St. Mary's County exploratory committee launches YMCA feasibility work; county property map presented

An exploratory committee appointed by the St. Mary's County Commissioners opened its first meeting Oct. 17 in Leonardtown to study the potential for a YMCA or similar community center in the county, hear a regional YMCA representative describe programs and financing, and review a county map of publicly owned parcels staff say could host a facility.

The committee — made up of residents, county staff and service providers — was shown an interactive county property map by Bob Kelly, the county's chief information officer, and a program overview from Robbie Gill of YMCA Chesapeake Eastern Shore. Commissioners and members emphasized that the group’s next steps should include focused site selection, a feasibility study and fundraising outreach.

The exploratory committee was created by a July plan of action the commissioners approved, which directs the local group to investigate community needs, learn about YMCA programs, identify potential locations and assess fundraising capacity. County Administrator Rebecca Bridget opened the committee and reminded members that county documents and the map are available on BoardDocs.

County information officer Bob Kelly walked the group through a live map of county-owned parcels, noting the county holds 413 properties in its inventory and that the map display had been filtered to 280 buildable properties (133 parcels in the inventory are rights-of-way and were excluded). Kelly said two parcels shown in yellow already have plans and should be avoided, and he demonstrated layers for water and sewer supplied by Metcom. "If sewer's there, you don't have to do septic and stuff like that," Kelly said, urging the committee to request additional layers or filters that would be useful for site selection.

Robbie Gill, senior leader for YMCA Chesapeake Eastern Shore, told the committee the YMCA is a 501(c)(3) with a long history of local partnerships and locally governed advisory boards. He described a range of programs the YMCA runs on the Eastern Shore — from youth camps and after-school programs to Parkinson's and Livestrong cancer-survivor programs — and said the organization provides substantial financial assistance. "This year, we'll provide right at $2,000,000 in financial assistance across the Eastern Shore to over 16,000 people," Gill said, adding that local fundraising supports those discounts and that "money raised local stays local."

Gill recommended that the committee consider (1) selecting a short list of candidate sites, (2) commissioning a feasibility study that would test access and program demand for those sites, and (3) conducting a targeted fundraising prospecting campaign of roughly 40–50 potential major donors and partners. He suggested a roughly 60-day timeline for a feasibility study and said a typical site should have about 15 acres of potential land to allow future expansion, while noting YMCA facilities vary widely by community: "If you've seen one Y, you've seen one Y. They all look a little bit different."

Committee members discussed priorities for the county-owned-property map (population centers, proximity to schools and water/sewer), the need to test multiple candidate sites, and community outreach to build buy-in. The committee agreed staff should arrange follow-up presentations from the College of Southern Maryland (which has discussed housing a Y in its wellness center), the Department of Recreation and Parks, and a private Willows Road recreation center that is planning a new facility. Staff also agreed to add layers such as schools, population density and demographic data to the map and to compile available county health and youth program data to inform site testing.

The committee took two formal procedural votes: it approved the meeting agenda by voice vote and later approved two future meeting dates (Nov. 21 and Dec. 18) by voice vote. Both motions carried. The meeting ended after a public-comment period in which multiple Lexington Park residents and local advocates urged the committee to prioritize Lexington Park for the first facility because of its high concentration of children and limited year-round indoor programming.

Public commenters described regular foot traffic to the Lexington Park library and local youth who use nearby school and library programs, and they urged the committee to pair a facility with neighborhood access needs such as walkability and transit. "We now realize there are no programs for 6- to 7-year-olds. There is a need for programs for this age group that a community center or a YMCA would provide," said Joan Sullivan Cowan, a Lexington Park resident. Mia Bowers, chair of a community center campaign, told the committee: "We have the programs. We have the people. Let's put it under one roof."

The committee's next meetings are scheduled for Nov. 21 and Dec. 18; staff said they will bring additional map layers, demographic and health data, and make arrangements for guest presenters and materials the committee requests. The group will use the feasibility study results to narrow sites and test fundraising capacity before making a formal recommendation to the commissioners.

The county's BoardDocs page contains the plan-of-action document the commissioners approved in July and the county property map Kelly demonstrated; committee members were encouraged to request additional map filters or data layers through staff.