The Chestertown Council voted again to restrict the $200,000 gift that Washington College committed to the town to acquire the Sgt. John H. Newnam Armory for construction projects related to Rail-Trails. The motion introduced by Councilman James Gatto passed 4-1 at Monday’s council meeting.
How to use the gift has been an ongoing debate — with Town Manager Bill Ingersoll and Mayor Margo Bailey on one side — and a majority of the council on the other, even before armory was turned over to the college in May.
The vote marks a third time in a year that the council voted to make clear its decision to restrict the WC funds to Rail-Trails — and comes after $25,000 from the fund was allocated to match a National Endowment for the Arts grant, without the knowledge of at least three council members, said the three council members, James Gatto, Marty Stetson, and Linda Kuiper.
Washington College acquired the armory and committed the $200,000 after contentious negotiations in late 2011. Gatto and Stetson have since been staunch advocates of dedicating the gift to the town’s Rail-Trails project.
The motion led by Gatto in his final lame duck council meeting on Monday reversed the $25,000 allocation for the NEA grant. If awarded, the grant would pay for planning a playscape at Wilmer Park. The council passed motions on Dec. 17, 2012, and again on Jan. 7, to match the NEA grant from the general fund.
Leading up to their third vote on the matter on Monday, the three council members insisted they had no recollection of approving the NEA match during the budget workshops in April and May, yet they do admit signing the final budget resolution for fiscal 2014.
“I don’t remember the $200,000 from Washington College ever being touched for anything but Rails to Trails during the budget workshops,” said Linda Kuiper in a brief phone call with the Spy on Tuesday. She also said before Monday’s meeting that she had no idea the NEA match was coming from the WC fund.
“I assumed the $200,000 was untouched,” said Gatto in an earlier interview with the Spy on Dec. 3. “If it had come up I would have said ‘hell no’ because the money was designed to be for Rails Trails or other capital projects to benefit the people of Chestertown. It was not for planning funds and not for engineering funds.”
The council also voted unanimously on Jan. 21 to present the WC funds as a separate line item in the budget at each council meeting – indicating any expenditures allocated from the WC funds.
But the WC fund balance has been presented as $200,000 cash on hand since the Jan. 21 meeting — without any reference to the $25,000 match for the NEA grant.
Ingersoll insisted the NEA match was approved in the budget workshops and quoted Gatto from the minutes of the May 17 budget workshop as proof.
“Okay, make it known right now. That the first priority here is the rails to trails, the two hundred thousand,” Gatto said at the May 17 meeting. “Anything left over…would go for the NEA project or we budget it separately because the Rails to Trails is the key item.”
But Gatto countered Ingersoll with a quote from Mayor Margo Bailey from the April 1 budget workshop when Kuiper asked if there had been a decision to match the NEA grant against WC funds.
“No, we’re going to take it from our regular funds,” Bailey replied at the April 1 meeting.
Ingersoll countered again with a quote from Bailey at the Dec. 17, 2012 meeting when the NEA grant was first announced.
“Mayor Bailey stated that she hoped to use some of the donation from Washington College for the armory to help fund the next step in the playscape project.”
But what Ingersoll didn’t read from the same minutes, three paragraphs down, was a 4-1 motion that passed to match the NEA grant from “other areas.”
“Mr. Gatto moved to apply for a $25,000.00 grant to the NEA in the name of the Town of Chestertown finding matching funding sources from other areas, was seconded by Mrs. Mumford-Pautz and carried with four (4) in favor, Mr. Stetson opposed.”
In attempt to put that matter to rest, Gatto apologized for any misunderstandings and moved to amend the budget.
He said he’s been “opposed from day-one” to use the WC funds for the NEA grant.
“If it got passed me I apologize, but I want to correct it now,” Gatto said.
Gatto told the Spy on Tuesday that his comment cited by Ingersoll from the May 17 meeting did not constitute an approval from him to match the NEA grant with the WC funds “any time soon.”
“I would have agreed to it only if there was money left over after Rail-Trails was completed,” Gatto said. He said completion of Rails-Trails was “a long ways off.”
Video: The council and Ingersoll debate how the NEA match was handled.
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