Leftover funds from bond bills are headed toward three projects, the St. Mary’s County commissioners announced at Tuesday’s meeting in Leonardtown.
The $30 million consolidated public improvement bonds were closed in 2022, and identified projects to receive the bond proceeds.
A total of 13 projects did not require the use of a total of $1,524,038, which will now be put toward airport Improvements ($998,588), recreational facilities and park improvements ($394,656) and the repairs and replacements of county bridges ($288,029).
Director of Finance Jeannette Cudmore said the projects had already been completed so “that’s why we can immediately draw it down and zero it out.”
“We’re not budgeting anything new,” Commissioner Eric Colvin (R) said, “We’re just realigning the source of funding.”
Commissioner Mike Hewitt (R) said most of the money for the airport improvements comes from the FAA and asked what was done with the million dollars.
“There are some items that are not covered by the FAA,” Department of Public Works Director Jim Gotsch said, referring to such items as trash removal of debris.
Gotsch added the airport runway project is expected to be completed in the fall.
Commissioners OK land swap
The commissioners also adopted the formal application for the Program Open Space conversion of 2100 Great Mills Road and to submit it to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
The commissioners held a public hearing April 23 on Program Open Space covenants, during which three residents spoke in favor of the plan.
The 5.11 acres of 21100 Great Mills Road where the YMCA is to be built is encumbered by Program Open Space covenants, which are meant to ensure that any property acquired or developed with the funding remains as a recreational use available to the public.
The YMCA is planned to be located on the portion of 21100 Great Mills Road encumbered by these covenants, and upon completion of the new facility the Great Mills pool will be operated by the YMCA.
The property must be converted to a non-Program Open Space property before control of the site can be given to the YMCA.
Because the YMCA is a membership-based organization it cannot be recognized by the Department of Natural Resources as a “public” recreational amenity, as DNR forbids conversion of land acquired or developed through open space funding from conversion to any use other than public recreation.
The 7.34-acre parcel containing the St. Mary’s County Gymnastics Center on Bradley Boulevard and adjacent parcel which was acquired by the commissioners in 2023 appear to satisfy all pertinent eligibility criteria for conversion.
“We are presenting a final version that will be presented to the DNR today,” Deputy County Attorney John Houser said. “At that point it will just be a wait from the state to process.”
Hewitt asked if the value of the swimming pool of the Great Mills property was higher, lower or the same as the property at Willows Road.
“Substantially lower,” Houser said and then added the Bradley Boulevard parcel was appraised at $4.2 million while the pool property was appraised for about $2 million.
Houser said that because of that, “it may not take the state the full four, five months to review this because the reality is the property we are offering is greater in size, greater in value and the variety of services we can offer at the gymnastics center than what we had at the pool.”
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