BANGOR, Maine — Bangor city officials revealed plans for Pickering Square and strategies for curbing the city’s drug problem during a town hall meeting Thursday at William S. Cohen School.
In response to a question about the city’s plan for Pickering Square, Community and Economic Development Director Tanya Emery said plans are in the works to redevelop the mostly empty space in 2017.
Until then, she said, the city will complete short-term improvements this year that may include removing the large fountain in order to improve visibility.
Pickering Square has generated criticism from residents in recent years in reference to loitering and alleged criminal activity. However, Emery cautioned residents not to assume everyone using the square is up to no good.
“The fact that they don’t look just like us doesn’t mean they’re bad,” she said.
The plan to remove the Pickering Square fountain will go before the City Council for approval, Emery said.
Meanwhile, Police Chief Mark Hathaway discussed the department’s efforts to curb drug activities in the city by flooding suspected drug houses and neighborhoods with a heavy police presence, thereby driving customers away from their dealers.
The department recently conducted such an operation with four patrol cars and a drug-sniffing dog on Ohio Street, he said, arresting several individuals leaving suspected drug locations.
“You will start seeing us en masse when you see a problem in a neighborhood,” Hathaway said.
According to Hathaway, the department still works with the state to arrest and convict drug dealers, many of whom come to Bangor from out of state specifically to sell drugs, but those investigations are extremely time-consuming.
“It takes a long time to put these cases together,” he said.
Thursday’s town hall meeting was one of four planned by the city at the behest of Councilor Pauline Civiello. About 30 residents attended.
The purpose of the meetings is to reach out to residents and better connect them with their city government, said Assistant City Manager Bob Farrar.
“At the end of the day, it is your city. It is your government. We work for you,” he said.
Attending residents included Rebecca Rowe, a resident of Moosehead Boulevard who thanked the Fire Department for providing a cold weather shelter for residents during a power outage last winter.
She also questioned Hathaway regarding drug concerns in her neighborhood.
“It was very informative, and I think I got a good answer from the chief of police,” she said after the meeting.
Thursday’s meeting was the first of four planned events. The others are set for 7 to 9 p.m. as follows:
— Sept. 24: James F. Doughty School (auditorium)
— Oct. 8: Mary Snow School (gymnasium)
— Oct. 22: Downeast School (gymnasium)
Follow Evan Belanger on Twitter at @evanbelanger.