Civil War Museum

Possible facelift for city mulled By DAN KULIN / Staff Writer The Hagerstown Planning Commission got a look at the potential future of downtown Wednesday night as city planning staff reviewed more than $70 million in potential projects for the area. continued The list of proposals reviewed included a $46.5 million Civil War museum, a $12 million office building, a $10.4 million Performing and Visual Arts Center and $4.4 million to create additional parking and park space around a planned state university center site.

City makes wish list for delegation By DAN KULIN / Staff Writer City officials will seek state funding for a new baseball stadium, a skateboard area at Fairgrounds Park and improvements around the new District Court and the Maryland Theatre. The Hagerstown Mayor and City Council plan to request the money when they meet Thursday with the Washington County delegation to the General Assembly. The Mayor and council also will express to the delegation their support for a proposed Civil War museum and plans to add parking and open space around the planned state university center for downtown.

A proposal for a national Civil War museum in downtown Hagerstown recommends the city build a second parking deck to accommodate visitors, but a majority of City Council members aren't sure the city can afford it. By June 30 the city will have lost more than $4.7 million on its first parking deck, which opened in 1986, and another of similar size could cost up to $6 million, according to the Hagerstown Finance Department. A new parking deck is an "absolute must-have" for the proposed Civil War museum, said Dennis Frye, spokesman for the nonprofit Antietam Creek Coalition that would build and operate the $46 million facility.

Hagerstown Mayor Robert E. Bruchey II asked city staff Tuesday to check into whether a city business loan fund could be used to help pay for further studies for a Civil War museum. The Antietam Creek Coalition, the nonprofit group proposing a downtown Civil War museum, is seeking $450,000 to launch a fund-raising campaign, cover expenses for applying for an affiliation with the Smithsonian Institution, and complete a traffic impact study and other studies and plans, said coalition Chairman Randy Harper.

The Washington County Commissioners voted 3-2 Tuesday to contribute $37,500 toward a study of a Civil War museum for Hagerstown. [cont. from front page ] The county funds will be combined with $37,500 from the City of Hagerstown to pay for a feasibility study to be completed by the members of the nonprofit group the Antietam Creek Coalition, Inc. Coalition member Dennis E. Frye said the study probably will be completed by early December. The study is expected to look at exactly where a Civil War museum should go, how much it may cost, and how it would be funded.

War museum ad nauseum Well, another day, another Civil War museum, this one in Gettysburg. Joining, if memory serves, Richmond, Hagerstown, Harrisburg and for all I know, that hotbed of Civil War activity, Altoona. Pretty soon, I predict, we'll see a sign proudly proclaiming "Welcome to Paw Paw: Home of the Only Town on the East Coast Without a Civil War Museum. " If this trend continues, we're going to reach a point where somebody has to start printing up artifacts.

Maryland's awash in cash, but county comes up dry At least the suspense is over with early. Just three weeks into the General Assembly's 2001 session and three of Washington County's biggest project proposals are toast. When Gov. Parris Glendening handed down the state's operating and capital budgets there was nothing for runway extension at the Hagerstown airport, nothing for the proposed Civil War museum and nothing for the downtown parking/open space project that would complement the planned university campus.

Mayor Robert E. Bruchey II touched on several accomplishments and upcoming projects involving city government during Tuesday's State of the City address. - The city kicked off a corporate sponsorship project in 1999 to help fund Fairgrounds Park. Citicorp Credit Services Inc. donated $100,000 toward a $350,000 center pavilion to be built at the park. It will house concessions and restrooms. Construction is to begin in July and be done by the end of summer. - The Hagerstown Fire Department was a national winner of the 1999 Lowe's Heroes program for visiting 3,670 homes in June and educating the public about safe cooking.

The county reviews its progress Last week the Washington County Commissioners looked back at a list of goals they approved three years ago. Some bright spots were unexpected, but a review shows that overall, progress is being made at a pace that's slower than many would like. But who would have thought that sewer issues, which bedeviled the previous county board - and probably cost some their seats - would have moved along so well? The county has cut operating costs, obtained a state law to help pay down the debt and should soon sign a new joint pact with the City of Hagerstown.

Museum supporters disappointed By LAURA ERNDE / Staff Writer ANNAPOLIS - Gov. Parris Glendening said Tuesday he'll consider funding a Civil War Museum in Hagerstown if project supporters line up federal and private sources of funding. But museum supporters say they'll keep trying to convince the governor that Maryland needs to offer its commitment first. Glendening did not include the museum's $3 million request in his proposed fiscal 2002 capital budget.