La Plata — The Town Council on Nov. 18 approved two related actions to keep the La Plata Bikeway on schedule: additional professional services to Mead & Hunt (Resolution 25-30) and an in-lieu fee agreement with the Maryland Department of the Environment to mitigate wetland impacts (Resolution 25-31).

Town project lead Jamie Kendrick told the council utility coordination and geotechnical issues on the county side of the project required additional design work to “get the plans cleaned up and ready for advertisement by approximately May 1.” He said continuation of the existing contract would advance the design and that roughly one-third of the additional design cost is expected to be reimbursed pending a county agreement.

On wetlands mitigation, Kendrick said a county portion of the project pushed the total impacts above regulatory thresholds. Staff negotiated a fee-in-lieu that reduced an earlier estimate of about $500,000 and an 18-month delay to roughly $157,000 in mitigation costs, and he said approximately two-thirds of that amount is expected to be reimbursed by the county. Mayor James observed that grants cover remaining amounts and that, overall, the arrangement should be a near wash for town taxpayers.

Both resolutions were moved, seconded and adopted by unanimous roll call. The town clerk recorded affirmative votes from Councilmembers Guttenberg, McCormick, Sampson, Johnson and Mayor James.

Why this matters: the decisions limit schedule delay and reduce capital and time risks by taking a fee-in-lieu approach to wetlands mitigation and by funding design corrections that will allow the project to go out to bid. The council’s action commits the town to design work and a mitigation payment that together shape near-term cash exposure; staff estimated town cash exposure across related project costs at approximately $130,000–$300,000 over a three-year period, depending on reimbursements and state contributions.

Next steps: staff will finalize contract amendments with Mead & Hunt, execute the in-lieu fee agreement with MDE, and return to council with updates on the county reimbursement agreement and final town cash obligations.