Taneytown moves to an "affiliate" Main Street status; ad hoc committee and funding plan to be developed

The council discussed Taneytown’s Main Street designation and next steps for advancing a local program with the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD). City officials said they elected to pursue an "affiliate" designation (referred to as "aspiring"/"affiliate" in the discussion) to allow time to build program capacity over two years.

Economic Development Director Bob Jones and other staff are preparing an ad hoc Main Street committee to pilot the program before asking the council to adopt a permanent framework. "It is going to be we're looking at first establishing it as an ad hoc committee, and we're gonna present the framework of what that looks like to council, but we're not gonna ask for an adoption on that framework," an official said.

Staff said DHCD expects, at higher designation levels, a Main Street manager workweek of 35 hours dedicated to the program; the town would lose a roughly $25,000 annual grant tied to a higher designation until it reaches that status. The administration said the typical funding model discussed with DHCD would be roughly one-third city funding, one-third private-sector partnership/donations, and one-third fundraising.

Council designated Councilmember McCarron as the liaison for the town’s 250th-anniversary planning and asked him to coordinate with the History Museum, American Legion and civic organizations on events and a draft budget. Staff said that budget would likely be presented as a budget amendment for public review.

Officials said the intent is to pilot the Main Street committee and develop governance and funding mechanisms before committing city funds or creating permanent staff positions. They noted a potential long-term option where the program could be managed by an NGO or chamber with a formal agreement, but the city would remain ultimately responsible in its agreement with DHCD.