CUMBERLAND — The city will give $100,000 to Allegany County for the 63-69 Baltimore St. Wills Hotel renovation in the McCleave Building on Baltimore Street.
The donation was approved at the mayor and City Council meeting Tuesday, which featured a variety of city actions.
Work for the more than $4 million project was bid to cost $600,000 over budget, but Wills Hotel owners Brian Gilbride and his partners reached their maximum debt capacity, so Allegany County and the George C. Edwards Fund plan to each contribute $250,000 in addition to the city’s money.
“They can’t move forward … without the additional funding,” Cumberland Administrator Jeff Silka said earlier this month.
According to the state’s planning department in December, the Maryland Historical Trust awarded more than $20 million in historic revitalization tax credits for the projects.
Eighteen applicants sought more than $55 million in tax credits for construction projects that total more than $305 million in estimated costs.
Projects selected for the 2024 tax credits were based on an established set of criteria, including those outlined by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior for historic building rehabilitations.
The McCleave Building was awarded $1.4 million in tax credits.
In other Cumberland business, city officials:
• Will pay $251,943.60, which is 20% of a $1,259,718 estimated cost, in an agreement with the Maryland Department of Transportation’s State Highway Administration to replace the Cumberland Street bridge over CSX’s railroad. The bridge has been closed since 2017 when it failed a safety inspection.
• Declared 463 and 469 Goethe St. and 111 South St. surplus properties and authorized them for sale.
• Accepted donations from Kevin Kniseley, personal representative of the estate of Robinhood Constitution also know as Mark Anthony Shrock, of 454-456 Goethe St., block 21 lots 63-65 on Youngs Terrace, and block 28 lots 5, 6, 7 on Sperry Terrace.
• Authorized a maximum $2,134,806, 10-year master service and purchase agreement with Flex Financial, a division of Stryker Sales, LLC, for the ALS360 Program that includes equipment, replacement schedule, service and maintenance for all Stryker equipped Emergency Medical Service apparatus and eight community rescue automatic external defibrillators for city-owned buildings.
• Accepted the Historic Preservation Commission’s recommendation for property tax credits of $10,580 for 522 Washington St., $2,531 for 514 Washington St., and $7,920 for 505 Washington St.
• Approved a Community Legacy Program $100,000 grant agreement with the Department of Housing and Community Development for the Choose Cumberland Relocation and Renovation Package.