Bangor City Councilors unanimously granted a local entertainment business a conditional Special Entertainment Permit, allowing it to provide live performances and dancing following a well-attended public hearing.
Located in Bangor Mall, G-Force Entertainment offers live music, dancing and karaoke as well as laser tag, ax throwing, corn hole and arcade games. Perhaps most notably, last summer G-Force hosted American rapper Fetty Wap, who topped the music charts in 2015 with his single “Trap Queen.”
The conditions of G-Force’s new special entertainment permit require property owners to meet with the Bangor Police Chief, the city’s law enforcement officials and the city’s attorney within 30 days to ensure that the business’s enhanced security measures are addressing the city’s concerns about overspending and disorderly behavior. Worry is in the company.
Security measures need to be improved following an incident of misconduct late last month.
About 16 people spoke in support of G-Force during Monday night’s public hearing, including past and current employees, people who performed there and people who frequented the entertainment center.
Several speakers said the only reason they visited Bangor was to come to G-Force and if it was closed they probably wouldn’t be back. Others discussed how the business and the customers it attracts are breathing new life into a struggling Bangor shopping centre. It’s more about how the owner, Brian Plavnick, hires some people with special needs who might have a hard time finding work elsewhere.
While G-Force is moving from its original Brewer location to Bangor Mall in 2021According to Bangor City Clerk Lisa Goodwin, it never applied for a special entertainment permit that would allow businesses to host live performances and dance events.
Plavnick wrote in a statement that the company has a state entertainment license but was not aware of a local license being required.
Plavnick wrote: “In the two times we have been in the process of obtaining a (state) license, no one told us that we also need a license from the city.”
According to Bangor Police Chief Mark Hathaway, after Bangor police responded to shots fired in the Bangor Mall parking lot where G-Force customers were parked at 1 a.m. on Feb. Plavnik’s problem with missing licenses.
Hathaway said that while the shooter had left when the police arrived, the officers spoke to G-Force customers and staff and learned that there was an incident between customers inside G-Force prior to the shooting. Dispute.
After a misconduct incident involving a business, Hathaway said he checked with the city to make sure the business had the necessary permits so police could work with the owners to prevent future incidents like this.
After the company was told they needed a permit, the owner applied for one, Goodwin said.
Standard procedure requires the city council to hold a public hearing before finalizing any special recreation permits, Goodwin said.
Earlier this month, Plavnicks met with Hathaway and the City of Bangor attorney and law enforcement officer to discuss Hathaway’s concerns about overspending and misconduct at the store, and what the business can do to enhance the safety of G-Force employees and customers, Hathaway said.
These include enhanced luggage checks when people enter the business, improved training for security staff and bar servers, and a fix to their video surveillance system.
“We don’t expect more from Plavnicks than we expect from any other business,” Hathaway said.
Despite the lack of the necessary permits, Goodwin was unaware of any subpoenas G-Force might have received from the city in recent years.
Meanwhile, Plavnick said the company has canceled several upcoming live music events and refunded tickets.
“This ‘closed’ entertainment cost us tens of thousands of dollars,” Plavnik wrote in a statement. “We’re not sure we can recover.”
Councilors also finally approved the Community Connector bus system from Flag stop system to fixed stop system A 2019 transportation study showed that a fixed-stop system would improve passenger efficiency, predictability, and reliability.