Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Hotel Motel Funding topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council keeps hotel‑motel allocation for Frostburg First, asks group to meet with commissioners
Summary
Councilors agreed to leave a planned hotel‑motel tax appropriation in the budget, add $1,500 to a separate MCCA request, and requested a meeting with Frostburg First leadership after several business owners raised concerns about the organization's downtown focus and availability.
The Frostburg City Council voted to leave the proposed hotel‑motel tax appropriation for Frostburg First in the budget but asked the organization to meet with councilors to address downtown business concerns.
During a discussion that followed a staff presentation of Frostburg First’s latest financials, several commissioners and business‑owner speakers raised concerns that the nonprofit’s programming focuses on City Place and is not sufficiently supporting downtown Main Street. A council‑appointed board liaison, Bethany, described Frostburg First as a downtown main‑street‑type organization that brings visitors to the town and offered to help facilitate remedial conversations.
Staff summarized Frostburg First’s current fiscal picture: net revenue shown around $53,000, gross receipts roughly $312,862, expenditures about $258,000, and grant revenue for the current year totaling about $55,242.50 across several grant programs. Councilors noted the city currently provides periodic hotel‑motel funding (the transcript indicates prior awards of about $15,000 in the current fiscal year) and that the city, Frostburg First, and the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development previously signed a memorandum of understanding committing some financial support from the city.
After discussion, the council agreed to keep the appropriation in the budget and to add $1,500 for the MCCA request to this budget ordinance. Commissioners also asked staff to schedule a meeting with Frostburg First leader Deirdre (and, if she wishes, a board member) as soon as she is available after Bethany returns; the goal is to discuss availability, board composition and downtown engagement before the council completes action on hotel‑motel allocations next week.
Ending: Councilors said they were willing to maintain funding now but that continued payment will be revisited if the meeting does not address the reported concerns.
