Westminster Common Council has agreed to request state funds for lead-paint abatement, which would pay to replace deteriorated wood windows at the former West End School.
The building is being renovated for an adult day-care facility and apartments for the elderly, and is expected to open in the summer.
The exterior of the turn-of-the-century building, on Schoolhouse Avenue off Pennsylvania Avenue near Western Maryland College, is to be preserved, and new windows have been approved by the Maryland Historical Trust, said Karen K. Blandford, the city administrator of housing and community development.
"The renovation is moving along, but as always with old buildings, there are obstacles. This one is lead paint," Blandford said.
Most of the expected $45,625 grant from the state Department of Housing and Community Development will pay for new energy-efficient windows -- 33 metal and 26 wood, said Thomas B. Beyard, city director of planning and public works.
The process of removing the lead paint would have destroyed the original wooden windows, which had deteriorated.
Plans for the building include an adult day-care facility on the first floor and eight assisted-living housing units for the elderly on the second floor, to be run by Family and Children's Services of Central Maryland, a social service agency. It will enable the agency to double the adult day-care capacity from 20 to 40 participants a day.
In 1996, Westminster received a $466,650 grant to convert the old school -- money from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Small Cities Community Development Block Grant Program, which is awarded by the state on a competitive basis.
Fire
Reese: Firefighters responded at 2: 51 p.m. Tuesday to a wash detail at Route 140 and Sandymount Road. Units were out 13 minutes.
Police
Westminster: A resident of Fairfield, Pa., told police Tuesday that someone stole tools from a construction site on Malcolm Drive. The loss was estimated at $115.
Pub Date: 2/12/98
