BELFAST, Maine — Calvary Chapel Belfast is suing the University of Maine System (UMS) for discrimination during the bidding process for the Hutchinson Center in Belfast.
The lawsuit was filed after news came last week that the UMS had chosen Waldo Community Action Partners’ bid as the winner for the second round of bidding.
Following protest on the decision from the church, UMS has paused the award process. Pausing the proceedings is a “long-standing practice,” according to the statement from Samantha Warren, the director of external affairs for UMS.
Daniel Schmid, attorney for the chapel, said that UMS violated the discrimination protections of both the First and 14th Amendments.
“Both require injunctive relief. And the university should put Calvary Chapel back to the place it was under the fair process instead of the rigged second bidding process,” Schmid said.
Schmid explained that Calvary Chapel feels UMS broke the First Amendment when it rescinded the offer to negotiate purchase after the church won the first round of bidding.
In August, UMS stated it would sell the Hutchinson Center to Calvary Chapel Belfast “because they had the top-scoring response.”
However, the next month that decision was repealed because the property houses a Networkmaine internet hub, and the future of that server was not fully accounted for in the initial bidding process.
A second bidding process was opened and the same three initial bidders – Calvary Chapel Belfast, Waldo Community Action Partners, and The Future of the Hutchinson Center Steering Committee and Waterfall Arts (FHC-WA) – all submitted new bids.
The 14th Amendment violations, Schmid said, are derived from UMS' decision to pick Waldo CAP over Calvary Chapel in the second bidding process. He said the amendment “prohibits the government from using religious animus in the community to discriminate against the religious beliefs of Calvary Chapel.”
Schmid said that the Networkmaine server explanation was “pretextual” and “the 14th Amendment talks about is you can't use pretext to mask religious discrimination, and that's what occurred here.”
The University of Maine System has repeatedly denied allegations of religious discrimination from the church.
In a statement Tuesday, Warren said, “The University of Maine System is still reviewing the complaint filed today but strongly disagrees with any allegations of discrimination.”
She also affirmed that all parties were scored on the “same objective standards” and that Waldo CAP had the most favorable offer.
With an offer of $3.06 million, Waldo CAP had the highest bid of the three entities. FHC-WA bid $1.8 million and Calvary Chapel bid $1.1 million. UMS reports that the Hutchinson Center was appraised at $2.52 million.
Mayor of Belfast Eric Sanders had voiced support for FHC-WA previously but feels positive about the news that Waldo CAP was chosen.
“I was pleased with the choice. I've known Waldo CAP for the 20 years that I've lived here, very good organization, and they do a lot of good work for people,” Sanders said.
FHC-WA was the third bidder. A spokesperson for the group said it had no comment on the lawsuit, however, did want to “congratulate Waldo Community Action Partners for receiving the Hutchinson Center award based on their strong bid."
A representative from Waldo CAP was unavailable for comment.