LEONARDTOWN — A longer runway at the county airport, a fare-free bus system and a new St. Clement’s Island museum opening next year are among the projects St. Mary’s County government is showcasing in its 2026 State of the County video.
The roughly 10-minute video, released by the county’s Public Information Office in October, is the county’s annual report to residents. Like last year’s edition, which the Chronicle covered when it debuted at a Chamber of Commerce luncheon, it walks through the past year department by department. Past videos are posted on the county’s State of the County page.
County Administrator David Weiskopf opens the video on behalf of the Commissioners of St. Mary’s County, tying the year to the nation’s 250th anniversary and the county’s 40th annual Flag Day celebration.
Bigger planes, a new road and free rides
The infrastructure section leads with the completed runway extension at Captain Walter Francis Duke Regional Airport, known by its code 2W6. A county official in the video says the airport can now handle larger jets. The commissioners recently approved rules for renting space at the airport terminal on a 4-1 vote.
Work on Phase 3B of FDR Boulevard was set to wrap up in October, according to the video. The road now runs from Maryland Route 235 just north of Route 4 down to Pegg Road, where the county installed its first county-owned traffic signal. The county describes FDR Boulevard as a safer alternative to Route 235, with traffic circles built in to slow drivers.
Fiscal year 2026 was the first year St. Mary’s Transit System buses ran fare-free. Ridership increased substantially, according to the video, and the county secured more state and federal transit money. Officials say that funding paid for three paratransit vans that can reach narrow driveways the buses cannot.
Business help under one roof
The county is promoting a new economic development initiative called Flight Path, which connects small businesses and would-be entrepreneurs with counseling, training and capital. The video describes the second floor of the Potomac Building in Leonardtown as a one-stop hub. It houses the Department of Economic Development, Business St. Mary’s, the tourism division, the Small Business Development Center and the Chamber of Commerce.
St. Mary’s 2050 nears the finish line
The Department of Land Use and Growth Management held more than 50 public meetings, workshops, stakeholder sessions and community events over the past year for St. Mary’s 2050, the county’s new comprehensive plan. The video says the final plan will pull that input into a shared vision for the county’s future. The comprehensive plan guides zoning, growth areas and infrastructure decisions for years after adoption, making it one of the most consequential documents the commissioners will act on.
Emergency alerts and AEDs in parks
In 2025, the Department of Emergency Services moved its mass notification system from CodeRED to Regroup, which sends real-time alerts about severe weather and other emergencies. The county is urging residents to sign up through its website.
The county also installed 13 outdoor automated external defibrillator cabinets: one in each of 12 parks and one at the Garvey Senior Activity Center near the pickleball courts. A county official in the video says starting defibrillation early can raise survival from sudden cardiac arrest by 50 to 75%.
Parks, landings and a museum
Recreation and Parks highlights a full makeover of the St. Inigoes public landing, one of the county’s 15 landings, with new decking, a new ramp and dredging. Work is underway at Forrest Landing in Hollywood. The department also expanded the skate park at Nicolet Park, points to the skate park at Chaptico Park and added pickleball access at Chancellor’s Run.
At St. Clement’s Island, a larger water taxi that wheelchair users can board directly is now running. A new two-story museum is set to open next year. The video says it will tell the story of Maryland’s 1634 founding from both the colonists who arrived on the Ark and the Dove and the Native people already living here, with a children’s space and changing exhibits.
Services for seniors and families
Aging and Human Services marked the fifth anniversary of the Garvey Senior Activity Center, which offers exercise and art classes and congregate meals. The department also distributes memory care kits with puzzles and books to help residents keep their minds sharp, and it holds an October community health fair with a flu vaccine clinic. Organizers expect at least 500 visitors.
The video closes by crediting county staff in finance, human resources, information technology, the county attorney’s office and the Public Information Office, and the community partners behind the year’s projects.
Residents can track how several of these projects move ahead through upcoming commissioner meetings, including state road priorities the county set earlier this year, which the Chronicle covered in March.
