Councilor Hugh Taylor made the initial motion to deny the requests and Ian Smith seconded it. Councilors Melissa Berke and Gary Beach joined Taylor and Smith in voting against giving the developers the money.
The Friends of Historic Hotel Libby’s Gail Burger, who is renovating the Hotel Libby on California Avenue, and the partnership of Libby Lofts, including Zach and Tracy McNew, who hope to renovate the old high school, were seeking money for their respective projects.