CUMBERLAND — City officials at an upcoming meeting are expected to approve the county’s request for $200,000 to help complete the second phase of the Willowbrook Outdoor Wellness Park.
The WOW recreational complex is owned by Allegany County, adjacent to Allegany College of Maryland and within Cumberland city limits.
At a work session Tuesday, Cumberland Administrator Jeff Silka said he and Administrative Services Director Ken Tressler recently met with Allegany County officials to discuss Phase 2 of the project, which will include “an artificial turf field, two grass fields and some parking.”
The county wants a formal commitment from the city, Silka said.
“They don’t need money right now,” he said and added that as the project progresses, the county would redeem the city’s promise for the funding.
“It’s definitely an asset to the community,” Silka said and emphasized the city would maintain a level of control. “As we’re a stakeholder in it, we’ll be able to have some say.”
When not reserved, the facility will allow for public access, he said.
Funding for the first phase of the project, completed last year, came from sources that included Maryland’s Program Open Space, which provides financial and technical assistance to local subdivisions for acquisition, planning and development of recreational areas.
That work included construction of an entrance road, outdoor classroom pavilion, roughly 3,000 feet of walking trail and a fitness court.
“Our main goal … would be to have a facility that can be used for outdoor recreation, to have a competitive playing surface for soccer from peewee age all the way up through a collegiate level,” Allegany County engineer Dan DeWitt said in December.
ACM donated land to the county for the project, which allowed the county to leverage roughly $1 million for construction.
By the end of last year, the county had raised just over $1.2 million of a $1.8 million 100% matching grant through the Maryland Park Service.
In other city business, the mayor and council:
• Met privately Tuesday to get legal advice regarding 19 Frederick St. In 2023, city officials agreed to sell the building to Clock Tower Ventures of Hagerstown.
• Authorized requests to the Maryland Municipal League for statewide rules regarding electric bicycles and scooters, and for local governments that provide non-insurance based benefits to be exempt from the Family and Medical Leave Insurance program.
• Authorized $80,000 each for four companies to provide meter setters, meter boxes and frost free lids.