CUMBERLAND — Allegany County commissioners will hold hearings on several bond bills for water and sewer projects in their regular business meeting today at 5 p.m. Commissioners also plan to offer their support for two bond requests to the state legislative delegation.
If commissioners approve the water and sewer bonds after the hearings, bonds will be issued to pay for a sewer project on Bedford Road, a Cresaptown water project and a water distribution system for Meders Lane.
The Bedford Road sewer bond is proposed at $1.5 million and will be funded by a United States Department of Agriculture loan. There are significant upgrades required for the system, county officials have said.
The water project bond for Cresaptown will bring a new water line for the community located along U.S. Route 220. The bond will be for $465,000 and is also utilizing a USDA loan on a 40-year term.
Only 14 homes are affected by the Meders Lane projects and the loan for that project will be $350,000 for a 30-year term from the Maryland Department of the Environment, Bennett said. Meders Lane is a small system off of Bedford Road with serious leak problems.
Commissioners could also approve letters in support of bond bills for Friends Aware and the Allegany Museum.
Friends Aware is planning a building project expected to cost $2 million. A complete renovation and addition to the organization’s Life Enrichment Center on Holland Street is planned. The renovation will include making the building compliant with the Americans With Disabilities Act. The organization offers residential, vocational and day services to people with intellectual disabilities. The organization currently serves about 180 individuals. Access roads will also be improved.
Allegany Museum officials want to work on their building to the tune of about $350,000 for the museum’s capital needs.
“We’re going step by step to meet the requirements for our survival,” museum president Gary Bartik has said. Those changes are needed to obtain accreditation and recognition as a Smithsonian-affiliated museum, he said.
The updates will also allow the museum to become involved in loan exchange programs with other museums, Bartik said.
Plans include finishing restoration of the first floor and exhibit hall, conservation initiatives and installing an up-to-date security system. The museum will be focusing on transportation issues and may display pieces from the closed Queen City Transportation Museum.
Bartik emphasized that the museum only asks for bond bills for capital improvements and that it funds operating expenses privately.
Legislators typically ask commissioners to prioritize requests since funds are limited.
The commission’s business meeting takes place at the County Office Complex on Kelly Road.
Contact Matthew Bieniek at mbieniek@times-news.com.
