BANGOR DAILY NEWS | Friday | May 20, 2011 | 11
Insurance Continued from Page 9 business to obtain insurance coverage. Registering a vehicle requires proof of insurance meeting minimum state limits of liability coverage, and a business with employees must purchase Worker’s Com-
pensation insurance. “These can be costly. Varney Agency agents know how to help you minimize your cost,” Palman said. “There are liability issues. A contractor digs up a fiber-optic line that costs $100,000 to repair. Insurance can protect you against that unexpected expense,” he said. “We work closely with contractors because they engage in activities that can be hazardous,” Palman
BDN PHOTO BY DEBRA BELL
West Street in Bar Harbor was closed to all but local traffic in mid-May as construction continues on a 102-room hotel overlooking the harbor and the Porcupine Islands.
Hotel construction will change the Bar Harbor landscape in 2011 By Brian Swartz SPECIAL SECTIONS EDITOR
Bar Harbor’s undergoing a significant change this year as a new hotel rises on West Street and renovations revamp a venerable Eden Street hotel. In early November 2010, a contractor started demolishing several buildings along West Street to make room for a $12-million hotel being developed by Ocean Properties Ltd. When completed in spring 2012, the 102-room hotel will stretch from Main Street to Rodick Street and will visually alter intown West Street, which runs from Main Street to Eden Street (Route 3). Among the buildings torn down was the Quarterdeck Restaurant, which had stood at Main and West streets for many years. Acadia National Park visitors often ate lobster dinners on the Quarterdeck’s upper deck overlooking Bar Harbor and Bar Island. The wood-frame building housing the Bar Harbor Whale Museum was also demolished. Because Lennox Street intersects West Street
between Main and Rodick, the new hotel will rise on two foundations, with the building meeting above Lennox Street. A Bar Harbor contractor started the foundations earlier this winter; slated to continue until the 2011 tourist season begins, hotel construction will resume in the fall. The as-yet-unnamed hotel will front on West Street; guest rooms will provide good views across Frenchman Bay toward Sorrento and Schoodic Mountain. With a prime location one block from the Bar Harbor Municipal Pier, the hotel will dominate the West Street skyline. At the Atlantic Oceanside Hotel & Conference Center at 119 Eden St., Bar Harbor, four buildings with a cumulative 60 rooms will be replaced by a single 60-room building, according to Witham Family Limited Partnership. The buildings were torn down to make room for the new building, which should be completed by early July 2011. Atlantic Oceanside Hotel has 153 guest rooms and lies on Frenchman Bay.
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said. “Contractors have a certain social responsibility to protect themselves and others in case of accidents and other problems. They don’t want their employees to get hurt, and they don’t want their equipment damaged or destroyed or damaging the property of others. “They want to protect the assets they’ve worked hard to build up all these years,” he said. “We give them the road map of how to get there,” Palman stated. “We work with our clients to reduce their risks by visiting their facilities, observing how work is done, and recommending changes that can help to minimize the risk of an accident.” With 14 offices spread from Houlton to Bedford, N.H., the Varney Agency provides commercial insurance coverage throughout Maine and New Hampshire. The Varney Agency insures businesses representing a broad cross-section of Maine commerce. Palman listed several economic sectors, including: • “Main Street” businesses, such as grocery stores, restaurants, and retail shops; • Commercial fishing. At the Varney Agency’s Machias office, Michael Hennessey works with commercial fishermen and lobstermen along the coast; • Construction companies and project owners. Palman explained that with either new construction or building renovations, a performance and payment bond ensures that if a contractor defaults, the project will be completed. A payment bond ensures that subcontractors are paid if a project encounters financial difficulties so that the owner doesn’t have to deal with subcontractors filing
mechanics liens on their property. At the Varney Agency’s Bangor headquarters, Michael Varney (a Villanova graduate with a major in finance) specializes in writing surety bonds for contractors. A surety bond is a financial guarantee between the bonding company and the project owner that the job will be completed and that all subcontractors and materials suppliers will be paid. Many contractors need surety bonds in order to do municipal, state, and federal construction projects. A surety bond is a financial guarantee. “Doing business with the Varney Agency and Mike Varney ensures you are dealing with someone who understands finance and its relationship to contract bonding,” Palman said. Palman recommended that business owners “work with an independent insurance agency” to obtain “the most comprehensive coverage at the best price.” He indicated that “we represent regional and national companies that we have contracts with to be their agents. Not every single insurance company writes coverage for every conceivable situation; with the companies we represent, we can provide the specific coverage that our clients need. “Our agents are trained to explain to our clients the different types of coverage and the costs involved,” Palman said. “We visit a client and do an insurance assessment” to “identify potential gaps in insurance coverage. We explain how to close those gaps. “Our independent insurance agents will sit and talk with you and explain insurance forms and coverage to you,” he said.
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