Civil War Museum

City Council puts off accepting state grant for museum group By DAN KULIN / Staff Writer Decisions on accepting a state grant and sending a letter of support for a proposed Civil War museum for downtown Hagerstown were put on hold Tuesday by a divided City Council. The council voted 3-2 to postpone a vote on accepting a $75,000 grant from the Maryland Economic Development Assistance Fund, which the city would pass on to the Antietam Creek Coalition. The coalition is proposing a $46 million Civil War museum for the first block of West Antietam Street.

A majority of Washington County Commissioners seemed willing Tuesday to give more than $300,000 to the City of Hagerstown for improvements to a downtown parking lot. But once they heard that a proposed Civil War museum could be built on a portion of the lot, which is behind the buildings on the northeast corner of Public Square, the commissioners pulled back and instead voted to postpone a decision on the funding until next week. A majority of commissioners said before committing any money to the project they want the City Council to promise that a museum will not be built on any part of the parking lot. Later, after the commissioners had left the joint city-county meeting, City Councilmen Lewis C. Metzner, J. Wallace McClure and William M. Breichner said they supported withdrawing the parking lot from a list of potential museum sites.

To some, the notion of attracting Wall Street investors to a museum may seem strange. But a group behind a Civil War museum in downtown Hagerstown is proposing to do just that. Richard A. Bellis, principal at Education Capital Markets in Herndon, Va., would be the point man on Wall Street financing for the Antietam Creek Coalition. Bellis, who has overseen similar bond sales for several other museums, said it is a fairly common process. Here's how it works: First, the nonprofit organization must obtain a letter of credit from a large bank or other financial institution.

In baseball and public works, everyone likes the home run. Baltimore has its Inner Harbor, Washington, D.C., its Smithsonian, San Antonio its River Walk, Raleigh-Durham its Research Triangle. Nice if you can get them. These home runs guarantee a steady flow of people, money and vibrancy into a community and serve as mainstays for countless other attractions. Sometimes though, it is helpful to face the fact that there is no single silver bullet to guarantee a community's fame and fortune.

Some business owners and residents who would have to move to make way for a proposed Civil War museum in downtown Hagerstown expressed disappointment and frustration Tuesday. cont. from front page Hagerstown leaders and the nonprofit Antietam Creek Coalition announced Monday that they hope to put a $45 million, 80,000 square-foot building along West Antietam and South Potomac streets. The building, which would house a Civil War museum that city officials hope would become a major draw to downtown, would displace about 15 businesses and 20 apartments.

The Hagerstown City Council voted 4-1 Tuesday to give $37,500 to a nonprofit group to study building a Civil War museum in Hagerstown. Councilman Bill Breichner voted against granting the money to the Antietam Creek Coalition Inc. He said that other than a list of group members, he doesn't know anything about the coalition. The city's contribution would go toward paying for a $100,000 feasibility study. The study also would be used as part of an application for affiliation with the Smithsonian Institution.

Meet the Candidates - Carol Moller Carol N. Moller Age : 65 Address : 430 Virginia Ave. Party : Republican Occupation : Retired, former owner of Carol & Company On the Issues HEIGHT="6" ALT=" "> Supports city funding for Discovery Station, a planned interactive science center to go downtown. HEIGHT="6" ALT=" "> Supports a $4.4 million plan to demolish several buildings to make space for wide alleys and more parking around a planned state university center downtown.

Once again, talk has turned to the City of Hagerstown needing a "destination," loosely defined as a stand-alone reason for people from Washington County and beyond to come downtown. The last time the D word raised its head, the cause celebr was a Civil War museum proposed for the block across from Washington County Public Library. Largely, I believe, because of the ambitious project's scope, it never achieved a critical mass of local support. The feeling among city leaders at the time was that it would never be able to attract enough visitors to avoid taxpayer-funded white elephant status.

ANNAPOLIS - Developers of a proposed national Civil War museum in Hagerstown have asked Gov. Parris Glendening to add $450,000 to next year's state budget to help with planning. cont. from front page "This project has been met with enthusiasm, deep levels of interest and genuine belief that it could transform downtown Hagerstown," said Dennis Frye, spokesman for the nonprofit Antietam Creek Coalition. The coalition wants to bring articles from the Smithsonian Institution's Civil War collection to an 80,000- to 100,000-square-foot museum at a cost of about $40 million.

Toothman favors downtown green space By DAN KULIN / Staff Writer Hagerstown City Council candidate Paul H. Toothman says additional parking and green space is needed around a planned downtown University System of Maryland Hagerstown Education Center. Toothman, 45, a Republican, also favors a proposed Civil War museum for Hagerstown and opposes plans for a new Wal-Mart near Funkstown. Toothman said there's no defining issue in the upcoming election, and he wants voters to back him because he takes time to research issues before making up his mind.