Taneytown board hears continued delays, cost increases for Memorial Park expansion

The Taneytown Parks and Recreation Advisory Board on Oct. 15 heard an update on the Memorial Park expansion project and was told delays remain while state and county reviews continue and construction costs have risen.

Lorena, Parks and Recreation staff, told the board that Arrow, the project engineer, resubmitted site plans to the State Highway administration and County Forest Conservation on Sept. 12. County Forest Conservation disapproved both the forest conservation and landscaping plans and returned a list of comments that, Lorena said, included earlier, unaddressed points from the county reviewer. Arrow has said it will correct and expedite a resubmittal.

The memo to the board outlined a number of dependent approvals that remain: State Highway review, County Forest Conservation sign‑off, planning commission approval, and conveyance of easement deeds for floodplain and forest conservation to the county. If approvals proceed, staff expects to release a request for proposals (RFP) late winter or early spring; council would award the construction contract and work could begin roughly a month after that award. Lorena said optimistic scheduling would allow site work and building placement during the next construction season and that, because the fields will use natural turf, the earliest realistic public use of the playing fields is 2027 to allow grass establishment.

Board members were told the sidewalk connecting Saint Joseph’s to the park property — a component Arrow included in the current plans — has added complexity and cost. Lorena said what had been projected earlier as roughly a $1.73 million project has changed with rising materials and labor prices; she said the multipurpose building alone is now quoted at about $900,000 and that the project relies on nearly $1 million in grant funding. She also noted a prior successful request to increase Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) grant funding for a different project (Bollinger), which yielded about $80,000 more, and said the city may pursue a similar cost‑recovery request if grant rules allow increases based on uncontrollable construction‑cost inflation rather than scope change.

Lorena described other major cost components: two large parking lots, the connector road, concrete sidewalks and walking paths, field grading, and lighting. Morton Buildings has a contract ready to lock pricing for the multipurpose building and, once signed, would begin permit work; Morton estimated three months from footer to turnover of the building once a contractor is ready to install it. The memo cautioned that field availability depends heavily on successful grass establishment; early play risks surface damage.

Board members asked about the State Highway review schedule; staff said Arrow received some email comments in mid‑September, responded, and that the board has had silence from State Highway since that exchange — about three weeks at the time of the meeting. Lorena said she would continue to press Arrow and State Highway for status updates.

The board did not take a formal vote on the project at the Oct. 15 meeting; staff summarized the outstanding approvals, the likely RFP timing, and next steps for easements and planning commission review.