St. Mary’s County Seeks Nearly $1M In Parks Funding Through FY27 Open Space Grants

LEONARDTOWN, Md. — St. Mary’s County is moving forward with plans to improve recreational spaces across the county after commissioners approved three Fiscal Year 2027 Program Open Space grant applications totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars in state, federal and county funding for park projects and long-range planning efforts.

During the May 19 meeting of the Commissioners of St. Mary’s County, Director of Recreation and Parks Ray Bivens presented proposals tied to Maryland’s Program Open Space initiative, which helps local governments fund park acquisition and development projects through a 90% state and 10% county cost-share model.

“This is an exciting one,” Bivens told commissioners. “We have been awarded $689,949 in a grant from the Open Space Program.”

According to county documents, St. Mary’s County’s FY27 allocation of $689,949 marks a significant increase over FY26 funding of $350,184, though it remains slightly below the county’s eight-year average allocation of $726,079.

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources confirmed St. Mary’s County now has access to more than $1.37 million in combined available Program Open Space funding, including existing balances and the new FY27 allocation.

Snow Hill Park Improvements Planned

One proposed project would transform an existing tobacco barn at Snow Hill Park into a semi-open pavilion near a future canoe and kayak launch area. The improvement follows recommendations included in the park’s adopted master plan. The project requires approximately $17,000 in county matching funds and would leverage $153,000 in Program Open Space funding.

“At Snow Hill, the barn there that is closest to where the future canoe launch is going to be … that’ll be renovations to turn that barn into a semi-pavilion, which is part of the master plan,” Bivens said.

He added the project is already moving through procurement and could go out for bid as early as next month.

“We expect it to go out to bid next month,” Bivens said. “Our plan is to close the park in October and start the work.”

The discussion also included updates on the planned boat launch at Snow Hill. Bivens said all permits have been secured and the county recently received an unexpected funding boost.

“DNR just actually let us amend one of our previous grants and added $500,000 to the project,” he said. “I had never seen that in my entire Recreation and Parks career.”

Bivens credited the county’s reputation for completing projects on schedule.

“I think our reputation helps with that as well, knowing that we get projects done,” he said.

Nicolet Park Splash Pad Could Receive Major Upgrade

Another major proposal would replace the aging splash pad at Nicolet Park through a combination of Program Open Space funding, county matching funds and a pending federal Land and Water Conservation grant.

If approved, the combined investment would total approximately $800,000. County documents note the project will not proceed unless the federal grant award is secured.

“This grant would be matching open space funds, as well as federal Land and Water Conservation funds, to redo — replace — the Nicolet splash pad, which is due,” Bivens said.

“We don’t have 100% approval on the federal Land and Water Conservation funds, but everything is sailing through and it looks really good.”

Commissioners also discussed continued upgrades at Nicolet Park, including new breakaway basketball rims and glass backboards being installed.

Public Input Sought for Future Parks Planning

The third grant application would dedicate $25,000 toward development of the county’s Land Preservation, Parks and Recreation Plan (LPPRP), a planning document updated every five years and required for continued Program Open Space funding eligibility.

Bivens encouraged residents to participate in the planning process through an online engagement portal.

“You can go, and you can get feedback,” he said. “There’s a map where you can drop a pin, and you can say, ‘I would really like to see this here,’ or that … There’s an ideas wall and there’s also an informal survey.”

The planning effort will also include public meetings and statistically significant surveys mailed to county households.

Commissioners Approve Applications

Following discussion, commissioners unanimously approved the Department of Recreation and Parks’ FY27 annual program and project grant applications to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Program Open Space program, authorizing the commissioner president to sign related documents.

The approved applications total approximately $583,000 in Program Open Space requests, excluding the pending federal grant tied to the Nicolet splash pad replacement. County officials said the projects help fulfill goals identified in existing parks planning efforts while preserving future funding opportunities.

You can watch the full video below at 1:03:31.

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