Published: March 25, 2008 08:30 am         

City, county officials say Canal Place cooperation key to future

CUMBERLAND - A dozen officials from Allegany County and the city of Cumberland left the dinner table Monday with a unified message to the Canal Place Preservation and Development Authority - cooperate or risk losing future funding.

It was one of three issues discussed at Geatz's restaurant. City officials also expressed concern over an increasing number of out-of-city ambulance calls and not being reimbursed for the costs. The two groups also noted a decrease in available funding for the Greenway Avenue Stadium renovations.

"As long as they cooperate and take the advice they're given," local government will consider funding all or part of Canal Place in the future, said Allegany County Commissioner Bob Hutcheson.

The authority is seeking up to $100,000 from state lawmakers this year. Delegate LeRoy Myers has said that money appears safe for this year. No promises have been made for the future, however.

Funding methods could vary, but County Administrator Vance Ishler said the possibility of Canal Place collecting all 8 percent of the hotel/motel tax, including the city's 5 percent and the county's 3 percent, is just one of many possibilities.

Commissioner Jim Stakem and Mayor Lee Fiedler agreed that idea is "something that could be looked at."

Fiedler, however, said funding in any form would be contingent upon local government having a say in the direction and management of Canal Place.

"I think we need to be involved," Fiedler said. "It has to be handed down what we expect out of them."

Stakem said the commissioners intend to recommend someone from the county to sit on the board. The idea is to get everyone on the same page and moving forward in a positive direction.

"We're still looking at three to four operations over there each trying to do their own thing" Fiedler said.

Hutcheson suggested that marketing efforts fall to the Allegany County Tourism Department. His 11 colleagues appeared to agree with the idea.

Commissioner Dale Lewis asked what would happen to state funding in 2010, when the state's partnership with the authority is scheduled to expire.

"We don't know the answer to that," said City Administrator Jeff Repp.

A consensus was reached to send a letter to Canal Place leaders asking them to cooperate with city, county and state officials. Failure to do so could result in losing funding opportunities down the road.

In what Councilman Butch Hendershot described as a "public safety crisis," Fiedler said the city could no longer afford to respond to ambulance calls in unincorporated Allegany County without reimbursement.

Last year, the city's three ambulances responded to more than 700 calls out of jurisdiction - more than 15 percent of the total calls the city responded to. Areas responded to included Frostburg, Oldtown, District 16 and Mineral County, W.Va. About 200 of the roughly 450 calls were in Frostburg, Fiedler said.

Each call costs about $345. By collecting only half what is due, the city lost out on roughly $120,000 last year.

"We're part of a community and we'll back that," Fiedler said.

The city lacked the ability to provide coverage for its own residents at certain times, Fiedler said. The problem is compounded when the city has just a 50 percent collection rate. City leaders said they already were working with Steve Kesner, EMS chief of the Allegany County Department of Public Safety and Homeland Security. Repp said Kesner should have a report for the county within 30 days.

Fiedler said the ambulance companies shouldn't receive their full annual amount from the county if they are responding to just half their calls. Lewis noted it's not much funding in the first place.

The state's allotment of Program Open Space funding is slated to be cut to just $205,000 this year from $1 million last year. That leaves little funding, if any, available to help in the Greenway Avenue Stadium renovations. The overall project will be completed in phases, officials said.

Contact Kevin Spradlin at kspradlin@times-news.com.



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