I am writing this letter in support of the University of Maine System’s decision to award the Hutchinson Center RFP to Calvary Chapel Belfast, and in opposition of the September 12, 2024 withdrawal of such award. I would like to express some concerns about the process with which the University withdrew its award for the Hutchinson Center.

RFP #2024-048 was published on January 17, 2024 with a response deadline of February 5, 2024 that was then extended for two months as a result of feedback from community stakeholders. On February 2, the University published a press release that announced, “...the University of Maine System will extend the deadline of its request for proposals (RFP) to March 29, allowing for additional opportunity for interested parties to submit options for sale, lease, or other creative solutions.”

Then, a petition led by Senator Chip Curry garnered 1,000 signatures in four days, and introduced LD 2231 to the Maine State Legislature with the hope of transferring ownership directly to the City of Belfast. 

On February 27, 2024, LD 2231 was presented before the Maine State Legislature stating, “This resolve directs the University of Maine System to convey the City of Belfast the University of Maine System’s interest in the land and any buildings, including the building commonly known as the University of Maine Hutchinson Center, located at 80 Belmont Avenue in Belfast.”

On March 6, 2024, the University itself presented testimony in opposition to the bill stating, “Our system is burdened by a deferred maintenance backlog that now exceeds $1.6 billion...[and], Our underfunded public system cannot simply give away an asset appraised at $2.52 million and for which we have outstanding debt.” By the University’s own admission, bottom-line costs for maintaining underutilized buildings like the Hutchinson Center are a financial burden.

Then, the deadline for RFP #2024-048 was closed on March 29, 2024 with the Board of Trustees meeting on April 8, 2024 for the first time after the proposal window, and two month extension. The Board of Trustees then went on to meet an additional 3 times prior to the RFP award to Calvary Chapel Belfast. Once from May 19 - 20 in which the UMS stated in a press release, that the FY25 budget was approved, and was consistent with its new strategic plan to list or sell underutilized properties - including the one in Belfast. 

The Board of Trustees then met on June 18, and again on July 11 where shortly afterwards on July 15 the authorization of the sale of the Hutchinson Center was officially announced. This would have to mean that the decision for the award to go to Calvary Chapel Belfast would have already been scored according to the public RFP process, well before the July 15 sale authorization.

On August 15, the announcement is given that RFP #2024-048 is to be awarded to Calvary Chapel Belfast with a $1 million dollar offer, $250,000 in earnest money, and a lease agreement with the UMS for $1/year with access to the Connectivity Hub mentioned in Addendum 4 of the formal RFP process. It is my understanding that Vice Chancellor for Finance Ryan Low’s decision to rescind the original offer was based entirely on this one criteria in which he stated, “As Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration, I uniquely appreciate that the avoidance of hundreds of thousands of dollars in relocation expenses presents clear financial and operational benefits that are decidedly in the best interests of the System and thus should have been valued in the criteria by which all proposals were scored.”

The Vice Chancellor’s decision indicates an egregious disregard for his own Board of Trustees decision making-power, and taxpayer dollars. In the University’s own language, interfering in such a process, “undermines(s) well-established competitive bidding policy and practice in the public sector that is essential to upholding the public’s trust and stewarding taxpayer and tuition dollars with integrity.” This was stated in testimony from the March 6 Maine Legislature meeting.

The external packet included in the original RFP states that the University owes $885,000 in a revenue bond, and runs an annual operating cost of $479,900 including the owed debt; meaning on average, it costs roughly $480,000 a year to operate the Hutchinson Center. The Vice Chancellor claims his decision is based upon “the avoidance of hundreds of thousands of dollars in relocation expenses...and presents clear financial and operational benefits that are decidedly in the best interests of the System.” Perhaps, a more common-sense consideration, would be the length of time with which this RFP process has been conducted, at this present moment lasting roughly 9 months, and I would suspect at least until year-end, resulting in a cost to the University of an additional $480,000.

Additionally, I would also state that the RFP process has been transparent, explicitly clear and publicized, and upheld in a first appeal process by the Board of Trustees. However, what is highly unusual, undermines trust, and quite frankly, is somewhat unbelievable is when a Vice Chancellor of Finance would not be in communication, and/or alignment with his own Board of Trustees in regards to a fiscal decision of this magnitude. This would certainly not be in accordance with good-faith practices.

At the very least there have been two consecutive months in which this decision was made, with the Board of Trustees meeting twice in that period of time, upholding their original decision in a first appeal, only to have it overturned by the Vice Chancellor in a second appeal process on the grounds of an RFP scoring rubric that was determined to be “materially deficient.” A process that the UMS has publicly stated at least twice is well-established and designed for public stakeholders.

At this point, it is clear that the decision cannot be overturned, or contested, in accordance with the University’s own guidelines. 

One can only speculate on why such a decision has been made - the “value-added” Creative Real Property Offer, at best, is equivalent to the amount of money the University has spent keeping the Hutchinson Center operational through this fiscal year, and will continue to spend on this exhaustive RFP process. What is clear, is the lack of integrity with which the University has acted on behalf of its own Board members and public stakeholders. 

I would remind University officials that they have a duty and trust to uphold the process that has been established regardless of perceived community opinion. The University now needs to act boldly, and courageously, and uphold their position as champion of the common good, otherwise any such process may as well be null and void.

Meghan Elwell lives in Knox County