by Geoff Fox
Town Manager Mike Faith told town officials Greenwill Consulting recently secured three grants totaling $475,000 for the Town of Hancock from state agencies.
All three grants were approved, Faith said. The three grants were considered bond bills that were brought before Maryland legislators.
The money for the projects the grants represent is already in the town’s account and ready to be drawn from.
The first grant Faith mentioned was a $100,000 grant to replace some of the light poles on Main Street and add a few others.
One idea Faith had was to add light poles around the splash pad in Widmeyer Park, which would give more places to hang veteran banners.
Lanehart said the idea would be to have permanent banners on light poles outside the splash pad for the Fulton family as a reminder of the donations Stanley Fulton had made.
The light poles on Main Street are structurally in good shape, but Faith floated the idea of taking those down and having them power coated and repainted, possibly a different color.
Faith said he’d get pricing for the poles.
That grant was from 2023 and a capital grant called Hancock Downtown Beautification project. It was approved through the State of Maryland Board of Public Works, Faith said.
The second grant, for another $75,000, would go toward helping with the blighted properties along Main Street.
There is a discretion there for how the money to use how town officials sees fit.
The grant was for the Hancock Downtown Revitalization project and sponsored by Sen. Mike McKay and Del. Terry Baker.
According to the bond initiative fact sheet, the purpose of the bond was for the acquisition, planning, design, construction, repair, renovation, reconstruction, site improvement, and capital equipping of the downtown area of Hancock.
The third was $300,000 allotted for Town Hall, which the town has already had work done on the roof.
Gutters to keep the water away from the building still need to be installed, Lanehart added.
Faith said he could submit the invoices from that work so the town can be reimbursed. The work on the elevator should be starting soon, as should the new fire system, and once those invoices are paid, they can be submitted as well.
The contract for the fire system has not been put out to bid.