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Recreation and Parks updates: Charlotte Hall fields, 3‑knot trail Phase 6, memorial center ribbon cutting and Shannon Farm acquisition
Summary
Department staff reported near-completion of Charlotte Hall athletic fields, an upcoming construction start for phase 6 of the 3‑knot trail, a December 9 ribbon cutting for the United States Colored Troops Memorial Interpretive Center and acquisition of the 212‑acre Shannon Farm conserved with Navy and DNR funding.
Recreation and Parks staff on Thursday briefed the St. Mary’s County Recreation and Parks Board on capital projects including athletic-field work at Charlotte Hall, the start of construction on phase 6 of the 3‑knot trail, an interpretive center ribbon cutting and the recently completed Shannon Farm conservation acquisition.
Staff reported Charlotte Hall athletic fields are roughly complete pending minor erosion-control and turf stand‑up work and an MDE inspection; the department expects to open the fields in spring if turf establishment continues. The project includes new practice fields that will serve football, soccer and lacrosse; lighting is not part of the initial installation but is planned in a future CIP request.
Phase 6 of the 3‑knot trail, which runs from Maryland Route 5 in Mechanicsville to Maryland Route 236 in Newmarket, had its construction contract awarded on Dec. 1 and a preconstruction meeting scheduled for Jan. 12. Completion of phase 6 will add several miles of continuous trail to the county network.
The United States Colored Troops Memorial Interpretive Center — located in the former Flattox House on the Lancaster Park South parcel — is scheduled for a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday, Dec. 9 at 2 p.m. The center will host interpretive displays about the Civil War memorial and African American history, space for meetings and public restrooms adjacent to the memorial pavilion; the Unified Committee for African American Contributions will lead exhibit development.
Staff also summarized the Shannon Farm purchase: roughly 212 acres acquired Nov. 24 as a conservation partnership with the U.S. Navy and Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Funding sources reported were about $200,000 in local Program Open Space funds, $2,300,000 from the Navy and the balance from the state POS fund. The property will be managed for passive recreation, trails and shoreline access; a conservation easement limits intensive active recreation and caps concentrated gatherings to safeguard the adjacent Patuxent River Naval Air Station buffer.
The department said the Flattox House renovation contractor WM Davis performed the interpretive-center work and that a Maryland Historical Trust archaeological study for phase 2 at Leonardtown Park is underway and pending MHT review.
Board members and staff discussed next steps for CIP funding for lighting at certain diamonds and for long‑term maintenance planning for new and conserved properties.
