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Residents urge city to preserve Locomotive 202 and raise public-safety concerns during public comment
Summary
Residents and nonprofit advocates urged the council to keep Locomotive 202 in Hagerstown and sought restoration quotes; other public commenters raised concerns about retail sales of drug paraphernalia and a proposed license-plate reader partnership.
During the general public comment period on May 27, several residents and nonprofit representatives urged the Mayor and City Council to preserve and restore Locomotive 202 at the City Park train hub and asked for city support in obtaining restoration quotes.
Karen Swappert, representing the Hub City chapter of the National Railway Historical Society, said the chapter is now incorporated as a nonprofit and requested the council help obtain restoration quotes so the group can make a case to keep Locomotive 202 in Hagerstown. Swappert said the nonprofit is partnering with Parks and Recreation for living-historian events and youth tours. Volunteer organizer Scott Churchill said community events using the locomotive drew more than 100 families and that volunteers currently maintain the area.
In separate public comments, Alva Moses reported that items commonly used for drug use — glass roses, metal screens, nitrous-oxide canisters known as “whip-its” — are being openly sold in local convenience stores such as Melody’s and Penny Mart. Moses cited Maryland criminal law 5-619 (sale of drug paraphernalia when seller knows or should reasonably know of illicit use) and asked the council to partner with the city to ensure stores are not enabling misuse.
The council read into the record an email from Ken Butler of Radio Free Hub City urging the council to reconsider any partnership with Flock Safety, the license-plate reader vendor, and to invest in “evidence based community driven safety alternatives.” The email asked the council to weigh civil‑liberties concerns.
Bill Johns urged expanded tools for police and collaborative programs with the county for diversion, recovery services, supervised housing and daytime workforce opportunities for vulnerable populations. Johns asked the council to consider peer recovery specialists and joint efforts with nonprofits to address trash removal and other service gaps.
Council members acknowledged the comments and several thanked speakers for their advocacy. No formal council action on Locomotive 202, store sales, or license‑plate readers was taken at the meeting; some agenda items related to grants and heritage programming were approved elsewhere on the consent agenda.
