Remaining Frostburg pandemic relief funds set to expire

Nov. 14—FROSTBURG — In 2021, Frostburg received $8.3 million in COVID-19 relief package funding from the federal government, with a deadline to spend it Dec. 31.

Following the economic downturn that was a result of the pandemic, several towns and cities across the Unites States were awarded the funding.

As the deadline looms, Frostburg's mayor and City Council discussed several projects during a Tuesday work session that will use the remaining $259,000 that would be nullified next year if left untouched.

The city focused on several short-term improvements.

According to City Administrator Elizabeth Stahlman, some of the projects include a new street lighting control box, community center masonry, sidewalk repairs and an electronic sign to be installed outside the Frostburg Fire Department.

The officials also discussed some priority improvements that would allow the funding to be used quickly before the approaching deadline.

One such improvement would include finishing the sidewalk adjacent to the Frostburg Armory, which, according to Director of Public Works Hayden Lindsey, has an "85-foot chunk missing."

"It would be good for the kids, the village and the armory," Lindsey said. The project would take about three days to complete, and would have a "big cost-to-benefit" ratio, according to Lindsey.

The mayor and council will decide whether to go forward with the project during a public meeting Tuesday.

Other purchases using the remaining funds could include a new police vehicle and a new leak detection system for water service in the city, among other "quick" and smaller projects led by the city's Public Works Department.

In total, the city has plans for $242,000 of remaining funds and will decide on the remaining $17,000 in the coming weeks.