November 3 Board of Public Works Meeting: Here’s What Counties Need to Know

The Board of Public Works (BPW) — a three-member panel including Governor Larry Hogan, Comptroller Peter Franchot, and State Treasurer Nancy Kopp — reviews projects, contracts, and expenditure plans for state agencies, many of which affect county governments.

The BPW considered and approved the following requests and recommendations at its meeting on November 3, 2021:

Note: This is a list of county-specific items, not a comprehensive list of BPW actions.

Allegany County

  • A request from the Maryland Department of the Environment for new funding up to $3,571,774 ($1,785,887 loan + $1,785,887 grant) to the Town of Lonaconing for the Koontz Water Treatment Plant Upgrade and Rehabilitation and Midland-Gilmore Water Treatment Plant Rehabilitation project. This project entails the upgrade of the Koontz Water Treatment Plant, and the rehabilitation of that plant and the Midland-Gilmore Water Treatment Plan to improve their efficiency and performance. These improvements will allow the Town’s aging Charlestown Water Treatment Plant to be decommissioned while maintaining Lonaconing’s current capacity (Item 8 of the Secretary’s Agenda)
  • A request to enter into a grant agreement for a $60,000 grant to the Board of County Commissioners of Allegany County for the acquisition, planning, design, construction, repair, renovation, reconstruction, site improvement, and capital equipping of the Maryland Western Works facility. There is no matching fund requirement for this grant (Item 5 of the Department of General Services’ Office of State Procurement Agenda)

Anne Arundel County

  • A request to enter into a grant agreement for an $80,000 grant to the Board of Education of Anne Arundel County for the acquisition, planning, design, construction, repair, renovation, reconstruction, site improvement, and capital equipping of a new Brooklyn Park Athletic Complex. There is no matching fund requirement for this grant (Item 2 of the Department of General Services’ Office of State Procurement Agenda)
  • A request for approval to award an architectural and engineering services contract to investigate, design, and restore failing paint finishes and water infiltration issues associated with the State House dome. This is part of a larger contract to restore the exterior of the Maryland State House and grounds within State Circle, including stabilization and potential restoration of the Old Treasury Building. The rest of the contract’s scope is currently being negotiated and will be presented to BPW for approval soon (Item 15-AE of the Department of General Services’ Office of State Procurement Agenda)

Baltimore City

  • A request to enter into a grant agreement for a $500,000 grant to the Board of Directors of Gilchrist Hospice Care, Inc. for the acquisition, planning, design, construction, repair, renovation, reconstruction, site improvement, and capital equipping of the Gilchrist Center Baltimore facility. There is no matching fund requirement for this grant (Item 7 of the Department of General Services’ Office of State Procurement Agenda)
  • A request to enter into grant agreements for grants totaling $500,000 to the First Mile Stable Charitable Foundation, LLC for the acquisition, planning, design, construction, repair, renovation, reconstruction, site improvement, and capital equipping of the Baltimore Police Mounted Unit facilities. There is no matching fund requirement for this grant (Item 1 of the Department of General Services’ Office of State Procurement Agenda)

Caroline County

  • A request from the Maryland Department of the Environment for new grant funding up to $171,172 to the Town of Federalsburg for the Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) Upgrade to Conserve Energy project. This project entails constructing a solar panel system to generate renewable energy for the operation of the Town’s WWTP.  The system will be interconnected with the electrical grid and net-metered against the plant’s electricity consumption to save electrical costs for the facility.  This particular Item is for additional construction management and inspection services and the interconnection of the solar-generating system into the Delmarva Power electric grid (Item 7 of the Secretary’s Agenda)
  • A request from the Department of Natural Resources to commit $300,000 from the Local Parks and Playgrounds Infrastructure funding allocated to Caroline County for the following projects:
    • Sharp Road Park: purchase and install a permanent restroom facility, benches, and sod for the multipurpose field; and
    • 4th Street Park: stripe the tennis courts with pickleball lines (Item 1A.1 of the Department of Natural Resources’ Real Property Agenda)

Carroll County

  • A request from the Department of Natural Resources to commit $191,700 from the Program Open Space funding allocated to Carroll County to design and construct a road and parking lots to serve two pavilions at Piney Run Park (Item 2A.3 of the Department of Natural Resources’ Real Property Agenda)
  • A request from the Department of Natural Resources to commit a total of $256,000 from Program Open Space funding allocated to Carroll County for the following projects:
    • Bark Hill Park: $175,000 to construct a new 8 foot wide and 3,800-foot-long trail. Amenities include benches, signs, and dog waste stations (Item 2A.1 of the Department of Natural Resources’ Real Property Agenda)
    • Leister Park: $81,000 to construct an additional 8 foot wide and 4,700-foot-long trail segment for an ADA compliant connection to the surrounding neighborhood.  Amenities include benches, signs, and dog waste stations (Item 2A.2 of the Department of Natural Resources’ Real Property Agenda)
  • A request to enter into a grant agreement for a $1,000,000 grant to the Board of County Commissioners of Carroll County for the acquisition, planning, design, construction, repair, renovation, reconstruction, site improvement, and capital equipping of phase II of the Carroll County Public Safety Training Center. There is no matching fund requirement for this grant (Item 11 of the Department of General Services’ Office of State Procurement Agenda)

Charles County

  • A request to enter into grant agreements for grants totaling $125,000 to the Board of Trustees College of Southern Maryland for the acquisition, planning, design, construction, repair, renovation, reconstruction, site improvement, and capital equipping of the Velocity Center. There is no matching fund requirement for this grant (Item 8 of the Department of General Services’ Office of State Procurement Agenda)

Dorchester County

  • A request to enter into grant agreements for two $500,000 grants to the Board of Directors of the Delmarva Community Services, Inc. for the acquisition, planning, design, construction, repair, renovation, reconstruction, site improvement, and capital equipping of:
    • the Chesapeake Grove Intergenerational Center, including the purchase and installation of new playground equipment. There is no matching fund requirement for this grant (Item 3 of the Department of General Services’ Office of State Procurement Agenda)
    • the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Center at Chesapeake Grove. There is no matching fund requirement for this grant (Item 4 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 Mace’s Lane Community Center, Inc. for the acquisition, planning, design, construction, repair, renovation, reconstruction, site improvement, and capital equipping of the Mace’s Lane Community Center, including repairs to the building’s roof. There is no matching fund requirement for this grant (Item 12 of the Department of General Services’ Office of State Procurement Agenda)

Frederick County

  • A request from the Department of Natural Resources to commit $385,980 from the Program Open Space funding allocated to Frederick County to rehabilitate two existing park buildings at Ballenger Creek Park to house nature and recreation programs and a maintenance shop. The project also includes improving access roads and constructing multi-use trails, parking areas, ADA access, restroom facilities, utilities, stormwater mitigation, and landscaping (Item 3A of the Department of Natural Resources’ Real Property Agenda)

Garrett County

  • A request from the Maryland Department of the Environment for new funding up to $3,571,774 ($1,785,887 loan + $1,785,887 grant) to the Town of Lonaconing for the Koontz Water Treatment Plant Upgrade and Rehabilitation and Midland-Gilmore Water Treatment Plant Rehabilitation project. This project entails the upgrade of the Koontz Water Treatment Plant, and the rehabilitation of that plant and the Midland-Gilmore Water Treatment Plan to improve their efficiency and performance. These improvements will allow the Town’s aging Charlestown Water Treatment Plant to be decommissioned while maintaining Lonaconing’s current capacity (Item 8 of the Secretary’s Agenda)

Howard County

  • A request from the Department of Natural Resources to commit $700,000 from the Local Parks and Playgrounds Infrastructure funding allocated to Howard County for the following:
    • Warfield’s Pond Park: $300,000 to install a shade structure and new playground equipment and safety surfacing consistent with National Playground Safety Standards and the Americans with Disabilities Act (Item 5A.1 of the Department of Natural Resources’ Real Property Agenda)
    • Schooley Mill Park: $400,000 for new playground equipment and safety surfacing consistent with National Playground Safety Standards and the Americans with Disabilities Act (Item 5A.2 of the Department of Natural Resources’ Real Property Agenda)
  • A request from the Department of Natural Resources to commit $7,300,000 from the Local Parks and Playgrounds Infrastructure funding allocated to Howard County to redesign and renovate the parking, pathways, ball diamonds, and multipurpose fields and replace existing sports lighting in the west area of Centennial Park to make better use of the space and improve accessibility for the public (Item 5A.3 of the Department of Natural Resources’ Real Property Agenda)

Montgomery County

  • 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 that will be occupied by individuals with incomes at or below 60% of the area median income. The loan will be made to Frederick Road Senior 4% Owner, LLC to assist in constructing a 111-unit housing development that will offer a mix of one- and two-bedroom units to seniors. The development is located at 19105 Frederick Road, Gaithersburg (Item 6 of the Secretary’s Agenda)

St. Mary’s County

  • A request from the Department of Natural Resources to commit $709,000 from the Local Parks and Playgrounds Infrastructure funding allocated to St. Mary’s County for the following projects:
    • John G. Lancaster, Chancellors Run Regional, 5th District, Dorsey, John Baggett, 7th District, and Cecil Parks: $539,000 for new pitcher’s mounds, home plates, batters’ boxes, base reset, dugout cleanup, infield grading, fencing, reseeding, ADA upgrades and associated amenities at 19 baseball fields at these seven parks (Item 6A.1 of the Department of Natural Resources’ Real Property Agenda)
    • John G. Lancaster, Chancellors Run Regional, 5th District, Dorsey, John Baggett, and Cecil Parks: $170,000 for 20 ADA-compliant picnic tables at these six parks and asphaltic/concrete ADA access routes to team and spectator areas at all Chancellors Run Regional Park fields (Item 6A.2 of the Department of Natural Resources’ Real Property Agenda)
  • A request from the Department of Natural Resources to commit $350,000 from the Local Parks and Playgrounds Infrastructure funding allocated to St. Mary’s County to design and construct a new restroom facility at Chaptico Park (Item 6A.4 of the Department of Natural Resources’ Real Property Agenda)
  • A request from the Department of Natural Resources to commit $250,000 from the Local Parks and Playgrounds Infrastructure funding allocated to St. Mary’s County to design and construct a new picnic pavilion and install four exercise/play stations at Lexington Manor Passive Park (Item 6A.3 of the Department of Natural Resources’ Real Property Agenda)
  • A request to provide a $148,536.20 grant to St. Mary’s County from Rural Legacy Funds to acquire an 80.97-acre conservation easement in the Mattapany Rural Legacy Area (Sola property). Acquisition of this easement will protect valuable agricultural and forest lands. The property includes 2,300 linear feet of riparian buffers along Martins Cove, a tributary of the Potomac River. The easement will be held by the United States of America and the Southern Maryland Resource Conservation and Development Board.  Easement value: $4,810.70/acre (Item 8A of the Department of Natural Resources’ Real Property Agenda)

Talbot County

  • A request to enter into a grant agreement for a $100,000 grant to the Board of Directors of The American Legion, Department of Maryland, Blake-Blackston Post No. 77, Inc. for the acquisition, planning, design, construction, repair, renovation, reconstruction, site improvement, and capital equipping of American Legion Post 77 building. There is no matching fund requirement for this grant (Item 6 of the Department of General Services’ Office of State Procurement Agenda)

Washington County

  • A request to enter into a grant agreement for a $200,000 grant to the Board of the Smithsburg Athletic Booster Club, Inc. for the acquisition, planning, design, construction, repair, renovation, reconstruction, site improvement, and capital equipping of the athletic facilities at Smithsburg High School, including improvements to the stadium, sports fields, and the installation of an artificial turf field. There is no matching fund requirement for this grant (Item 9 of the Department of General Services’ Office of State Procurement Agenda)

Wicomico County

  • A request from the Department of Natural Resources to commit a total of $99,000 from the Program Open Space funding allocated to Wicomico County for new playground equipment and safety surfacing consistent with National Playground Safety Standards and the Americans with Disabilities Act at Nick Meyer (Item 7A.1 of the Department of Natural Resources’ Real Property Agenda) and Winterplace Parks (Item 7A.2 of the Department of Natural Resources’ Real Property Agenda)
  • A request to enter into a grant agreement for a $200,000 grant to the Board of Directors of Vehicles for Change, Inc. for the acquisition, planning, design, construction, repair, renovation, reconstruction, site improvement, and capital equipping of an Eastern Shore expansion in Salisbury. There is no matching fund requirement for this grant (Item 10 of the Department of General Services’ Office of State Procurement Agenda)
  • A request from the Department of Natural Resources to commit $700,000 from the Local Parks and Playgrounds Infrastructure funding allocated to Wicomico County to convert the existing softball field into a 12-court pickleball complex, upgrade the existing basketball court, and install a new basketball court and playground at Harmon Field (Item 7A.3 of the Department of Natural Resources’ Real Property Agenda)

Visit the BPW website for more information.

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