June 2 Board of Public Works Meeting: What Counties Need to Know

The Board of Public Works (BPW) considered and approved the following requests and recommendations in its June 2, 2021 meeting. This is not a comprehensive list of all considerations and approvals during the meeting.

  • Allegany
    • A request to enter into a grant agreement for a $500,000 grant to the Mayor and City Council of the City of Cumberland for the acquisition, planning, design, construction, repair, renovation, reconstruction, site improvement, and capital equipping of the Baltimore Street Town Centre. There is no matching fund requirement for this grant (Item 6 of the Department of General Services’ Office of State Procurement Agenda).
  • Anne Arundel
    • A request from the Department of Housing and Community Development for approval to provide a $2,500,000 loan under the Rental Housing Works Program, which finances rental housing to be occupied by individuals with incomes at or below 60% of the area median income. The loan will be made to R.F. Furnace Branch, LLC to assist in the acquisition and rehabilitation of 101 units for senior households, located at 7466 E. Furnace Branch Road, Glen Burnie. The project will offer a mix of affordable one- and two- bedroom units (Item 8 of the Secretary’s Agenda).
    • Requests to enter into grant agreements for the following non-matching grants to the Board of Education of Anne Arundel County:
      • $60,000 for the acquisition, planning, design, construction, repair, renovation, reconstruction, site improvement, and capital equipping of the tennis courts at Lindale Middle School (Item 9 of the Department of General Services’ Office of State Procurement Agenda);
      • $60,000 for the acquisition, planning, design, construction, repair, renovation, reconstruction, site improvement, and capital equipping of Linthicum Elementary School (Item 10 of the Department of General Services’ Office of State Procurement Agenda);
      • $443,500 for the acquisition, planning, design, construction, repair, renovation, reconstruction, site improvement, and capital equipping of a boys and girls field house at North County High School (Item 14 of the Department of General Services’ Office of State Procurement Agenda).
  • Baltimore City
    • A request to enter into a grant agreement for a $100,000 grant to the Board of Directors of the Forest Park Action Council, Inc. and the University of Maryland Medical System for Forest Park Action Council Gatehouse Community Resource Center for the acquisition, planning, design, construction, repair, renovation, reconstruction, site improvement, and capital equipping of the Gatehouse Community Resource Center. There is no matching fund requirement for this grant (Item 1 of the Department of General Services’ Office of State Procurement Agenda).
    • A request to enter into a grant agreement for a $200,000 grant to the Board of Directors of the Franciscan Center, Inc. for the acquisition, planning, design, construction, repair renovation, reconstruction, site improvement, and capital equipping of the Franciscan Center. There is no matching fund requirement for this grant (Item 7 of the Department of General Services’ Office of State Procurement Agenda).
    • A request from the Department of Natural Resources to commit $300,000 from the Program Open Space State Share/Baltimore City Direct Grant program to regrade, seed, and add new seating, fencing, team player areas, retaining walls, stairs, walks, lighting and irrigation at the 30+ year old grass athletic field at Robert C. Marshall Park (Item 1A of the Department of Natural Resources’ Real Property Agenda).
    • A request to certify matching funds and enter into a grant agreement for a $450,000 grant to the Board of Directors of Kennedy Krieger Children’s Hospital, Inc. to assist in the design, construction, and equipping of renovations of existing inpatient space to create a pediatric epilepsy monitoring unit. The Grantee has submitted documentation of sufficient funds to meet the matching fund requirement for this project (Item 2 of the Department of General Services’ Office of State Procurement Agenda).
  • Baltimore
    • A request to certify matching funds and enter into a grant agreement for a $2,900,000 grant to the Board of Trustees of Stevenson University for design, construction, and equipping of a new academic building on the Owings Mills Campus at Stevenson University. The Grantee has submitted documentation of sufficient funds to meet the matching fund requirement for this project (Item 13 of the Department of General Services’ Office of State Procurement Agenda).
    • A request to certify matching funds and enter into a grant agreement for a $50,000 grant to the Board of Directors of Winter Growth, Inc. for the acquisition, planning, design, construction, repair, renovation, reconstruction, site improvement, and capital equipping of the Winter Growth facility. The Grantee has submitted documentation of sufficient funds to meet the matching fund requirement for this project (Item 15 of the Department of General Services’ Office of State Procurement Agenda).
    • A request to enter into a grant agreement for a $150,000 grant to the Board of Education of Baltimore County for the acquisition, planning, design, construction, repair, renovation, reconstruction, site improvement, and capital equipping of the athletic facilities at Woodlawn High School, including a flood study and improvements to the baseball and softball fields. There is no matching fund requirement for this grant (Item 16 of the Department of General Services’ Office of State Procurement Agenda).
  • Cecil
    • A request to certify matching funds and enter into a grant agreement for a $150,000 grant to the Board of Trustees of the Historical Society of Cecil County, Inc. for the acquisition, planning, design, construction, repair, renovation, reconstruction, site improvement, and capital equipping of the Rev. Duke Log Cabin. The Grantee has submitted documentation of sufficient funds to meet the $25,000 matching fund requirement for this project (Item 11 of the Department of General Services’ Office of State Procurement Agenda).
  • Dorchester
    • A request to provide a $261,725 grant to The Conservation Fund from Rural Legacy Funds for the acquisition of a 118.87-acre conservation easement in the Harriet Tubman Rural Legacy Area (Giese property). Acquisition of this easement will protect productive agricultural and forested lands and 1,800 linear feet of riparian buffer along Pitcher Dam Creek, a tributary of the Transquaking River in the Fishing Bay watershed. Preserving this land from development provides additional resiliency to the effects of climate change on the Eastern Shore. The U.S. Department of the Navy is contributing $65,000 towards the cost of the easement, which will be co-held by DNR and the United States of America through the Department of the Navy. The Conservation Fund is paying compliance costs. Easement value: $2,523.76/acre (Item 5A of the Department of Natural Resources’ Real Property Agenda).
  • Frederick
    • A request from the Department of Natural Resources to commit $838,101 in Program Open Space funding allocated to Frederick County to acquire 3.3 acres (Hodge/Scott-Johnson property) to add to Ballenger Creek Park (Item 2A of the Department of Natural Resources’ Real Property Agenda).
    • A request to certify matching funds and enter into grant agreements for grants totaling $85,000 to the Board of Directors of the Phoenix Foundation of Maryland, Inc. for the acquisition, planning, design, construction, repair, renovation, reconstruction, site improvement, and capital equipping of a school for students who are recovering from substance abuse. The Grantee has submitted documentation of sufficient eligible expenditures to meet the matching fund requirement for this project (Item 5 of the Department of General Services’ Office of State Procurement Agenda).
  • Howard
    • A request from the Department of Housing and Community Development for approval to provide a $2,500,000 loan under the Rental Housing Works Program, which finances rental housing to be occupied by individuals with incomes at or below 60% of the area median income. The loan will be made to R.F. Ellicott City II to assist in the acquisition and rehabilitation of 91 units for senior households at 8700 Ridge Road, Ellicott City. The project will offer a mix of affordable one- and two-bedroom units (Item 9 of the Secretary’s Agenda).
    • A request from the Maryland Department of the Environment for new grant funding up to $2,446,309 to Howard County for the Ellicott City H7 Mitigation Pond project. This project entails the construction of a new stormwater detention basin to provide flood protection for Downtown Ellicott City, reducing the flow to the Hudson Branch. The facility will create a dry pond at the interchange of highways U.S. 40 and U.S. 29 (Item 12 of the Secretary’s Agenda).
    • A request from the Department of Housing and Community Development for approval to provide a $2,500,000 loan under the Rental Housing Works Program, which finances rental housing to be occupied by individuals with incomes at or below 60% of the area median income. The loan will be made to R.F. Snowden River, LLC to assist in the acquisition and rehabilitation of 100 units for senior households in Columbia, Howard County. The project will offer a mix of affordable one- and two-bedroom units (Item 10 of the Secretary’s Agenda).
    • A request to certify matching funds and enter into a grant agreement for a $100,000 grant to the Board of Directors of The Community Ecology Institute, Ltd. for the acquisition, planning, design, construction, repair, renovation, reconstruction, site improvement, and capital equipping of the Community Ecology Center. The Grantee has submitted documentation of sufficient funds to meet the matching fund requirement for this project (Item 4 of the Department of General Services’ Office of State Procurement Agenda).
  • Montgomery
    • A request to enter into a grant agreement for a $30,000 grant to the Board of Directors of Hero Dogs, Inc. for the acquisition, planning, design, construction, repair, renovation, reconstruction, site improvement, and capital equipping of the Hero Dogs facility. There is no matching fund requirement for this grant (Item 8 of the Department of General Services’ Office of State Procurement Agenda).
    • A request to enter into grant agreements for grants totaling $1,250,000 to the Board of Directors of a Wider Circle, Inc. for the acquisition, planning, design, construction, repair, renovation, reconstruction, site improvement, and capital equipping of renovations, upgrades, expansion, and site improvements to A Wider Circle Community Services Center. There is no matching fund requirement for these grants (Item 12 of the Department of General Services’ Office of State Procurement Agenda).
  • Talbot
    • A request to certify matching funds and enter into a grant agreement for a $25,000 grant to the Board of Directors of the St. Michaels’ Community Center for the acquisition, planning, design, construction, repair, renovation, reconstruction, site improvement, and capital equipping of the St. Michael’s Community Center. The Grantee has submitted documentation of sufficient funds to meet the matching fund requirement for this project (Item 3 of the Department of General Services’ Office of State Procurement Agenda).
  • Washington
    • A request from the Department of Natural Resources to grant $280,864.37 of Program Open Space stateside funds to Washington County for the acquisition of an 86.02-acre Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) easement (Nailed property). Acquisition of this CREP easement permanently protects water quality by requiring approximately 6,500 linear feet of forested and vegetative stream buffers to Lane Creek and associated unnamed tributaries. Lane Creek is a tributary to Licking Creek, which empties into the Potomac River. As part of the transaction, the landowner will be donating 102.17 acres of the property into the easement for 188.19 acres of total protection. The easement will be co-held by the County and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (Item 3A of the Department of Natural Resources’ Real Property Agenda).
    • A request from the Department of Natural Resources to grant $313,200 of Program Open Space stateside funds for the acquisition of a 115.15 +/- acre conservation easement (Wolf property). This property, which is adjacent to Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, includes heavily forested areas that buffer the park and contribute to the important Blue Ridge forest migration corridor. The property’s Wolf Farm Complex, which is listed in the Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties, includes a Civil War home and structures. A conservation easement will protect water quality in the Potomac Direct Watershed, the setting and viewshed of the historic farm, and habitat for Forest Interior Dwelling Species as well as upland bird and wildlife species (Item 4A of the Department of Natural Resources’ Real Property Agenda).