This website has been archived from TrainWeb.org/roundhouse to TrainWeb.US/roundhouse.
This article was published in the The Hagerstown, Maryland,
Herald Mail May 12, 1998
posted without permission
Hagerstown Roundhouse faces deadline
By JULIE E. GREENE / Staff Writer
If a nonprofit railroad group that wants to restore the ( Former Western Maryland Railway ) Hagerstown Roundhouse does not come up with the money to buy the property by July 3, the roundhouse and other buildings will be demolished,according to the property's owner.
CSX Real Property has given Hagerstown Roundhouse Museum officials until July 3 to get $500,000 to buy the property and to find a government agency to assume legal responsibility for any problems that might arise, Bob Tracey, museum president, said Monday.
If museum officials fail to meet the July 3 deadline, CSX will demolish most of the buildings on the 40-acre site along South Burhans Boulevard, including the historic roundhouse, said CSX Real Property President Stephen Beck.
"To us this is critical. We're in an emergency," Tracey said.
City officials, in particular Fire Chief Gary Hawbaker, have expressed concern in recent months for the safety of firefighters who respond to calls on the deteriorating property.
The dangers involve open pits and buildings in danger of collapsing, Hawbaker said.
"We are very concerned about someone getting hurt there," Beck said. He said it's difficult to keep people out of the area.
Museum volunteers patrol the property to discourage trespassers and vagrants from starting fires, Tracey has said.
Beck said CSX has received a $500,000 bid to clean up the property and a $700,000 bid to raze buildings on the far side of the railroad tracks from the museum.
There are deadlines by which bids received for cleanup and demolition work must be awarded, Beck said.
If the bid deadlines pass, CSX would have to rebid the projects, facing the risk that new bids would come in higher, he said.
CSX has agreed to sell the property to the museum and an as yet undetermined partner for the cost of the cleanup, Beck said. That deal includes the museum and any partner willing to assume legal responsibility for any potential environmental problems or injuries.
City Councilman Lewis C. Metzner said Hagerstown officials could ask the state to help, but he couldn't see the city helping directly with the funding or liability.
"I would not take over an unknown liability without a guaranteed amount of what that liability was," said Metzner, who is an attorney.
"I think the roundhouse is an absolutely marvelous place that would be fantastic to preserve," but the council has to act responsibly for all citizens, he said.
Other council members did not seem to feel the city could provide the needed funds.
Council members Alfred W. Boyer, William M. Breichner and J. Wallace McClure said they didn't know how the city could come up with the money in the face of an upcoming fiscal year in which money is expected to be tight.
Councilwoman Susan Saum-Wicklein said the city doesn't have the money, but could act as a conduit for another funding source.
CSX and museum officials are scheduled to discuss the matter with the mayor and City Council on Tuesday, May 19.
Finding a co-owner to help with liability costs is the top concern, said Blaine Snyder, the museum's board chairman.
Raising $500,000 won't be easy either, museum officials said.
Museum officials plan to hire a fund-raiser, are applying to national philanthropic groups for grants and hope to find a benefactor, they said.
The $500,000 cleanup will involve removing asbestos, overhead hazards, broken glass and contaminated wooden flooring, Snyder said.
Tracey said it's "pretty sad" when no one will step forward to help.
"We've come too far to back out now ... We'll do what we can to hopefully buy some more time from CSX," Tracey said.
-END-
