Appalachian Regional Commission

A bike-and-boat rental facility in Williamsport, more computers for the Washington County Free Library central branch and a renovation loan fund for downtown Hagerstown buildings will be suggested for top consideration for Area Development Project grant funds in the next fiscal year, the Washington County Commissioners agreed Tuesday. The funds are available from the Appalachian Regional Commission, a federal-state-local partnership to improve the economy and quality of life throughout the Appalachian region.

The Hagerstown City Council said it would authorize a fund-raising letter in support of the community organization that is refurbishing an aging building. City Economic Development Director Deborah Everhart said Aspiring to Serve, which is renovating the Cannon Shoe Factory on West Franklin Street, is seeking a $350,000 grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission, a federally established regional economic development organization. Everhart said the building is in the process of being renovated, will house community organizations and may contain market-rate housing.

CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - A $323,328 grant has been designated for the construction of a $1 million child day-care center that will be built and used by eight local businesses and organizations. The grant is being awarded by the Appalachian Regional Commission. The rest of the money needed to build the day-care center will be raised through debt financing and donations from the community and local companies, said Jane Peters, executive director of the Jefferson County Development Authority.

ARC unveils plan for distressed counties By DAVE McMILLION / Staff Writer, Charles Town SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. - An $85 million plan to ensure economically disadvantaged counties in Appalachia enjoy the same strong economic growth the rest of the nation has achieved was approved here Wednesday. The proposal was approved by the Appalachian Regional Commission, a 35-year-old organization that has funneled $7.8 billion into the Appalachian region for social and economic development since its inception.

WASHINGTON COUNTY -- Washington County officials have agreed to forfeit $400,000 in grant funding to Garrett County this year in hopes of getting a larger share of the same funding next year. The $400,000 in federal "TEA-21" funding was allocated to Washington County for an access road to the Mount Aetna Farms property, Commissioner James F. Kercheval said. That project is unlikely to be ready to use the funding before it expires, so county officials worked out the shift to keep the funding in Western Maryland, Kercheval said Tuesday.

Appalachian Regional Commission WASHINGTON - U.S. Sens. Benjamin L. Cardin and Barbara A. Mikulski, both D-Md., recently announced that the Appalachian Regional Commission awarded a $100,000 grant to the Maryland Department of Business and Economic for the Western Maryland Export Initiative. The project is expected to assist 20 businesses with export assistance, which will lead to $5 million in increased export sales by those firms, according to a joint news release from the senators.

U.S. Sens. Barbara A. Mikulski and Benjamin L. Cardin, both Maryland Democrats, have announced the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) has awarded a $65,694 grant to the Washington County Commissioners to develop a geographic information system (GIS) to map the county's tax parcels. The project will help the county streamline future economic development growth, advance delivery of Web-based services for taxpayers and support disaster preparedness, according to a prepared release from Cardin and Mikulski.

gregs@herald-mail.com While one multimillion-dollar federal funding source designed to spur the Western Maryland economy could be cut drastically by next year, other prospects look good for Washington County and points west, federal and state officials said Monday in Hagerstown. The news comes as Western Maryland counties continue to face below-par income levels and state and local budgets are more strained than they have been in years. Maryland's new secretaries of Business and Economic Development and the Department of Planning along with the federal co-chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission were invited to a conference by U.S. Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett, R-Md.

McCONNELLSBURG, Pa. - When President Clinton used the line-item veto last year to eliminate funding for a project in Fulton County, Pa., Margaret Taylor said it came as a surprise. "We were surprised because it's a water and sewer project. It wasn't anything esoteric," the executive director of the Fulton Industrial Development Association said Thursday. She called the industrial park project "the most pragmatic" among the projects vetoed by Clinton in an appropriations bill.

Funding approved for new bus route Funding for a proposed new bus route to Hunters Green Business Center has been straightened out, a social services official said Tuesday. Department of Social Services Director David A. Engle told the Washington County Commissioners that a state agency that had balked at the funding plan now is OK with it. The plan to send County Commuter buses to the business park along Hopewell Road is estimated to cost $246,000. Engle said the Governor's Office for Children initially objected to letting Washington County use $166,000 the first year for the route, but since has changed its mind.

Appalachian Regional Commission WASHINGTON - U.S. Sens. Benjamin L. Cardin and Barbara A. Mikulski, both D-Md., recently announced that the Appalachian Regional Commission awarded a $100,000 grant to the Maryland Department of Business and Economic for the Western Maryland Export Initiative. The project is expected to assist 20 businesses with export assistance, which will lead to $5 million in increased export sales by those firms, according to a joint news release from the senators.

The town of Williamsport and the Washington County Free Library will be able to boost their public services thanks to thousands of dollars in grants awarded this week by the Appalachian Regional Commission. Williamsport was awarded $20,000 to develop bike lanes, and the library was awarded $61,000 to replace 60 obsolete computers, according to a news release from the offices of U.S Sens. Benjamin L. Cardin and Barbara A. Mikulski, both D-Md. The Allegany County Board of Education also received $50,000 from ARC to install broadband Internet.

A bike-and-boat rental facility in Williamsport, more computers for the Washington County Free Library central branch and a renovation loan fund for downtown Hagerstown buildings will be suggested for top consideration for Area Development Project grant funds in the next fiscal year, the Washington County Commissioners agreed Tuesday. The funds are available from the Appalachian Regional Commission, a federal-state-local partnership to improve the economy and quality of life throughout the Appalachian region.

A bike-and-boat rental facility in Williamsport, more computers for the Washington County Free Library central branch and a renovation loan fund for downtown Hagerstown buildings will be suggested for top consideration for Area Development Project grant funds in the next fiscal year, the Washington County Commissioners agreed Tuesday. The funds are available from the Appalachian Regional Commission, a federal-state-local partnership to improve the economy and quality of life throughout the Appalachian region.

WASHINGTON COUNTY -- Washington County officials have agreed to forfeit $400,000 in grant funding to Garrett County this year in hopes of getting a larger share of the same funding next year. The $400,000 in federal "TEA-21" funding was allocated to Washington County for an access road to the Mount Aetna Farms property, Commissioner James F. Kercheval said. That project is unlikely to be ready to use the funding before it expires, so county officials worked out the shift to keep the funding in Western Maryland, Kercheval said Tuesday.

WASHINGTON COUNTY -- A combination of unanticipated grants, a project cancellation and lower-than-budgeted project costs will allow Washington County to reduce its proposed borrowing for next fiscal year by $1.5 million, county budget officials said Tuesday. The savings reduce the amount of new tax-supported borrowing proposed for fiscal year 2011 to $12 million, down from the $13.5 million originally proposed. The Washington County Commissioners rejected a proposal by Commissioner James F. Kercheval to apply that savings, instead, toward creating a second entrance to Hagerstown Community College sooner than planned.

U.S. Sens. Barbara A. Mikulski and Benjamin L. Cardin, both Maryland Democrats, have announced the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) has awarded a $65,694 grant to the Washington County Commissioners to develop a geographic information system (GIS) to map the county's tax parcels. The project will help the county streamline future economic development growth, advance delivery of Web-based services for taxpayers and support disaster preparedness, according to a prepared release from Cardin and Mikulski.

Funding approved for new bus route Funding for a proposed new bus route to Hunters Green Business Center has been straightened out, a social services official said Tuesday. Department of Social Services Director David A. Engle told the Washington County Commissioners that a state agency that had balked at the funding plan now is OK with it. The plan to send County Commuter buses to the business park along Hopewell Road is estimated to cost $246,000. Engle said the Governor's Office for Children initially objected to letting Washington County use $166,000 the first year for the route, but since has changed its mind.

The Hagerstown City Council said it would authorize a fund-raising letter in support of the community organization that is refurbishing an aging building. City Economic Development Director Deborah Everhart said Aspiring to Serve, which is renovating the Cannon Shoe Factory on West Franklin Street, is seeking a $350,000 grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission, a federally established regional economic development organization. Everhart said the building is in the process of being renovated, will house community organizations and may contain market-rate housing.

gregs@herald-mail.com While one multimillion-dollar federal funding source designed to spur the Western Maryland economy could be cut drastically by next year, other prospects look good for Washington County and points west, federal and state officials said Monday in Hagerstown. The news comes as Western Maryland counties continue to face below-par income levels and state and local budgets are more strained than they have been in years. Maryland's new secretaries of Business and Economic Development and the Department of Planning along with the federal co-chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission were invited to a conference by U.S. Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett, R-Md.