A multi-purpose vessel is coming to a waterway near you.
The St. Mary’s County commissioners approved a capital projects grant agreement in the amount of $700,000 for a U.S. legislative bond for an accessible water taxi for St. Clements Island, and approved the sub-recipient agreement with St. Clement’s Hundred for pass through funding for the water taxi.
“I think we have a good process here,” Recreation & Parks Director Art Shepherd said, “and a good deal that will get us a boat.”
The vessel would be a new 40- to 50-foot catamaran-style hull with a center cavity, twin outboards and a pilot house. This is a different vessel then one the commissioners approved early last year for $219,000.
“I’m really excited about this,” Commissioner Eric Colvin (R) said at Tuesday’s meeting in Leonardtown. “This is good.”
The newly approved county-owned vessel, which will be docked at Coltons Point Marina, will be designed like a landing barge in order to also transport vehicles such as tractors and machinery for maintenance on the island.
“I’m very excited at what it can do,” Shepherd said.
A ramp at the marina to load equipment as well as people is part of the budgeted plan. The vessel is unable to be moored at the state pier at St. Clement’s Island due to rough conditions, according to county officials.
The ADA-compliant boat would also be available to transport about 40 passengers during large events such as Blessing of the Fleet or used for evacuation purposes. “This boat will be adapted so we can get people on and off that island in an emergency,” Joe Sinclair of the St. Clement Hundred said.
In addition, fire department, museum and emergency services personnel will be certified to operate the vessel, which will also be certified to operate in the Potomac River.
“This is a community thing working together,” Sinclair said.
A memo estimated the annual cost of the boat, including fuel, captain pay and docking pay, at $59,000.
Once the award is granted, the vessel should take about a year to arrive.
In April 2023, St. Clement’s Island Museum received a Travel, Tourism and Outdoor Recreation Program grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce Office of Tourism in the amount of $219,000 for the purchase of a pontoon-style water taxi.
“We put it out for bid and currently we haven’t had any responses, so we’re beginning to reevaluate how we’re going to do that,” Shepherd said, adding his department would put it out for bid again soon.
Animal ordnance thoughtsColvin voiced his concern over the county’s new five-dog limit in its recent ordnance and the public’s response to it during a July 23 public forum.
“That seems that’s a little bit of government overreach that we’ve put this five-dog number out there,” Colvin said, adding he’s had multiple discussions with local agencies. “Hopefully they can come back with a proposal to the commissioners that will take away this arbitrary number and still meet the letter of the intent of what we’re trying to do, which is protect the animals and protect the people in this county. I think we can easily accomplish that with some minor tweaks.”
Secretary drops byMaryland Department of Emergency Management Secretary Russell Strickland stopped by the meeting during a short tour of St. Mary’s County.
Commissioner President Randy Guy (R) said, “All the people out there, we don’t think about emergency situations until it happens to us and then that red truck shows up or that siren and an ambulance shows up, so I want to make sure we’re prepared at all times to respond to our citizens.”
“Our responsibilities are to be with the local jurisdictions before, during and after all of the preparedness within the emergency management discipline,” Strickland said.
He later added, “We are as prepared as we can be” and “recovery is where we focus on the survivor, and that’s the most important part of what we do each and every day.”
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