The Commission of Saint Mary's County on March 4 approved an updated Capital Improvement Program entry for the YMCA Great Mills project and authorized the commissioner president to sign letters to the county's federal delegation and submit an online application seeking federal funding.

The revised CIP entry reflects additional grant funding in a total amount of $3,600,000, and commissioners also approved a separate motion authorizing county staff to complete the required online congressional funding application and send support letters to U.S. Senators and representatives. County staff said the action is part of ongoing efforts to reach a $4 million funding target for the project.

Why it matters: The YMCA project has been the county's top congressional earmark request for multiple years and the county says additional state and federal support is needed to reach the budgeted project total. Commissioners debated whether repeatedly seeking the same earmark limits the county's ability to highlight other infrastructure needs to the delegation.

Department of Public Works and Transportation Director Jim Gotch and Deputy Director Gary Whipple described the application process and the county's coordination with the YMCA. David Weiskopf, the county administrator, told commissioners there is a tight timeline between receiving federal application instructions and the deadline for submission, which compressed staff's ability to circulate details to the commission before the meeting.

Commissioners asked for clearer, earlier communication from staff about future earmark submissions. Commissioner Eric Colvin said the process should give commissioners more opportunity to help shape requests and suggested other county needs (roadwork, flooding mitigation) might be better highlighted in future requests. County staff and other commissioners said they support submitting the YMCA request now because not asking would foreclose the chance of receiving funding.

The approved CIP entry shows $1,500,000 listed as state support on the CIP sheet, though several commissioners noted the state budget and submitted state requests make that amount uncertain. Public Works staff said the YMCA and county are both pursuing state funds separately and that the county requested $2,000,000 in federal funding in the current application cycle to help reach the project's planned funding level.

Commissioner Randy Guy, the commission president, signed the motion authorizing submission of the county's federal application and related letters to the delegation. The motions carried by voice vote with all commissioners present voting in favor.

What’s next: County staff will submit the online congressional funding application and send the signed letters to the county's federal delegation. The YMCA and county will continue pursuing state funding and private donations to close the remaining project funding gap.

Ending: Commissioners said they will ask staff to brief them earlier on future earmark opportunities so the board can provide input before applications are filed.