UMaine rescinds decision to sell Hutchinson Center to Calvary Chapel Belfast
BELFAST — In a letter sent to Hugh Townsend, Co-Chair of the Future of the Hutchinson Center Steering Committee, the University of Maine Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration and Treasurer, Ryan Lowe, said the decision by UMaine to sell the Hutchinson Center campus in Belfast to the Calvary Chapel Belfast has been rescinded.
“I will be directing the System’s Office of Strategic Procurement to work with UMaine to determine their desired next steps for soliciting offers to purchase or facilitate the transfer of the property, whether by facilitating a new RFP process, which would appropriately take into account both the real and potential value of all aspects of the proposals including those that related to Networkmaine, or listing with a pre-qualified commercial broker,” write Lowe, in his September 12 letter to the FHCSC Steering Committee. (See attached PDF for the entire letter)
Meanwhile, Calvary Chapel Belfast said Thursday evening, Sept. 12, “we will not go quietly into the night.”
The decision was made a week after the Committee, in conjunction with Waterfall Arts, had appealed an earlier decision by UMaine’s System’s Office of Strategic Procurement that had rejected the Friends of the Hutchinson Center Steering Committee appeal, and reiterated its commitment to selling the 11-acre campus and building to the church.
Lowe said in his letter that he agreed with the Committee’s assertion that UMaine’s evaluation criteria, “did not allow for due consideration of all materially relevant financial details associated with both the real property sale and the maintenance in perpetuity of the Networkmaine internet hub.”
The decision follows a month of controversy after UMaine awarded the church on Aug. 14 the opportunity to purchase the campus. UMaine had received and considered three bids, and on Aug. 18, the Steering Committee and the nonprofit Waterville Arts (FHC-WA) appealed the university’s decision. But on Aug. 19, UMaine rejected the appeal.
On September 3 and in accordance with the university’s procurement process, FHC-WA then submitted a second appeal, this time to UMaine’s Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration.
The point on which UMaine reversed its decision rests on the facility that is to house a connection hub for the state’s 3-ring binder — the internet system that runs throughout the state. That hub is currently located in the Hutchinson Center building.
“While other respondents proposed favorable lease arrangements and access to the property, FHCSC-WA’s creative alternative offer to allow the hub to permanently remain within the existing building would significantly reduce the cost of site work, new construction and relocation for the System,” said Lowe.
He noted the other concerns raised in the appeal were unsubstantiated, but because of the alternative offer to keep the hub where it is in the Hutchinson Center building is a value-added proposition, he said, “....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. Though I found your other assertions to be entirely unsubstantiated, for this reason, I am obligated to rescind the original award.”
He said he would direct the UMaine Office of Strategic Procurement, “to work with UMaine to determine their desired next steps for soliciting offers to purchase or facilitate the transfer of the property, whether by facilitating a new RFP process, which would appropriately take into account both the real and potential value of all aspects of the proposals including those that related to Networkmaine, or listing with a pre-qualified commercial broker.
“Please know that my final decision is specific to a single deficiency of the evaluation criteria and is not a reflection on the merits of the proposals submitted by any respondent or any other aspect of the university’s process.”
Pastor Greg Huston wrote to Lowe after receiving word of the Sept. 12 decision and said:
"It is very disappointing that the groups that were not awarded the RFP had two separate appeal windows, over the course of almost a month and yet the church gets no such opportunity.
“The fact is, we did encourage the UMS to keep the three-ring binder inside the building because it is just simple business sense, we were told that was not an option. We then gave a generous alternative inlight of the claim it must be moved.
“Mr. Lowe, clearly you have been part of this process since its inception and know the intricacy of those details.
“You have shown that mob pressure has influenced your decision and that only encourages us to rally the thousands and thousands of church goers across this state that have been watching this process. Now instead of a few hundred local dissenters you have hundreds of churches across this state that see through the scapegoat the three-ring binder is.
“The church has spent tens of thousands of dollars and countless hours to prepare for an award that was won fairly and outright. It is very clear that a new RFP will be submitted either to placate the upset community members and/or to get a higher bottom dollar on this facility.
“We will not go quietly into the night."
IIn a news release issued Thursday afternoon, UMaine, said: “The Hutchinson Center RFP was highly unique. University properties are typically sold through a commercial broker or by soliciting purchase offers through a competitive RFP. However, in direct response to community feedback, the University of Maine (UMaine) opted instead to issue an innovative RFP that allowed offers to purchase, lease or propose creative alternatives for the Hutchinson Center.”
The university expects to announce by Sept. 26 how new offers for the sale or transfer of the Hutchinson Center will be solicited, it said.
“This could include issuing a new RFP, which would take into account both the real and potential value of all aspects of the proposals including those that relate to Networkmaine, or listing with a pre-qualified commercial broker,” the release said.
Future of the Hutchinson Center and Waterfall Arts Committee member Shane Flynn said: “We were satisfied the decision has been made by a senior member of the UMaine leadership and we are waiting to see what will be issued on Sept. 26. In the meantime, we are pleased the deficiency was noted by the vice chancellor.”
“The committee is thankful and grateful that the University of Maine has reconsidered the RFP process for acquiring Belfast’s Hutchinson Center,” said committee member Michael Hurley. “It took a big heart and a willingness to listen on the part of the University and we thank them deeply. We look forward to the next steps.”
In a news release issued late in the evening, the committee said further: “Today we received notice that the University of Maine has rescinded its original Hutchinson Center award decision. We applaud the University for taking this action. It’s essential that the University receive value for the Hutchinson Center and also critical that the mid-coast community’s interests be favorably addressed. This decision creates the possibility that this will happen.
“We look forward to this new opportunity for the University and the community to move forward together and resolve the ownership and future use of the Hutchinson Center.”
Reach Editorial Director Lynda Clancy at lyndaclancy@penbaypilot.com; 207-706-6657
