Sept. 18, 2001
 
 We’ve heard some pretty funny stuff lately. Like, Councilman Butch Hendershot on the radio this week claiming there is a “demand” for new housing in Cumberland, most notably for a 60-unit low income apartment project. How can you have a “demand” for housing when you have a 14% vacancy rate among your housing stock? Does Mr. Hendershot know about that? Or hasn’t he been paying attention?
 
 We also heard the developer of that project - Kevin Bell, of Annapolis - on the radio making strange accusations about some political conspiracy out to ruin him. (What’s the frequency, Kevin?)
 
 Of course, what makes Mr. Bell’s comments so amusing is the fact that if not for politics, he wouldn’t be here. Yeah, like without Cas Taylor in the background yelling “Westward, Ho!”, Mr. Bell would have looked around the state and said, “Hmmm, I think I’ll build a 60-unit apartment project in a town that lost 9% of its population in the last 10 years, and is projected to lose more in the next 10 years. Yeah, that’s the market for me!”
 
 Uh huh.
 
 Let’s see. The city of Cumberland lost 25% of its population since 1970. And over the past 10 years, the city lost an average of 200 people per year. The total number of households in the city declined by 306 between 1990 and 1999, and the number of households is projected to continue that decline through the next 10 years. Yet in spite of these facts, there’s a demand for housing here that is going unmet as we speak.
 
 Exactly who is demanding this housing? Where are these people? If anyone can locate the people calling for new low income housing in Cumberland because they can’t find a place to live, please let us know.
 
 What makes this especially curious is the fact that an independent study of the city’s housing market done for the Cumberland Housing Authority found that it is questionable whether we need any additional low income housing here, period. The only group where a need may exist is among the lowest income group on the economic scale, those making 30% of the area’s median income. The median income in Allegany County is about $16,400. Those in the 30% range are families making about $5,000 per year.
 
 Is that who this property is for? If so, why is Kevin Bell claiming that it isn’t really low income housing? (Even though he’s using low income housing construction programs to fund it - go figure.)
 
 We don’t get it. What IS the deal with this project? Who IS going to live in it when it’s built?
 
 Councilman Butch Hendershot - in a ridiculous effort to justify his support of the project - said it was going to be so nice HE would live there.
 
 Yeah, like that's going to happen.
 
 Mr. Hendershot, now that we think about it, seems a little confused on a number of fronts - he told a group of people from the affected neighborhood, for instance, that there is no such thing as “Section 8 housing.”
 
 That isn’t correct. While entire buildings do not have to be dedicated to Section 8 housing, it is illegal for developers using low income housing credits to discriminate against families or individuals with Section 8 vouchers.
 
 Shouldn’t our elected officials have accurate information before they vote on something?