Hagerstown officials address questions about new ballpark, parking, crime and development

During their recent State of the City presentation, Hagerstown officials discussed benefits and concerns with the upcoming opening of a new downtown ballpark as well as issues developers of smaller projects are facing.

The Washington County Chamber of Commerce hosted the State of the City on Tuesday morning in The Maryland Theatre ballroom. About 200 people attended the event, sponsored by Wright-Gardner Insurance.

Parking in downtown Hagerstown was one of the issues city officials were asked about during a question-and-answer session following an approximately 20-minute video about the city and various projects.

Councilman Matthew Schindler addressed the perception about the lack of parking downtown. When people go to any big city, he said, they can't expect to park right in front of the place they are going. People might have to walk a block or so to their destination, but there's plenty of parking downtown.

The third deck being built, known as the Hub City Garage, is a long time coming, he said.

City Engineer Jim Bender later told The Herald-Mail that the parking deck, under construction next to Washington County District Court on West Antietam Street, will probably be ready by the end of June. The best-case scenario, he estimated, would be mid-June.

That means the new ballpark would open about six weeks before the new and closest parking deck opens.

The Hagerstown Multi-Use Sports and Events Facility, being built along West Baltimore Street and Summit Avenue, "is still tracking for early May," according to an email from Rachelina Bonacci, spokesperson for the Maryland Stadium Authority.

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The city is not building the ballpark.

The stadium authority will turn over ownership of the facility to the Hagerstown Multi–Use Sports and Events Facility LLC, a nonprofit that the Hagerstown-Washington County Industrial Foundation, also known as CHIEF, created, Greg Snook said late last year. Snook is president and CEO of both CHIEF and the LLC.

Downtown Baseball LLC, which owns the Hagerstown Flying Boxcars, would lease the facility.

The Boxcars, a new team with the independent Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, has its inaugural home opener scheduled for May 3.

The team recently announced a naming rights deal with Meritus Health, calling the ballpark Meritus Park.

The Boxcars' website highlights other parking options downtown, including the city's other two parking decks and Central Lot off North Potomac Street, Bender said.

There have been concerns from residents, businesses and other organizations in the neighborhood about possible parking issues. Bender said in a phone interview that city officials have ideas about how to deal with people parking in areas they're not supposed to, but they are waiting to see where parking problems arise once the ballpark opens.

Transparency regarding property conditions

When a question was raised about developers of smaller projects running into expensive issues, one of the responses dealt with transparency about property conditions when a site is sold.

Councilman Kristin Aleshire said there have been some "bad actors" who didn't maintain their properties. Such a property gets sold to someone who wants to make an investment, and that person discovers a "host of issues."

Sometimes the buyer isn't made aware of those issues through the transfer process, he said.

Asked about this after the presentation, Planning and Code Administration Director Kathy Maher said prospective buyers can file a Public Information Act request with the city to learn about a property's open permits and violations.

Some people already do that, she said. Filing such a request can help prevent a "bad surprise," she said.

The types of properties where city officials typically see such issues come up are older residential properties that have an apartment or a few apartments, Maher said.

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Safety around the new ballpark

City officials also were asked about the perception of safety with the ballpark opening downtown.

The City Council approved purchases to expand and maintain the city's surveillance camera system during a special voting session later that day. This includes cameras to be installed near the new ballpark as well as along part of the Hagerstown Cultural Trail being rebuilt, according to an online video of the meeting. These include 360-degree cameras to go near the ballpark, Hagerstown Police Chief Paul Kifer told The Herald-Mail in a phone interview.

Those cameras will add to the almost 500 surveillance cameras the city already has.

Kifer told The Herald-Mail he doesn't have concerns about the stadium opening.

Once "legitimate activity" is added in an area you don't have more crime; you have less, he said.

"Fear comes from walking down the street at night when nothing is open and few people are walking around," Kifer said.

Criminals don't want to go to vibrant, active areas because it's too easy to get caught and be seen, he said.

"The reality is we don't have a lot of crime downtown," Kifer said. There are minor crimes of opportunity, such as vagrancy, unlocked cars, and social issues, he said.

What's happening with the former Herald-Mail building?

The $1.8 million sale of the former Herald-Mail building, between the new downtown Hagerstown ballpark and new parking deck being built, was completed earlier this year, according to the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation's website.

2023 Summit LLC, the entity created for the sole purpose of buying the building, includes Howard "Blackie" Bowen, Don Bowman, CPH LLC and Frank Boulton, according to an email from Linda Ebersole, an owner representative with the Flying Boxcars baseball team.

Bowen, Bowman and Boulton — along with James Holzapfel — are the group that owns the Flying Boxcars.

2023 Summit "is exploring possible uses for the building, whether it be sale or lease. Ownership is confident that the building — located in a prime location right next to the new ballpark — can be repurposed to add value to the Downtown area," Ebersole wrote.

The ownership group is among some local businesses in the downtown area who are permitting Hagerstown Police to use some of their space, for free, Hagerstown Police Chief Paul Kifer said. The free office space gives officers a place to write reports without having to run back to police headquarters, he said.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Hagerstown State of City event addresses new ballpark, parking, crime