St. Mary’s County commissioners marked the opening of a new county-run early learning center Tuesday, capping a business meeting that also included a $71,933 state grant to continue the sheriff’s office’s overdose-tracking program and the nomination of two areas for a new round of federal Opportunity Zone tax incentives.
The Commissioners of St. Mary’s County reconvened at 2 p.m. for a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the St. Mary’s County Early Learning Center, part of a broader push by county leaders in recent years to expand childcare access and use it as a recruitment tool for county employees. The center is one of several recent projects in which the county has partnered with the St. Mary’s County Family YMCA — part of the YMCA of the Chesapeake — which also took over operation of the county’s Great Mills Swimming Pool this year after county recreation staff wound down operations there in April. The county and the YMCA have held a formal lease and operating agreement since at least 2022.
Earlier in the day, commissioners opened their business meeting with an invocation and the pledge of allegiance before approving a consent agenda that included a letter of support for the St. Mary’s River Watershed Association’s application to the Chesapeake Bay Trust’s Capacity Building Grant program. Commissioners also presented commendations to Ann and Paul Jean, Mary Ann Rymer and the Center of Life Enrichment for 20 years of service delivering meals through the county’s Home Delivered Meals Program, which provides food to homebound seniors and residents with disabilities.
During County Administrator Time, commissioners approved a fiscal 2027 Performance Incentive Grant Fund award. The state grant program, administered through Maryland’s Justice Reinvestment Act framework, has in past years supported jail-based treatment programs at the St. Mary’s County Detention and Rehabilitation Center, including medication for opioid use disorder services.
Commissioners also approved the fiscal 2027 Overdose and Drug Awareness Coordinator Project Grant, a $71,933 state award funded through the Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention and Policy that will run from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027. The grant funds a full-time coordinator within the sheriff’s office who tracks local drug trends, reviews overdose cases for possible prosecution and shares information about high-risk individuals with public health partners. The position also serves as a liaison connecting the sheriff’s office with the St. Mary’s County Health Department, MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital, county schools and local mental health providers on outreach, education and intervention efforts.
In economic development business, commissioners approved a request from the county’s Department of Economic Development to submit census tracts 8760.04 and 8759.04 to the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development for consideration as federal Opportunity Zones under the newly restructured “Opportunity Zone 2.0” program. Under changes included in federal tax legislation passed in 2025, states must submit a new round of zone nominations by late September, with Maryland allowed to designate up to 113 census tracts statewide out of roughly 451 that qualify based on poverty and income criteria. Opportunity Zones do not provide direct funding to property owners; instead, they offer capital gains tax incentives meant to draw private investment into projects such as housing and commercial redevelopment in economically distressed areas. Newly designated zones would take effect Jan. 1, 2027.
Commissioners also authorized the Department of Land Use & Growth Management to apply for a Maryland Historical Trust Historic Preservation Non-Capital Grant for fiscal 2027, and approved a requested amendment to the county’s employee timekeeping policy. Commissioners closed out the business portion of the meeting with Commissioner Time before moving to the afternoon ribbon-cutting event.
The next meeting of the Commissioners of St. Mary’s County is scheduled for Tuesday, July 28, at 9 a.m. in the CSMC Meeting Room on the first floor of the Chesapeake Building, 41770 Baldridge Street in Leonardtown, with a public forum to follow that evening at 6:30 p.m. Meetings are open to the public and can be viewed live on SMCG TV Channel 95 or streamed at youtube.com/@StMarysCoGov. Meeting decisions and related documents are posted under “Board Documents” on the county government’s website.
