Feb. 17—CUMBERLAND — The Canal Place Preservation and Development Authority voted Friday to oppose a state Senate bill that would divide management of the tourist attraction’s assets and dissolve the current board.

Some of the nine-members of the Canal Place Preservation and Development Authority also agreed to testify against the bill in Annapolis.

Board member Jeremy Bender voted against sending the letter, saying that the board has not requested a meeting with Sen. Mike McKay, the bill’s author, to discuss any questions they have about the legislation.

The vote took place at a special session of the Canal Place board held via Zoom on Friday.

“For the record, we were not involved or consulted in the crafting of the legislation,” said Janice Keene, chair of the Canal Place board, when describing the bill.

“I’m voting no because we don’t know a lot of stuff and I think we could probably find those answers if we actually asked,” Bender said.

McKay announced the Senate Bill 1070 earlier this month. It would seek to address challenges with Canal Place that date back many years and have changed over time.

Situated in Cumberland and established in 1993, Canal Place is one of Maryland’s 13 heritage areas containing a unique blend of state- and federally-owned assets. The 11-acre tract includes the Western Maryland Railway Station, festival grounds, Footer’s Dye Works Building, Shops at Canal Place and land where the Fairfield Inn & Suites is situated.

The water basin and a stretch of unfinished canal, as well as the towpath, are part of the federal C&O Canal National Historic Park.

Canal Place struggled for years to develop an income stream and has been assisted by state funding. In recent years, in addition to state grant support, income has been generated by land leases with the Footer’s Dye Works Building and the the Fairfield Inn & Suites as well as rent from Canal Place shops.

Local lawmakers have been exploring ways to divide the assets. A task force that studied Canal Place in recent years decided that trying to sell the intertwined properties would be a challenge given the entanglement of structures, grounds, service roads, bridges and trails.

McKay’s bill would restructure the menagerie of assets currently managed by the Canal Place board, essentially decoupling the heritage area responsibilities from the management of the Canal Place properties.

McKay said earlier this month that a restructure would be a more feasible approach.

According to the bill, the current Preservation Authority would be replaced with a three-member board consisting of an Allegany County commissioner, the mayor of Cumberland and a member of the Western Maryland legislative delegation.

Current paid staff managing Canal Place would be assigned to focus on the operations of the heritage area — Passages of the Western Potomac.

The bill would encourage memorandums of understanding for the purpose of management and possible spinning off of the assets. The railway station as well as the Footer’s Dye Works property and Fairfield Inn land would be managed by Maryland’s Department of General Services.

The shops at Canal Place would be managed by the Cumberland Economic Development Corp. The festival grounds will be overseen by the city of Cumberland.

Plans developed for the proposed $30 million River Park behind Canal Place on the Potomac River would be assigned to the Allegany County Board of Commissioners.

McKay said the restructuring would bring Canal Place in line with the other heritage areas across the state.

Objections from Canal Place board members included claims the bill is unclear on what entity would manage the heritage area. Those opposed also said the bill doesn’t define grant arrangements and would fundamentally alter the role of its stakeholders.

After Friday’s meeting, McKay said he asked for feedback via email but was not contacted formally by the Canal Place board.

“It would be nice if people would ask for me to come in and answer some of the questions they may have,” McKay said. “As a legislator, we hear from the sponsor on the need for the bill and then we take questions. It’s hard to answer questions when they don’t come and ask me.”

Greg Larry is a reporter at the Cumberland Times-News. To reach him, call 304-639-4951, email glarry@times-news.com and follow him on Twitter @GregLarryCTN.