Lubec board awards bid for Quoddy Dolphin

The Lubec Select Board awarded the sale of the sprawling but decaying Quoddy Dolphin building, which has been seized for back taxes, to Derek Lyons for $35,000, during a special meeting on March 24. Lyons was the highest of three bidders for the property, but the select board had made it clear previously that it is more interested in how the property will be developed than in getting the most money from the sale.
The building is also known locally as the McGonigal building, although that family has not owned it for more than a decade. On tax rolls it is listed as Lighthouse Plaza, and it sits on a highly visible lot on the way into town. The other two bidders, who each submitted bids of $25,000, were Maureen Stockford and Brandon Lyons. Derek and Brandon Lyons are reportedly not related.
The bids had been opened during the March 17 select board meeting, but the board had decided to wait on awarding the bid until the board members had time to compare the proposals. During the March 24 meeting, all three bidders pledged to promptly remediate the in ground fuel storage tank, to correct the issues involving the building, to renovate the lodging spaces as either motel or short term rental spaces and to include businesses in the retail space. Brandon Lyons and Stockford stated that the former laundromat would be returned to usable status, while Derek Lyons demurred on the basis that "the place needs to make money. Laundromats don't make money."
About 40 individuals had crowded into the Lubec Town Office meeting room to hear the board decision. The three bidders were given the opportunity to explain their plans but were not allowed to add elements not included in their bid submission. As the conversation developed it was clear that the three proposals were more similar than different.
"Price is not the determining factor," explained select board Chair Carol Dennison, before reading from a letter prepared by the town's lawyer outlining the process the board had determined to follow, which was intended to maximize long term benefits to the town.
Emotions ran high as various details were debated by the public. While many questions were brought forth, there was no discussion about financial analysis or return on investment from the upgraded building, and no questions were raised about the overall cost of restoring the long vacant structure to a usable condition. Several urged that the sale go to the high bidder.
After nearly a full hour of often noisy discussion Selectman Sonja Bailey moved that "the sale go to the highest bidder." Her motion was seconded by Selectman Daniel Wagner, to a round of applause. The vote was 4-0, with Selectman Jason Evasius not present.
After the vote, Dennison pointed out that the winner, Derek Lyons, "had seven days to prepare a detailed commitment plan and 45 days to pay the balance of the purchase price," observing that failure to meet these deadlines would mean the sale would go to one of the other bidders. "We're not going to open it up again," she said, concluding the meeting.
Serving needs of the town
At the March 17 meeting of the select board when the bids were opened, a brief reading of the proposals revealed that all three bidders planned to renovate the existing building but that their expected business uses differed somewhat.
Dennison explained that the dollar totals are "much less than the property value," but other considerations have been built into the bid request. Reiterating what she had said during earlier meetings, the town is less interested in maximizing the purchase price and instead wants the property developed into "something that serves the needs of the town." By allowing bids that will be compared on the basis of the plans instead of simply going to the highest bidder, she explained, the purchaser will have more funds available for the needed work, which must be completed on an agreed on schedule. "We don't want somebody to buy it and then do nothing like that last guy did," she said.
Because of the detailed nature of the individual plans, Dennison proposed the March 24 special select board meeting, allowing members the time to study and compare each of the plans, but not forcing the bidders to "have a lot of money tied up for a long time."
In other business, the board tabled the discussion of a planned request for proposals for the lease of town owned land to operators of solar panel fields.