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Crisfield details $3.2 million Phase 1 plan and grant strategy for Southern flood mitigation
Summary
City staff said the Southern Crisfield flood mitigation Phase 1 procurement drew strong interest from firms and that about $3.2 million in funding partners have committed to the project; proposals are due March 13 and the council will get a recommended firm on April 8.
City staff reported progress on the Southern Crisfield flood mitigation Phase 1 project, describing planned 30% design and engineering work and a separate contract for full design, permitting and implementation covering up to 4.5 acres of wetlands around the Gerald Stitch site.
Jennifer Merritt (S10), who led the funding and procurement update, said 22 firms requested bid documents and that she believed 19 individuals attended the pre-proposal meeting. "The funding total for the entire project is about 3,200,000," Merritt said, and she identified contributing sources and amounts during her presentation.
Merritt outlined funding she said had been assembled for the overall project: about $1,900,000 from the Maryland Department of the Environment, a low-interest loan of $11,600 from the Maryland Department of Emergency Management (noted as matching to MDE), $777,000 from the Department of Natural Resources, and $135,000 from The Nature Conservancy. She also noted that the engineering contract being bid must leave adequate funding for later construction phases.
Proposals for the engineering work are due March 13. A selection committee that will include the city's owner's representative and engineers will bring a recommended firm to the council at its April 8 meeting. Merritt said earlier research on a particular federal grant led staff to defer that single application and instead prioritize pursuit of the most suitable future grants, including possible BUILD or PROTECT grants. She also previewed earmark planning and said earmark application windows were expected to open in the coming weeks with a typical cap around $2 million per application.
The update included expressions of thanks to partner organizations that supported data collection and outreach: the University of Maryland Environmental Finance Center, the Center for Watershed Protection and county staff. No final procurement decision was made at the meeting; staff will return with a recommendation in April.
