$15.1M Goes to Counties This Week from the Board of Public Works

A little more than $15M went to four counties this week following a regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Public Works. 

At its latest meeting, the Maryland Board of Public Works approved approximately $15.1M in funding for local projects across Anne Arundel, Montgomery, Prince George’s, and Worcester counties. The awards primarily support parks and recreational facilities, community amenities, redevelopment, and land conservation.

The two largest awards went to Montgomery County, which received a $6M state grant for redevelopment projects in White Flint, including acquisition, planning, design, construction, renovation, and site improvements. Montgomery County also received $2.78M in Program Open Space funding for improvements to sports courts and parking at Wheaton Regional Park.

All project details below.

Anne Arundel

  • A request from the Department of Natural Resources to commit $2,832,205.73 from the Program Open Space funding allocated to Anne Arundel County for additional funds to design and construct a community use recreational facility. The existing building on site will be renovated to include exercise classrooms, basketball and volleyball courts, pickleball courts, community meeting room, indoor playground, restrooms, and associated site amenities.

Montgomery

  • A request from the Department of Natural Resources to commit $2,783,000 from the Program Open Space funding allocated to Montgomery County to design and construct improvements to the existing sports courts and parking lot at the Rubini area of Wheaton Regional Park. The project also includes roadway and walkway reconfiguration, utility upgrades, lighting and shelter replacements, stormwater management, plantings, and associated site furnishings.
  • A request to enter into a grant agreement for a $6,000,000 grant to Montgomery County, Maryland for the acquisition, planning, design, construction, repair, renovation, reconstruction, site improvement, and capital equipping of redevelopment projects in White Flint. There is no matching fund requirement for this grant. The General Assembly previously approved this funding as part of the 2023 Capital Budget.

Prince George’s

  • A request from the Department of Natural Resources to commit $2,700,000 from the Program Open Space funding allocated to Prince George’s County to design and construct a new park in Laurel to include an inclusive playground, paved trail, multisport court area, bocce ball court, ninja challenge/extreme course, biking station, comfort station/pavilion, neighborhood path connection, and associated amenities.

Worcester

  • A request from the Department of Natural Resources to grant $751,259.15 to Worcester County to acquire a 59.04-acre conservation easement in the Bishopville-Showell Rural Legacy Area (Mumford and Lynch Property). Acquisition of this conservation easement will preserve productive farmland that contributes to the local resource-based economy in an area of small working farms. In addition, the forested lands are likely to support Forest Interior Dwelling Species of birds (FIDS) which require relatively large blocks of undisturbed forested land to successfully nest. The property is within the St. Martins River and Isle of Wight Bay watershed.  Easement value: $11,974.93/acre