Commissioners review parks, trails and conservation projects including Elms Beach, 3 Notch Trail and Myrtle Point
Loading...
Summary
Staff presented recurring land‑conservation and parks requests — including Elms Beach Park, Shannon Farms, Myrtle Point Park and a $9.9 million 3 Notch Trail Phase 8 request — and commissioners left several projects in the draft CIP while asking staff to seek grants and refine phasing.
St. Mary's County parks and public‑lands projects accounted for a substantial portion of the new requests discussed during the CIP briefing.
Elms Beach Park: staff requested $1.4 million in FY28 to include design and construction of an educational site acquired from the public schools and described a DNR lease arrangement for environmental education programming.
Shannon Farms: after receiving a critical area approval, staff asked for $6.1 million in 2029 for parking, a trail to the water and an emergency access route; wetlands crossing and engineering were cited as cost drivers.
Myrtle Point Park: presented as a phased project (FY29–30) with an initial visitor center, well/septic and ADA beach access and a later phase for two kayak launches; staff said the first phase would remove the long walk to beach access through new parking and roads.
3 Notch Trail Phase 8: staff previewed a $9.9 million FY31 request to build roughly 4.5 miles from Hollywood Road through Friendship School Road to a new trailhead; staff said earlier phases attracted nearly $4 million in state/federal funding and a feasibility study will be required to seek federal grants for Phase 8.
Commissioners asked staff to pursue grant opportunities where feasible, to produce feasibility studies for federal funding eligibility and to keep larger out‑year items in the draft plan for further review. Several commissioners pressed for priorities and for staff to return with phasing and grant strategies before final adoption.
