The Howard County Planning Board recommended that the county executive allocate $2 million to the Department of Parks and Recreation to renovate the Belmont Conference Center, despite concern that the measure may not be profitable.
The board was split on its Thursday vote, which allocated $333,000 to plans and engineering, and $1,667,000 to construction.
Parks and Recreation has not spent any money on Belmont so far, and the board said it can?t begin to spend until the center?s profitability is assessed.
“I don?t think every aspect of it has to be self-sustaining, but it shouldn?t be a money pit. You won?t know until you evaluate,” said Linda Dombrowski, a Planning Board member who voted against the recommendation.
Initial estimates show the conference center is making a small profit, not including about $30,000 a year in maintenance and restoration, said Howard County?s director of Parks and Recreation, Gary Arthur.
“We have 73 parks in Howard County, and none of them are self-sustaining. Why would we want to put this criteria on any park? We would certainly try to make this self-sustainable, but Belmont is going to lose money sometimes,” Arthur said.
He said that so far, there is no definite plan for the renovation. If the building is deemed unprofitable, Parks and Recreation will look into additional revenue prospects, like additions to existing buildings and picnic areas.
“We want to do our homework. We don?t want to throw something out there and automatically start turning people off,” Arthur said.
The Planning Board?s measure was met with a mixture of approval and concern from Belmont advocates. Representatives from the Save Belmont Coalition said they want to protect the building from overexposure to public traffic, and ensure a preservation easement from the Maryland Historical Trust is honored.
“It?s a combination of being afraid for the property and being very hopeful. It?s a very pivotal time,” said Cathy Hudson, chairwoman of the Save Belmont Coalition.
