A federal judge has denied a Belfast church’s request to halt the University of Maine System’s sale of a Belfast facility to another party, as part of that church’s larger lawsuit trying to stop the transaction.
In a decision that came out on Friday, federal Judge Stacey Neumann denied the temporary restraining order requested by Calvary Chapel Belfast to pause the sale of the Hutchinson Center to Waldo Community Action Partners.
The system withdrew an earlier offer to sell the center to the church because of what it said were issues with the criteria for evaluating bids, and it has maintained the Waldo CAP made a superior offer during the second round of proposals.
The church has claimed in its lawsuit the withdrawal and subsequent offer to another party was motivated by religious discrimination, after many people in the community spoke out against the sale of a public asset to a church.
But in her decision, Neumann said that the church failed to provide “direct or circumstantial evidence” connecting the system’s withdrawal of its offer to the backlash in the community.
Though “there is evidence of religious hostility from the community and from the disappointed bidders, there is no evidence of any animus on behalf of any defendant, nor are the alleged procedural anomalies merely pretext to cover for such animus or to bow to public pressure,” Neumann wrote in her decision.
She added, “Indeed, there is evidence the system specifically rejected the community hostility.”
UMaine spokesperson Samantha Warren welcomed the decision, reiterating that “it did not discriminate and that no party has been harmed by the transparent, competitive process through which we have sought to sell the Hutchinson Center.”
Warren noted that Waldo CAP’s offer to pay $3.06 million for the property was higher than the bids of the other two groups that made offers as part of the second round of proposals. Calvary Chapel Belfast offered $1.1 million, and a partnership of the Future of the Hutchinson Center Steering Committee and Waterfall Arts offered to pay $1.8 million.
Calvary Chapel Belfast had hoped to use the space for worship, education and its addiction recovery programs. It currently borrows space from another Belfast church, Faith Temple.
During a hearing for the temporary restraining order earlier in the week, an attorney for the church had argued that the second bidding process was rigged against it and had been disproportionately influenced by public opinions and officials.