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

Anne Arundel County

• A request from the Maryland Historical Trust to approve a $99,000 grant under the Historic Preservation Capital Grants Program to The Trustees of the Chase House to repair and replace both the exterior and interior of the Chase-Lloyd House (22 Maryland Avenue, Annapolis).  The Chase-Lloyd House was completed by architect William Buckland in 1774.  The house is associated with Samuel Chase, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, among other notable figures in early Maryland and American history.  For over 130 years the house was an independent living facility for elderly women and is now the headquarters for the organization. The large Venetian window is the primary focus of this project and is prominently viewed from the interior entry hall and surrounding garden of this three-story Georgian mansion (Item 21.A of the Secretary’s Agenda);
• A request from the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to provide a $1,461,717.54 grant from its Resiliency through Restoration Initiative to Arundel Rivers Foundation to construct a 1,060 linear foot living shoreline with breakwater and sill features along the Chesapeake Bay at Franklin Point State Park to enhance natural buffers and stabilize the existing peninsula.  This project will protect existing green infrastructure, buffer adjacent residential infrastructure, and provide water quality and habitat co-benefits.  This Initiative was developed to address escalating risks to Maryland communities and public resources from extreme weather and climate-related events (Item 14 of the Secretary’s Agenda);
• A request from the Department of Natural Resources to commit $489,000 in Program Open Space funding allocated to Anne Arundel County to acquire 2.109 acres (Hanahoe Property) to add to Millersville Park(Item 2A of the Department of Natural Resources’ Real Property Agenda); and
• A request to transfer Crownsville Hospital Center (+/- 458.98 acres with 69 buildings and minor structures located at 1520 Crownsville Road, Crownsville) from the State of Maryland to the use of the Maryland Department of Health to Anne Arundel County (Item 21 of the Department of General Services’ Office of State Procurement Agenda).

Baltimore City

• A request from the Maryland Historical Trust to approve a $100,000 grant under the Historic Preservation Capital Grants Program to the Upton Planning Committee, Inc. to rehabilitate the exterior and interior of the Parren J. Mitchell House and Cultural Center (828 North Carrollton Avenue). This property is best known as the long-time home of Parren J. Mitchell, a renowned professor, scholar, and Maryland’s first African American U.S. Congressman, serving from 1971-1987. Mitchell was also a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus, a WWII veteran, and a Purple Heart recipient. In 1950 he won a landmark legal case against the segregated University of Maryland to allow him admission into their graduate school. He became the first African American to graduate with a master’s degree from the University, and his case is considered instrumental in desegregation of higher education in Maryland (Item 21.F of the Secretary’s Agenda); and
• A request to enter into a grant agreement for a $10,000 grant to the Board of Trustees of Life Church Ministries for the acquisition, planning, design, construction, repair, renovation, reconstruction, site improvement, and capital equipping of the Ministries’ food pantry. There is no matching fund requirement for this grant (Item 1 of the Department of General Services’ Office of State Procurement Agenda).

Baltimore County

• A request from the Department of Natural Resources to commit $3,000,000 from the Local Parks and Playgrounds Infrastructure funding allocated to Baltimore County to renovate Rockdale Park. The project includes expanding the parking lot, adding a new splash pad and playground equipment, and constructing a pavilion and a new stormwater management system (Item 3A.1 of the Department of Natural Resources’ Real Property Agenda); and
• A request from the Department of Natural Resources to commit $1,300,000 from the Local Parks and Playgrounds Infrastructure funding allocated to Baltimore County to construct a new skatepark, access road, parking lot, shade structures and associated site amenities at Hazelwood Park (Item 3A.2 of the Department of Natural Resources’ Real Property Agenda).

Cecil County

• A request from the Maryland Department of the Environment for new funding up to $79,270 to the Town of Perryville for the Perryville Fire Company-Station 16 Service Line project. This project entails the design and construction of a water main, booster pump, and associated appurtenances to connect the Perryville Fire Company – Station 16 to the Town of Perryville’s water system (Item 12 of the Secretary’s Agenda); and
• A request from the Maryland Historical Trust to approve a $61,000 grant under the Historic Preservation Capital Grants Program to The Historic Elk Landing Foundation, Inc. for the exterior and interior restoration of the Stone House at Elk Landing (590 Landing Lane, Elkton. The House, built in 1782-83, is a two-story stone building with several features characteristic of 18th-century vernacular dwellings in northeastern Maryland. Elk Landing is significant for its association with early Scandinavian settlement in Maryland and as the mid-Atlantic’s northernmost navigable inland waterway. The house is currently used for historical interpretation and fundraising activities, although limited due to its condition (Item 21.D of the Secretary’s Agenda).

Frederick County

• A request from the Maryland Historical Trust to approve a $100,000 grant under the Historic Preservation Capital Grants Program to the Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the Diocese of Maryland to repair and rehabilitate the 6,300 square foot hemlock-framed Pennsylvania Bank Barn at The Buckingham Industrial School for Boys property (3035 Buckeystown Pike, Adamstown). The School was established in 1898 to provide housing and education to boys in need. The Bank Barn was built at the same time to accommodate the school’s student population.    The Bank Barn is a good example of this regional outbuilding type and still retains its original pine siding, wood roof, and interiors. The school closed in 1943 due to growing state and federal regulations (Item 21C of the Secretary’s Agenda); and
• A request from the Department of Natural Resources to commit an additional $50,000 from the Local Parks and Playgrounds Infrastructure funding allocated to Frederick County to construct a new asphalt multiuse trail at Bullivant Park (Item 4A of the Department of Natural Resources’ Real Property Agenda).

Harford County

• A request from the Maryland Historical Trust to approve a $50,000 grant under the Historic Preservation Capital Grants Program to The Historical Society of Harford County, Inc. to provide exterior renovation to the Hays House (324 Kenmore Avenue, Bel Air).  Constructed in 1788, it is the oldest private Bel Air residence.  The original owner, Thomas A. Hays, was the cartographer of the earliest known map of the town.  It is now the headquarters of the Historical Society of Harford County and a museum. (Item 21.E of the Secretary’s Agenda).

Howard County

A request from the Maryland Department of the Environment for new grant funding up to $1,245,047 to Howard County to continue 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, including creating a dry pond at the interchange of highways U.S. 40 and U.S. 29. The new pond will reduce flows to the Hudson Branch, which passes through Downtown Ellicott City. This Agenda Item is for the excavation of additional rocks encountered during the dry pond construction (Item 11 of the Secretary’s Agenda).

Talbot County

• A request from the Maryland Historical Trust to approve a $90,000 grant under the Historic Preservation Capital Grants Program to Waterfowl Festival, Inc. for exterior and interior repairs to the Easton Armory (40 S. Harrison Street, Easton). The Armory, also known as the Waterfowl Building, was built in 1927 and is a large brick structure that reflects the period when armories were built to resemble fortresses.  The building served as an armory and social space for the Easton community until it was acquired by DNR in 1976 and then by Waterfowl Chesapeake in 1997 (Item 21.G of the Secretary’s Agenda).

Washington County

• A request to provide a $691,495.58 grant to the Washington County Commissioners from Rural Legacy Funds for the acquisition of a 186.92-acreconservation easement in the Mid-Maryland Rural Legacy Area (Rancho Grande, LLC property).  Acquisition of this easement will protect productive agricultural and forest lands, as well as provide approximately 6,200 linear feet of forested stream buffers to Israel Run and associated tributaries.  The easement will be held by Washington County.  Easement value: $4,028/acre (Item 6A of the Department of Natural Resources’ Real Property Agenda).

Wicomico County

• A request from the Maryland Historical Trust to approve a $100,000 grant under the Historic Preservation Capital Grants Program to The Chipman Foundation, Inc. to rehabilitate the exterior of the Charles H. Chipman Cultural Center (325 Broad Street, Salisbury), the site of the oldest African American congregation.  It was also the first school for children of freed slaves in the region, and the first Delmarva high school for African American children after the Civil War.  The building is currently used as a cultural center and small museum focusing on African American heritage on Delmarva (Item 21.B of the Secretary’s Agenda);
• A request from the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to commit $99,000 from the Program Open Space funding allocated to Wicomico County to construct a special events pavilion at the Salisbury Zoo (Item 5A.2 of the Department of Natural Resources’ Real Property Agenda); and
• A request from the Department of Natural Resources to commit $104,086.40 from the Program Open Space funding allocated to Wicomico County to provide additional funds for engineering, design and construction of the new Pirates Wharf Park including trails, a soft boat launch and landing, fishing pier, observation deck, bulk heads, parking, landscaping, a natural playground, signage, and additional site amenities.  This project is a partnership among the state, the county, and the National Park Service’s Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) (Item 5A.1 of the Department of Natural Resources’ Real Property Agenda).