Based upon comments heard at the August meeting, an updated working document of the SOP was presented by town staff to establish rules and procedures for the Community Legacy Grant Program, but Boehman said that her review of the revised SOP found that it still did not address long-standing major issues related to the program, especially the need to address the difference between routine home maintenance items, which Boehman said the Town should not be paying for, and true ‘façade improvements.’

Council President Tim O’Donnell pushed back against Boehman’s stance on the Town paying for routine exterior home maintenance, like painting, stating that the original purpose of the program was to enhance Main Street and therefore supportive of paying for routine exterior home maintenance, but not paying for exterior home maintenance in any of the developments.

O’Donnell said that paying for exterior maintenance of homes within the Town’s Sustainable Community Area (i.e. Main Street) would have a "ripple effect throughout the whole town." O’Donnell reasoned the value of routine maintenance was a way to preserve and stabilize a property.

Town Manager Cathy Willets said that going forward the SCWG will prioritize property projects in the sustainable community area that require aesthetic improvements that might be taking away from the beauty of the Town. Many projects in the past have been painting jobs that have "transitioned that piece of property from dull to vibrant and enticing," she said.

Updates that were made to the SOP included renaming the Legacy Grant the Emmitsburg Façade Restoration Program, to be more specific; requiring Town Council to approve all appointments to the SCWG; the addition of a section detailing steps to ensure grant approval transparency to include the amount of funds awarded and property locations.

However, Commissioner Joe Ritz said that the transparency requirements did not go far enough and that "the grant applications and funding awarded should be made public. This is a state program, the monies come from the residents of Maryland into the program to benefit communities that do this. Taxpayers should be able to see how the money is being allocated, and for what it is being used for."

Willets said, however, that she was against releasing the grant applications for pubic review for fear of releasing personal information. But when pressed by Boehman on what specific personal information she was concerned about releasing, she was unable to indentify an example.

Willets said that the public could obtain information on grant applications by attending the SCWG meeting. But Ritz pushed back on that suggestion, noting that the SCWG meeting is not well publicized, not recorded, and held at a time most people cannot attend, and therefore pressed for releasing grant applications prior to the awarding of grants.

Town staff are expected to review additional council comments and present another revision at the Council’s October meeting.