Doug Chamberlin Doug Chamberlin

Second RFP round concluded

Today the University announced that Waldo Community Action Partners (https://waldocap.org) will become the new owner of the Hutchinson Center, subject to contract and closing completion.

The members of the Belfast-based Future of the Hutchinson Center Steering Committee and partner organization Waterfall Arts congratulate Waldo Community Action Partners for receiving the Hutchinson Center award based on their strong bid. 

Our group has been working diligently for well over a year to retain the Hutchinson Center for our community. We had intended to operate the Center as the educational, cultural and civic hub of Belfast, Waldo County and the mid-coast Maine region, establishing a new center for  community engagement and resurrecting the Center’s role as a regional conference destination for businesses and organizations alike. We offer our thanks to the many citizens who have expressed their support for this effort. 

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Doug Chamberlin Doug Chamberlin

New RFP issued

On October 4th the University posted a new RFP, thus restarting the entire process.

The new RFP is substantially the same as the original RFP, except for a few changes:

  • There is a requirement that the new owner of the building lease the space in room 100Y, which contains most of the internal computer networking infrstructure, to the University. This is for the stated purpose of enabling NetworkMaine to continue operation of its regional hub.

  • The points awarded for the purchase price bid were increased from 80 to 85 (of 100).

  • There is no mention of any value to be given to past use of the facility, past investment in the facility, or non-monetary aspects of bids.

It is now clear that the University is solely interested in what money it can receive from the sale of this facility.

There will be an informational meeting scheduled sometime in October to provide more details. The deadline for bids is November 1st.

We intend to submit a bid.

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Doug Chamberlin Doug Chamberlin

New RFP process will start October 4th

Through a press release the University has outlined a new RFP process. Essential details will be made available by October 4th. There will be approximately 1 month to submit new bids. See below.

———————————————————————————————-

For Immediate Release

Sept. 26, 2024

Contact: Samantha Warren, 207-632-0389, samantha.warren@maine.edu

New RFP will be issued to solicit buyers for University of Maine Hutchinson Center

ORONO, Maine — Acting through the University of Maine System (UMS), next week the University of Maine (UMaine) will publicly issue a new competitive request for proposals (RFP) to purchase the Hutchinson Center in Belfast. 

Earlier this month, UMS rescinded an award to negotiate after determining during a formal appeal process that there had been a deficiency in the original RFP’s evaluation criteria. At the time, UMaine committed to announcing by today how new offers would be solicited. 

The new RFP will be posted at maine.edu/strategic-procurement/upcoming-bids/ by noon on Friday, Oct. 4. and close at 5 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 1.

All interested parties – including the three Waldo County organizations who responded to the initial RFP – will have the same equal opportunity to submit offers responsive to the new solicitation by that deadline. 

Hutchinson Center history

The decision to sell the Hutchinson Center followed two decades of UMaine delivering education there and then two years of stakeholder engagement when a decline in student enrollment and escalating operating costs made it clear it would no longer be viable for the public university to sustain the facility. No degree-seeking students have taken classes in-person at the center since 2020.

The sale is consistent with a commitment in the System’s strategic plan to achieve fiscal and energy efficiencies through the sale or lease of unused or underutilized buildings and land. Property transfers generate savings necessary to maintain affordable UMS education and allow the System’s limited financial resources — which come through taxpayer and tuition dollars — to be focused on improving infrastructure essential to the current and future needs of Maine and its students. 

The Bank of America donated the Hutchinson Center to UMaine in 2007 as a gift with no conditions. Since then, the university has invested more than $14 million in capital improvements. That includes funding three-quarters of a large expansion project completed in 2009, for which UMaine still owes $885,000. 

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Doug Chamberlin Doug Chamberlin

Waiting for word…

We are currently waiting for word from the University of how they plan to move forward. Following the decision to withdraw their original decision, they have said they expect to have next steps ready to share by the end of September.

While we wait you can review the timeline of events up to this point here.

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Doug Chamberlin Doug Chamberlin

Stay Tuned!

This blog will be where we publish the latest news about our efforts. We will also post on our Facebook page.

Right now we are considering legal action to prevent the process from continuing in order to gain time to give alternative outcomes a chance.

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