SALISBURY – County officials this week approved $350,000 in state funding for the development of a new park.
The Wicomico County Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to accept a $350,000 grant award through the state’s Local Park and Playground Infrastructure Bill. The money, officials say, will be used in the development of Pirate’s Wharf Park.
“I’m glad to see this coming forward, and I support it fully,” said Council President Larry Dodd.
In 2018, the late County Executive Bob Culver announced Wicomico County had secured an $820,000 grant from the National Parks Service through the Land and Water Conservation Fund to create a public park at Pirate’s Wharf, roughly 340 acres of county-owned property along the Wicomico River. And with the help of matching grants and a financial commitment from the Wicomico County Council, the county was able to leverage the federal funding to generate $1.8 million for the first phase of the project.
The future Pirate’s Wharf Park will include a trail system and gathering spaces, as well as a public boat ramp that will provide access to the water, according to master plan developed by Davis, Bowen & Friedel. In the first phase of the park’s development, for example, the master plan proposed a 1,500-square-foot pavilion, a playground, fishing pier, observation deck, a boat ramp and soft launch area and a trail system.
When asked this week about the park’s opening, Wicomico County Recreation, Parks and Tourism Director Steve Miller said it was slated for 2022.
“We were hoping by the end of 2021,” he said. “We’re clearly not going to make that, so I’m hopeful for 2022. We’re in the process of trying to get through state review, permitting and those types of things. There’s a lot of red tape because we have federal and state money and critical areas. There’s a lot of navigation, but I’m hopeful.”
After further discussion, a motion to accept the $350,000 grant passed unanimously.
This will be the second time in less than a month the county has received state funding for the park’s development. In October, for example, the council voted to accept a $50,000 matching grant award from the Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration Recreational Trail Program to construct two stone dust surface trails at Pirate’s Wharf.
