City Hall·Bangor·Agenda

Advisory Committee on Racial Equity, Inclusion, and Human Rights

Tue Oct 27, 2026, 6:00 PMPosted by the city; shown as written, nothing added

1. Call to Order
2. Roll Call: Attendance
3. All Public Comment - Limited to 15 minutes; Chair may reopen at end
4. Minutes: June 23, 2026 and August 25, 2026
5. Committee Business
• Blogs for Consideration: o Dyslexia Awareness o Indigenous Heritage Month o Transgender Day of Remembrance
• Naming of City-Owned Property Policy
• Civil Discourse Follow Up & Discussion
• Language Access Plan
• Onboarding Document Update
6. Events
7. Council Liaison and/or Manager Updates
8. Adjourn Next meeting is scheduled for November 24, 2026 (subject to change). Advisory Committee of Racial Equity, Inclusion, and Human Rights Minutes for the Tuesday, June 23rd, 2026 Meeting 6PM | Council Chambers Members Present: Katie Brydon - Chair, Theresa Fallon - Member, Suzette Furrow - Member, Rheylan Burke - Member and Adam Baker - Member Non Voting Members: None Members not Present : Katie Robinson - Member, Mark Roth - Member and Shane Boyes - Vice Chair (excused) City of Bangor Staff Present : Courtney O’Donnell - Assistant City Manager and Michael Beck - Council Liaison Call to Order
• Call to order @6PM ● Roll call (see attendance above) Public Comment ● No public comment. Committee Business ★ Bangor’s Legislative Committee: ● City Counselor Daniel Carson joins ACREIHR’s June meeting to share information regarding a recently formed standing committee of the Bangor City Council - the Bangor Legislative Committee. ○ Rationale and Vision (summarized): to better support Bangor at a legislative level in regard to the challenges and opportunities as a Northeastern service city. - The official ordinance: Code of ordinances Ch. 9 Article 1 Section.
• As of now, the Legislative Committee will meet at least once a month. ○ To sign up for meeting notifications - www.bangormaine.gov/alerts.
• Recent Meetings: ○ Established how the committee will function per the ordinance. ○ Listed ideas regarding topics of interest and opportunity. ○ Discussed lobbying - $20,000 set aside in case a lobbyist is needed. ○ Language change - line added to charter: to engage in conversation with candidates for office, partners and other stakeholders on topics falling within the purview of the Legislative Committee. ● Referral Processes: ○ The Legislative Committee's focus is on the voted upon priorities of the council and anything outside that scope is to be voted on by the full council for further review. ○ The Council can send referrals to the Legislative Committee and vice versa. ○ ACREIHR may make recommendations on legislative matters to the council first who may approve it to be reviewed by the Legislative Committee if decided the matter is within the Legislative Committee's scope. The Council and or Legislative Committee too may request ACREIHR’s collaboration when necessary.
• Assistant City Manager O’Donnell notes the 1st draft of the LAP is a great start and requests feedback from ACREHIR before moving forward. ○ No feedback at this time.
• Exploration of ASL translation services as well as accessibility focused training services for municipal professionals is in progress. ● A Title 6 evaluation plan regarding the Community Connector will be brought before the Council next month to determine accessibility needs. University data, statistics via Census and input from drivers is to be considered.
• Assistant City Manager O’Donnell notes that Bangor is not yet near its language access threshold, although the need for language accessibility is trending upward.
• Chair Brydon asks committee members - where should the focus be going forward in regard to accessibility? Equipping city staff with proper training and resources regarding accessibility, identifying accessibility needs to make a general recommendation to the council and or accessibility needs regarding city meeting attendance. ○ Members Burke, Baker and Fallon agree that focusing on 1 item at a time seems most efficient. The most important was identified to be continued exploration and implementation of municipal staff training and the necessary resources regarding customer service and accessibility. ★ ACREIHR Webpage: ● It was agreed that ACREIHR members will volunteer to write informative articles regarding nationally recognized holidays and or observances of interest.
• Member Fallon suggests we include a summary of the minutes on the webpage. ○ Member Burke agrees to provide a summary of the meeting minutes for the ACREIHR webpage going forward. ★ Reminder - Mandatory Public Comment Disclaimer: ● If speaking as a citizen, members must explicitly state that their comments reflect their own thoughts, feelings, and beliefs, not the official position of the committee or agency. ○ A simple statement like: "I am speaking in my personal capacity, and these views are my own" can be used before sharing opinions. ■ This practice protects both the integrity of the committee and the member’s freedom to express personal perspectives.
• Member Brydon notes a review of the onboarding process may be beneficial in regard to ensuring applicants are aware of and align with ACREIHR’s mission. Advisory Committee of Racial Equity, Inclusion, and Human Rights Minutes for the Tuesday, June 23rd, 2026 Meeting 6PM | Council Chambers City Liaison Update
• The budget was approved. Final mill rate 17.3, down from the original 18.07. ● The Housing Support Navigator, Homeless Response Coordinator and Full Time Community Connector Driver positions are now state funded.
• The school budget has been finalized. Includes special education, Title 1 assistance for low income students, IDEA funding for students with disabilities and 21st century after school programming for disadvantaged youth.
• The General Assistance Program is to continue and will operate with the same budget as last year - $1.5 million.
• Council accepted $685,221 from HUD to fund the Bangor Rental Assistance Program. Covers 42 households in Penobscot County May 2026 to April 2027. To be reviewed - $1.1 million for 73 households September 2027 to August 2027.
• Council passed the Community Development Block Grant. $837,000 funds were appropriated plus $250,000 in anticipated loan repayment income. ● The Employee Authority on Immigration Matters Policy will soon be presented to city staff regarding how to interact with ICE if ever necessary.
• First read of the Manufactured Home Parts Ordinance is complete. Will allow for more flexible development standards.
• An Advisory Committee on Housing has been established. The application should soon be available. ● The mission and ordinance for the Advisory Committee on Homelessness was amended to allow the committee to create a stabilization plan for winter and receive referrals from council in the short term.
• Bangor Public Health is organizing a 30 day alcohol reset challenge using a grant donated by the Maine Cancer Foundation. ● Pride Month and Juneteenth was proclaimed by the council.
• Council approved Parks and Recreation to work with The Greater Bangor Associate of Realtors to accept a grant funded donation for accessible play equipment.
• Council approved the city manager to apply for grants without permission. Meeting Adjourned ● Chair Brydon motions to adjourn @7:50PM. ○ Member Baker so moved and Member Fallon 2nds. ■ All in favor - meeting adjourned. Advisory Committee of Racial Equity, Inclusion, and Human Rights Minutes for the Tuesday, August 25th, 2026 Meeting 6PM | Council Chambers Members Present: Katie Brydon - Chair, Mark Roth - Member, Suzette Furrow - Member, Rheylan Burke - Member, Adam Baker - Member and Shane Boyes - Vice Chair. Non Voting Members: Members not Present : Katie Robinson (excused). City of Bangor Staff Present : Michael Beck - Council Liaison, Tracey Ouellette - Director of Parks and Recreation and
• Call to order @6PM ● Roll call (see attendance above) Public Comment ● No public comment. Committee Business ★ Term Endings and Vacancy Reminder: ● Rheylan Burke - term ends December 12/2026. ● Adam Baker - term ends December 12/2026. ● Katie Robinson - term ends December 12/2026. ○ Katie will be moving to Southern Maine in October - term will end early. ● Two current vacancies - voting member and student liaison. ★ Mansfield Stadium Renaming and Naming Policy Review:
• Director of Parks and Recreation, Tracey Ouellette joins ACREIHR to explain the renaming of Mansfield Stadium to Ronald J. St. Pierre Field at Mansfield Stadium and the proposed amendment to the naming policy. ○ For decades Ron St. Pierre contributed greatly to Bangor - as a baseball coach and Mansfield Stadium groundskeeper. Council unanimously approved the renaming of Mansfield Stadium to Ronald J. St. Pierre Field at Mansfield Stadium.
• A language change regarding the naming policy has been presented to ACREIHR considering the necessary urgency to rename Mansfield and potential renaming urgencies similar going forward. ○ The proposed language change suggests that when extenuating circumstances exist as determined by the Council, the need for ACREIHR approval may be waived, with the opportunity for retroactive review. ■ The proposed language change will be reviewed and decided on during ACREIHR’s September meeting. ★ ACREIHR Webpage:
• The content planning and sign up spreadsheet was reviewed. ACREIHR members have begun assigning themselves topics of interest. Further content planning will be conducted at the September meeting. Advisory Committee of Racial Equity, Inclusion, and Human Rights Minutes for the Tuesday, August 25th, 2026 Meeting 6PM | Council Chambers
• Communications Manager, David Warren notes that the ACREIHR webpage is able to be promoted on the City of Bangor social media platforms per request. ○ David too notes that the website can be manipulated to make the ACREIHR webpage more readily available and or visible to site visitors.
• Councilor Beck urges that blog posts include a disclaimer. ○ ACREIHR intends to connect with the city solicitor regarding proper disclaimer language for blog posts. ★ Pride Survey Results:
• The 2026 Bangor Pride Survey results were reviewed.
• Vice Chair Boyes suggests that we collaborate with local data professionals to improve the survey questions. He too suggests that the survey could be made available on the website to increase feedback and data accuracy. ● Chair Brydon mentions the HRC (Human Rights Campaign) survey may be a good reference to help improve ACREIHR’s survey questions. ★ Civil Discourse:
• Vice Chair Boyes notes the importance of healthy civil discourse and poses the question - is there anything we can do as a committee to help cultivate healthier dynamics regarding civil discourse? ○ Something to refer to - The Can We Project.
• Member Burke suggests an event similar to “Civil-Tea”.
• Member Furrow suggests public forums. ○ Chair Brydon suggests forums hosted by ACREIHR where city specialists, representatives and community members come together on a predetermined topic.
• To be discussed further. ★ Council Liaison Updates:
• Project Hope review postponed Monday - pending with council. ● $126,000 unspent opioid settlement funds unallocated and to be used elsewhere - pending with council. ● Appointed 7 out of 9 members to the Advisory Committee on Housing. Meeting Adjourned ● Chair Brydon motions to adjourn @7:40PM ○ Member Baker motions to adjourn ■ Member Roth 2nds
• All in favor - meeting adjourned. October Is Dyslexia Awareness Month October is Dyslexia Awareness Month, a -me to increase public awareness and understanding of dyslexia and the challenges faced by individuals who learn diﬀerently. Dyslexia is the most common learning disability, aﬀec-ng approximately 15-20% of the popula-on. It is a neurological diﬀerence that is o-en inherited. A child with an aﬀected parent has an es-mated 40-60% chance of having dyslexia. Dyslexia aﬀects people from all segments of society, regardless of race, income, educa-onal background, or ability. It is some-mes referred to as a speciﬁc learning disability or a language-based learning disability. Dyslexia is a diﬃculty with language. The word is derived from Greek: dys, meaning poor or
Policy
Naming Of City-Owned Properties
1.0 PURPOSE The purpose of this policy is to establish consistent criteria and a systematic process for the official naming of City-owned properties. The purpose of having the following criteria and process is to:

1.1 Ensure t hat City-owned properties are given names which are consistent with the values and character of the area or neighborhood served;
1.2 Ensure that the process for naming, or renaming, a City-owned property is consistent;
1.3 Minimize conflict and provide a forum for meaningful discussion about the naming of City-owned properties.
1.4 This policy does not apply to properties that would be subject to a naming rights agreement.

2.0 AUTHORITY The City of Bangor acknowledges that we are located on the traditional territory o f the Wabanaki Confederacy, the People of the Dawnland, and specifically the Penobscot Nation. We honor their history, their enduring presence, and their contributions to this land.

2.1 The authority for naming all City-owned properties, under the jurisdiction of the City of Bangor, shall rest with the Bangor City Council.
2.2 In the event that the Bangor City Council determines that the name of a City- owned property reflects negatively upon the property , or the City as a whole, and is inconsistent with the values and character of the area or neighborhood served, they shall rename the property.

3.0 CRITERIA The City will choose names for City-owned properties by determining the appropriateness of the proposed nam e based on the property’s relationship to any of the following criteria: 2

3.1 Neighborhood, boundary roads, or common usage identification.
3.2 Natural features.
3.3 Significant historical events, attributes, or figures.

Where this came from

Bangor Agenda Center
The city's own agenda, 39 pages. The outline above is read from the first pages of that document; the packet behind it has the memos and exhibits. Links open in a new tab.

Agenda (PDF) ↗

The summary and transcript follow the meeting, once reviewed.