Penobscot County is spending $100K to hold property for new jail

By Marie Weidmayer, Bangor Daily News Staff

Penobscot County will pay a total of $100,000 to reserve land on which it hopes to build a new jail.

The county commissioners are making non-refundable payments for 30 acres at the Ammo Industrial Park in Hampden, where they plan to build a new jail — as long as voters approve it.

The first payment of $20,000 was made May 6, when the county executed the option agreement contract, real estate agent David Hughes said. Details about the contract for the land were not made public until July, despite the county spending money two months earlier. 

The next payment of $40,000 is due Nov. 1, Hughes said. Penobscot County commissioners voted unanimously Oct. 29 to make the November payment. 

The payments are the first dollar amounts shared publicly by the county as it tries to convince voters that a new jail is needed.

If the county decides to move forward with the property, a final option payment of $40,000 will be made after all the permits are done, Hughes said. The county has until May 5, 2027, to make that payment.

The county has an option agreement for the property, allowing it first right of refusal, because voters must approve two things before a jail can be built. Penobscot County voters will decide if the jail can move out of the county seat of Bangor to Hampden. Voters will also have to approve a still-unknown bond amount to fund building the jail.

Commissioners had previously said there would also be a vote about a bond to fund a new jail. However, during the meeting Oct. 29 Commissioner Andre Cushing said there would not be a vote about the bond, which appeared to take Commissioner Dan Tremble off guard. 

“All due respect, we’re not prepared to go out in June for bond,” Cushing said.

“Wait, when did that change?” Tremble said.

Cushing said the county is prepared to ask voters to move it from the county seat. Tremble pointed out the county discussions up until Oct. 29 have had the plan of both votes at the same time. 

There was no further discussion about when the votes will happen.

The $100,000 the county will pay does not represent the whole price of the 30-acre property; it just guarantees the county has the first right of refusal. No purchase price has been disclosed. The money will go toward the full purchase price if the county decides to buy it.

The new jail will have between 250 and 300 beds, Cushing said previously. It’s unclear how much the county believes the jail would cost. There are 15 buildable acres on the former gravel pit, Cushing said previously.

Site tests to ensure the property can hold the new jail look good, Tremble said.

Tremble said it wouldn’t be wise to purchase the property at this point because the county will be stuck with land if voters choose to not approve the new jail. But it is “standard and reasonable” to make those non-refundable payments because the county is essentially holding the land from being sold to anyone else, he said.