October 24 – Hagerstown Mayor and Council will meet tonight at 7 p.m. in Council Chambers at 1 E. Franklin Street, where the mic will be open for public comment and decisions will be made.
With the resignation of Bob Bruchey a few weeks ago, tonight should be interesting.
Wes Decker, Communications Officer with the City of Hagerstown, said, “I had a chance to talk to Councilmember Schindler about that a little bit on Saturday. He wasn’t exactly giving anything away. So we’ll see how all this plays out. I don’t think that council will actually get together and make a decision on that until probably the first meeting in November. So until then I guess we’ll be in suspense as to whether there will be a fifth council member, if they’ll fill that seat or if they’ll continue to go forward with four.”
Some award winners will be present tonight for the Chalk the Walk Poster contest.
Decker said, “That was a Hagerstown Police Department initiative, having to do with gang awareness, and that took place back in September. We’ll have six of those winners on hand tonight from the elementary, middle and high school age groups, and each of those winners will receive a new bicycle for their efforts there.”
There are 22 items on the consent agenda, with one item under unfinished business and 21 items under new business.
One new business item would be the vote on the contractor for the Hagerstown Fieldhouse, which would be Waynesboro Construction.
Decker said, “They were the lowest bidder and also scored the highest in terms of the metrics as related to those who placed bids. There were nine bids all together. They were the lowest right around $19 million. It looks like this is a project that is just under $25 million. Originally when it was talked about, it was right around 21, 22 million. Certainly things have gone up since then. But I think those projections are pretty much in line with what was expected.”
An alley between Washington Street and Antietam Street will be renamed after a beloved resident.
Decker said, “Charlie Sekula, who for a long time was a business owner in downtown Hagerstown, owned the Schmankerl Stube restaurant, and was a big supporter of the city. He had a vision for the city long before anyone else here did and as a business owner, a lot of thanks, a lot of kudos go to him, certainly. He was the one who was the impetus behind the Augustoberfest. There will be a ceremonial renaming of an alley or actually a supplemental name tag that will go along with Renaissance Way in Hagerstown, which is down by the A&E parking deck. Charlie passed away not too long ago, but posthumously, that alley will be named in his honor.”
Citizens can attend the meeting in person or view it on the city’s Facebook page or YouTube channel.
For tonight’s agenda, click here: https://hagerstown.novusagenda.com/agendapublic/MeetingView.aspx?MeetingID=1225&MinutesMeetingID=-1&doctype=Agenda
