(7/15) During the most recent Main Street Advisory Board meeting, Board Manager Jay Meashey, introduced the Consolidated Building Improvement Program (CBIP), which according to Meashey is actually two grant programs rolled into one. "Instead of maintaining the old façade grant and starting a new interior commercial one, I just rolled both concepts into one program."
The program’s purpose is to promote revitalization and adaptive reuse of existing buildings within the City of Taneytown’s Sustainable Community geography, as designated by the Maryland Department of Housing & Community Development (DHCD).
The program is an offshoot of the City’s previously underutilized but similar "fa
ade improvement program."
The funding for the program was awarded by the State’s Community Legacy Grant Program. Grants will be available to any business or homeowner within the Sustainable Community area – which includes much of the City that was in existence before 1990.
The City will distribute a total sum of $50,000, according to Meashey, who is also Taneytown's economic development director. There may be an additional $14,000 if a previous awardee from last year does not complete their project.
All projects approved for funding must be reviewed by the Maryland Historic Trust before any work can begin on the project. The applicants must follow the guidelines outlined by the historical trust. An example is if the building has wooden window frames that need to be replaced, they cannot be replaced with any material other than wood.
The applications will be reviewed by a three-person committee comprised of Meashey, Vicki Grinder - Thurmont's Main Street Manager, and the City of Westminster's economic development coordinator. Per the City’s requirements, two of the reviewers must be unaffiliated with the City of Taneytown and no one may have a financial interest in any property in the Sustainable Community district.
The decision to have outside representatives review the grant application ensures that there will be no issues of apparent conflict of interest that occur, like in a similar program in Emmitsburg where a board, appointed by then-Mayor Don Briggs, awarded Briggs a grant for $25,000 to fix the roof on his personal home.
The grants awarded, according to Meashey, will be awarded to projects that best adhere to the City’s economic development priorities, which include putting vacant commercial spaces into use, improving the commercial usability of underutilized commercial spaces, encouraging food and beverage and certain cosmetology businesses, and improving the curb appeal of both commercial and residential buildings.
The projects must be completed by June 30, 2025, and once finished, the applicants can then file a "request for payment" to the City to be reimbursed, up to 50% on exterior renovations and 75% for interior renovations.
At the July Council meeting, Councilman Christopher Tillman commented that the program was only briefly mentioned at the June meeting and was not promoted much after.
Although the details for the program were posted on the City’s website, residents and Council members voiced concerns over the short application window, which closed on July 5th. Council members asked that more effort be placed in distributing information about programs like the CBIP to property owners so they could take advantage of the grant money.
