St. Mary's County recreation board asks commissioners for field maintenance funding and portable pitching mounds

The St. Mary's County Recreation and Parks Board voted to ask the county commissioners to provide additional funding for park maintenance and staffing that would begin in March, and to include portable pitching mounds in the field improvement plan so renovated baseball and softball fields can accommodate multiple divisions.

Board member Donald Degraves moved the request after community representatives raised safety and access concerns about the county's field renovation plan. "A maintenance plan needs to be established as soon as possible," said Mr. Bean, speaking for the baseball and softball community, adding that without regular maintenance "this investment the county is getting ready to make will soon go to waste." Bean urged portable mounds because permanent clay mounds, he said, would prevent some softball divisions and younger baseball groups from using renovated fields.

The board's motion, as refined during debate, asks the director to notify the commissioners of the community's requests and to seek funds to hire additional grounds staff, acquire equipment and purchase portable pitching mounds. Degraves said the board had previously asked the director to seek increased maintenance funding and that stakeholders had reported unsafe conditions created when volunteers drag fields without consistent professional maintenance.

Director Shepherd described comparisons with Charles County, where county crews maintain fields and provide hand drags for quick turnarounds. Board members discussed cost-offset options raised by the community, including per-game fees used in other counties, but participants stressed the board's formal request is for the commissioners to provide funding rather than pass costs onto leagues. "The motion is asking the county commissioners to assign funds to cover the cost of what is being requested," Degraves said.

Board members asked staff to determine whether funds could be redirected within the department budget or whether new appropriations would be necessary in FY23. The motion was seconded and approved by voice vote.

The board and community representatives also asked the department to consider interim measures such as training volunteers and locating proper equipment at parks while staffing is secured. Several speakers emphasized safety risks from unmaintained infields, and Mr. Bean cited portable-mound prices of about $1,500 as a comparatively low cost to preserve flexibility on multi-use fields.

The board said it would transmit the recommendation to the commissioners through the director and requested that the funding request be implemented beginning in March to coincide with the spring recreation season.