Having a developer deal “signed, sealed and delivered” should be the only way the Allegany County Delegation to Annapolis agrees to push for money for the Footer Dye Works building.
The four-story building has long been in a state of deterioration and should only be restored if there is a guaranteed use for it.
The delegation was asked to meet with Canal Place leaders Tuesday. During the meeting, the legislators were asked to seek up to $2 million of state money to stabilize and repair the structure. As Delegate LeRoy Myers Jr. pointed, restoring the building without a commitment for its use is tantamount to spending $2 million for a “restored shell.”
There are plenty of needs in Allegany County for state funding. Delegate Kevin Kelly said the priority for state funds should be Allegany High School. He emphasized the need to have a potential developer for the Footer building on board and willing to make a commitment before the state funds are requested.
“We’re a small delegation, you don’t want to go down there burning favors for a project without a written commitment,” Kelly said of the Canal Place request for General Assembly funding.
Time is running out for the Footer building. As was pointed out during the meeting, the building is not now secure and is invaded by pigeons and an occasional vagrant. Nevertheless, that is not justification for going full-bore ahead with a funding request when there is no guarantee there will ever be a developer for the project.
Editorials
Related Photos
-
Other priorities
Other priorities
No funds for Footer without a developer
- Editorials
-
-
Better ‘Click It’
If you notice more police on the highway this week, it’s for a couple of reasons.
-
They do bite
This week is National Dog Bite Prevention Week. For anyone thinking that is not such a big deal, consider that 4.7 million Americans annually are bitten by dogs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
-
Stop buying licenses; let them find the money somewhere else
A few months ago, I received two cards from the National Rifle Association. These were dealing with a legislative alert.
They asked that I should contact Sen. George Edwards and Delegate Kevin Kelly concerning the anti-gun legislation. -
Strength of gun laws is not reflected in grisly statistics
According to the FBI’s uniform crime reports, California had the highest number of gun murders in 2011 with 1,220, which makes up 68 percent of all murders in the state that year and equates to 3.25 murders per 100,000 people.
-
An old story
What for years has been an on-again, off-again battle over funding between the Allegany County Commissioners and the Allegany County Board of Education seems to be growing even uglier.
-
‘Forgotten warrior’ not forgotten
The Korean War is often called “The Forgotten War.” My generation remembers the Battle for LZ X-Ray at Ia Drang, The Tet Offensive, and Khe Sahn of the Vietnam War.
-
Organization needed to help utilize the Potomac River
I am a committee remember on the Tamiami Trail Scenic Highway which stretches from Palmetto to Venice, Fla.
-
Reducing meat consumption can help ease climate change
A review of 12,000 papers on climate change, in the May 15 issue of “Environmental Research Letters,” found that 97 percent of scientists attribute climate change to human activities.
-
Editorial Cartoon - 05/18/2013
-
Maryland has stopped being “The Free State”
I am a lifetime member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans and, last but not least, the National Rifle Association. I am a yearly member of the American Legion.
- More Editorials Headlines
-
