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Hagerstown council approves easement, emergency demolition and $100,000 camera purchase order
Summary
At its Nov. 25 regular session, the Hagerstown mayor and city council approved a package of routine motions including a $20,000 easement purchase, withdrawal from a stalled $75,000 grant, emergency demolition at 525 Frederick St. ($15,000), and a $100,000 blanket purchase order for citywide camera equipment.
Hagerstown's mayor and city council on Nov. 25 approved a series of routine motions, authorizations and introductions that city officials said support ongoing capital projects, public safety and routine administration.
Among the actions the council approved were the formal approval of minutes from October meetings and the consent agenda. The council removed from the table and approved an ordinance authorizing purchase of an easement over a portion of Parcel 973 on Mount Etna Road for $20,000, to be paid from the fund balance reserve.
The council introduced an ordinance to amend City Code Chapter 79 on juvenile curfew — redefining terms, changing hours in effect and modifying the fines schedule — and separately introduced a zoning-map amendment to reclassify roughly 93 acres at 1912 Day Road (the Lorich property) from Commercial General to Neighborhood Mixed Use; both were introduced and seconded for future consideration.
Council approved submitting a FY2027 Program Open Space grant application to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources to fund recreational improvements, requesting $135,000 to replace playground equipment at Rich Avenue Playground and $36,000 to construct a skate-park shade structure.
The council approved revisions to the Invest Hagerstown sign-and-façade grant and a fire-suppression-system grant, allowing staff to make administrative edits with city-administrator approval.
Council voted to withdraw from a $75,000 grant agreement with the Maryland Department of Emergency Management for design of a hydraulic model of part of the city storm-drainage system, with the motion noting that FEMA had not released the funds and there was no indication of release before 2029; staff said the city will reapply if the program reopens.
The body approved exempting a Meredith Park fireworks display scheduled for Dec. 6, 2025 from the city noise ordinance (City Code Chapter 155) and approved the related dates and rain-date procedures.
The council approved a request from Smithsburg for a stream-restoration project on Beaver Creek located on city water-department property at Crystal Falls Drive; the town of Smithsburg will complete the work at no cost to Hagerstown.
An emergency procurement and demolition of a garage structure at 525 Frederick Street — ordered after the structure partially collapsed and was deemed unsafe — was acknowledged as completed by Allegheny Wrecking of Hagerstown at a cost of $15,000, paid from the property abatement account. Council approved acceptance of the emergency procurement retroactively.
Finally, the council approved acceptance of a blanket purchase order for camera equipment in the amount of $100,000 to support maintenance and expansion of the citywide camera system; staff listed potential vendors including Verizon, HCGI, PennNet, Fisher Security and Flock, and said funding will come from the camera capital-improvement program.
The motions were moved and seconded by council members on the floor and passed by voice vote. No roll-call tallies were recorded in the meeting transcript. The council adjourned after brief closing remarks and will next meet for scheduled December sessions.
