th meeting of the Board of Directors of the Downtown Bangor Partnership, the Board unanimously voted to ask the Bangor City Council to consider an ordinance that would limit the use of chalk within the downtown district to those with event permits, and require the permit holder to clean up their chalking within a specified amount of time.