BANGOR, Maine — Eastern Maine Community College is moving to expand its campus after being named the seventh fastest growing community college of its size nationwide.
The City Council voted 6-1 on Monday to rezone 2.63 acres adjacent the community college at 312 Hogan Road from general commercial district to a nonprofit district for governmental and institutional services.
EMCC requested the rezoning in preparation for its purchase of the property, where it plans to house its criminal justice, fire science and emergency medicine programs.
Dan Belyea, EMCC’s director of administrative services, told the council the project will bring $1 million in construction to Bangor in addition to the $2.45 million in bond projects the school is already bringing to the city.
Overall, he said the college has a $61 million economic impact on the Bangor region and the college is saving state dollars by purchasing an existing facility instead of attempting to build something new.
“When you look at all of our activities and all of the funding that we bring to Bangor, Maine, we think we’re a valued asset,” he said.
Belyea’s comment came in response to concerns raised by Council Pauline Civiello, who said the city should not rezone viable commercial properties for nonprofit activities.
“With all due respect to the planning board, this is an issue I feel that I cannot support,” she said, adding it could set a precedent for other commercial properties to go nonprofit.
The Bangor Assessing Department values the land and property at $594,900 with a property tax burden this year of $22,737. The property belongs to the living trust of Wyatt and Rachel Garfield, according to the assessing department.
“I also appreciate that the current owners have been very good about taking care of paying their taxes,” Civiello said.
EMCC spokeswoman Katrina Mumford said the planned expansion comes as the college experiences rapid enrollment expansion.
“We have seen [a] 29.42-percent increase in unduplicated headcount since 2011,” she said. “As of 2014, we were at 4,228 full- and part-time students.”
In December, Community College Week Magazine ranked the college the seventh fastest growing in the nation among two-year, public colleges with enrollments between 2,500 and 4,999.
Councilor Ben Sprague voiced support for the college, saying the city “gets a great return on investment.”
“I think, in terms of community development, we really want to build around the things that we’re doing well, and education is certainly one of those in this region,” he said.
The facility most recently was home to The Maine Jump, an inflatable play place for children that shuttered in November 2013 because of waning attendance. The property previously was owned by the school and, through a property swap, the land was sold for commercial development.
In other matters Monday, fire officials notified the council of the promotions of Lt. Charles Rodway to captain and Capt. Matt Costello to assistant chief, as well as the hire of Lance Sanborn as an inspector.
Effective March 1, they announced, Lt. Brian Higgs will be promoted to captain and Capt. Dennis Nadeau will move to assistant fire chief.
Bangor Assistant Fire Chief Rick Cheverie will retire at the end of February.
Follow Evan on Twitter at @evanbelanger.