CUMBERLAND — Despite being warned by residents of gambling with taxpayer funds, Allegany County officials voted to sign agreements with a national developer.
Thursday, Commissioners Bill Atkinson, Creade Brodie and Dave Caporale approved transfer of 11.87 acres to D.R. Horton, Inc.
The transaction is pursuant to terms of a land development agreement the commissioners also passed.
The land is at the former Allegany High School site — on Sedgwick Street in Cumberland — that was transferred from the local public school system to the county in 2019.
“Horton is proposing to develop 65 market-rate affordable homes and the county has completed some infrastructure work there as part of that development,” Allegany County T. Lee Beeman said.
County commissioners in September 2023 selected Horton to develop the site. Since then, area residents have expressed concerns over that choice.
“A number of questions I think still remain,” Cumberland resident Gary Werkheiser said Thursday.
Given the passage of three years since the county chose Horton, he asked “Why not either start the process over with (a request for proposal) or talk to other builders who may be interested?”
The county has made a significant investment in the property, Werkheiser said and added he has a background in commercial real estate.
“There’s questions whether Horton will actually deliver,” he said. “There’s a lot of outs for Horton in that agreement.”
Werkheiser asked the commissioners to facilitate a public presentation of the development plan by Horton.
“This is a big deal for us, maybe not for them, they’re a big company,” he said.
Frostburg resident and county commissioner candidate Kit Pepper Lescallette said Thursday marked the fourth time the Horton agreement has appeared on the commissioners’ meeting agenda.
“Just before the June primary (election) the public was told that this project had been approved by D.R. Horton and signed, but the document before you today shows that was not a final binding agreement,” she said. “Once again the county is being asked to commit itself before D.R. Horton has fully committed itself.”
Under the agreement, the county risks millions of dollars while Horton remains more protected, and prices for the houses are unknown, Lescallette said.
“There’s been no conversation,” she said. “I’ve been to every county meeting (and) I’ve heard no discussion from any of you.”
After Lescallette’s comments, Caporale asked Brodie and Atkinson if they wanted to discuss the issue. They did not, and unanimously voted to approve the property transfer.
Land development agreement
Allegany County Economic and Community Development Department Director Jeffrey Barclay introduced the land development agreement between Horton and the county.
Provisions in the agreement include that the county will provide significant investment in infrastructure for the project, and use federal, state and local funding to pay for development of the site.
“You have a national builder that’s on board to start these homes,” he said. “I think we all would like to take a shot at them you know performing here … and seeing what the demand is.”
The relationship between the county and Horton is “inherently going to be stacked in the favor of the builder. That’s just what happens,” Barclay said.
“At the end of the day (if) the agreement is null and void, then we can pick it up and go through the RFP process again and see who is interested,” he said and added that the county hasn’t worked with a company to build a housing development in six decades. “We’ve been working on this for three years.”
Lescallette said the contract lacks crucial stipulations, including a starting date for the developer.
“Horton is not giving us anything for the property … or a promise of affordability,” she said.
Werkheiser said the agreement is “extremely one sided” and multiple revisions to the document have favored Horton.
“We’re talking about a substantial amount of money that’s been spent on this project already without an agreement,” he said. “You’re taking a chance with taxpayers’ money.”