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St. Mary's County Recreation and Parks outlines recent maintenance, park upgrades and CIP shifts
Summary
Department staff reported completed maintenance work after January snow, asphalt and field projects at multiple parks, demolition of an unsafe structure and timing changes to capital projects submitted for the county CIP.
St. Mary's County Recreation and Parks staff told the Recreation and Parks Board that crews logged extended hours after a January snow, completed multiple paving and field projects and finished demolition of a nuisance structure as part of a slate of park maintenance and capital projects now in the county’s Capital Improvement Program (CIP).
The report, delivered to the board by parks staffer David, said crews “worked about 14 hours on Saturday and about 6 to 7 hours on Sunday, clearing all the county parking lots,” including lots at libraries, museums and the governmental center. David told members there were no major equipment breakdowns during the response.
Board members were given a series of photos and briefings on projects completed in the prior year. Highlights included: paving of roads and parking at Cecil Park in December; seeding of two athletic fields at Lancaster Park (fields expected to be playable in fall, not spring); replacement of aging basketball courts at Gibbons and Jarvisville parks; replacement of 20-year-old combination football/soccer goals at Dorsey, Lancaster and Cecil parks; and removal of a dilapidated house (the Denison House) on 3 Notch Trail to create open green space.
David also described smaller but important investments: chain-link and split-rail fencing around ball fields, parking-lot lighting at Cecil Park to support nighttime use of the newly lit 90-foot baseball field, asphalt overlays on park walkways (part of past ADA upgrades) and renovation of a leftover cinder-block storage building near the naval base for park storage use.
The department submitted the parks-related CIP materials to county staff and noted a small number of schedule changes from last year’s plan: the 3 Notch Trail Phase 7 construction was pushed to FY2019 in the draft, Shannon Farm development to FY2024 and St. Clement Island renovations moved out one year. Staff also added smaller improvement requests, including a flashing beacon at 3 Notch Trail at Baptist Church Road, pickleball courts at Chancellor’s Run Regional Park, and consideration of an irrigation well and bermudagrass at Dorsey Park.
Board members asked about ongoing maintenance priorities and timelines. David said progress on some projects is weather-dependent and that work paused for winter temperatures will resume when conditions allow. He said the department mailed the Land Preservation, Parks and Recreation Plan (LPPRP) to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for state review after the board approved an earlier draft.
The board unanimously approved the meeting minutes at the start of the session, and later approved the draft annual report to forward to county commissioners.
