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Commissioners add YMCA at Great Mills to CIP, approve site commitment
Summary
After presentations and local site discussions, commissioners approved a motion to include a YMCA at the Great Mills site in the county CIP and directed staff to update the CIP sheet for the March budget work session; commissioners also discussed fundraising and possible federal earmarks.
LEXINGTON PARK, Md. — St. Mary’s County commissioners on Feb. 15 voted to add a YMCA facility at the Great Mills site to the county’s capital improvement program and instructed staff to update the CIP sheet to reflect the site commitment ahead of a March presentation by YMCA officials.
Why it matters: a YMCA facility would provide new recreation, fitness and community‑service space for the county; inclusion in the CIP signals county support for the project and is an important step for fundraising and federal earmark requests.
Commissioners and staff discussed cost estimates, fundraising and site selection at length. County staff and commissioners referenced recent visits to an Eastern Shore YMCA that opened a 55,000‑square‑foot facility; staff said the Chestertown example was built for about $13.9 million but noted inflation and supply‑chain issues could increase local project costs (staff said a $15 million estimate could be reasonable in current conditions). The county’s CIP project sheet lists a FY2025 planning/construction placeholder of roughly $16,900,000, with an “other sources” fundraising line of about $5,100,000 in FY2025 shown in the reference material; staff said those fundraising amounts remain to be formalized and that federal earmark opportunities could be pursued (staff noted a possible $2,000,000 earmark as an expectation but said that had not been finalized and application details were pending).
Commissioners heard from staff that YMCA representatives plan to present a final package in March that will include cost options with and without a warm‑water pool and a proposed fundraising/donor solicitation plan. Commissioners discussed whether the county should commit CIP funding and site selection before the March presentation; several commissioners said a site commitment would help the YMCA’s fundraising effort. At the meeting a commissioner moved to “approve the YMCA at the Great Mills site, as presented,” and a second was recorded; the motion carried by voice vote. The county will keep the project dollar amounts in the CIP as shown and update the CIP sheet for the March 1 budget work session.
Staff also said they would pursue federal earmark application materials once those forms were available and would work with the YMCA and local fundraising partners on private donations and national YMCA fundraising resources.
Ending: Commissioners approved adding the YMCA at Great Mills to the CIP and asked staff to return on March 1 with the YMCA presentation and updated CIP materials; staff and YMCA representatives will continue fundraising and pursue any available federal earmarks.
