Dorchester County approves Delmarva Community Transit FY26 grant application; local match deferred

Delmarva Community Transit presented its FY26 annual transportation plan and associated Maryland transit administrative grant application at the Dorchester County Council meeting. The council approved the federal/state grant application and deferred a decision on the county local match until the budget process.

Andrea Waters, Delmarva Community Transit transportation grant specialist, told the council the agency requested $1,577,377 for Section 5311 public transportation operating funds (federal/state portion $1,183,333; local portion $394,344). The agency also requested $334,218 for transportation for persons who are elderly and disabled (state portion $250,664; local portion $83,554), $55,556 for Americans with Disabilities Act paratransit operating (state portion $50,000; local portion $5,556), and capital funding to cover preventative maintenance ($50,000 total; federal/state $42,500; local $7,500) and propane conversion kits ($77,000 total; federal/state $65,450; local $11,550).

Waters said county staff Andy Hollis and Keith Agens had already presented the county portion to the budget committee, and she left application documents with county staff for signature. County staff said the council has in prior years approved the grant application in principle and postponed local-match approval to the final budget action; the council followed that practice, approving the grant application without approving the local matches at this meeting.

A motion to approve the grant application without local-match approval carried on a voice vote; no roll-call tally was recorded in the transcript. Council members said the application materials will be reviewed in upcoming budget workshops and that the final local-match amounts will be determined when the budget bill is adopted.

The transit agency said capital items would be used for preventative maintenance and to convert vehicles to propane where appropriate.