ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Comptroller Brooke E. Lierman, Governor Wes Moore, and Treasurer Dereck Davis approved 81 initiatives representing a total expenditure of more than $241 million last Wednesday during a meeting of the Board of Public Works.
Comptroller Lierman voted to approve $5.2 million in requests from the Maryland Department of the Environment for flood management measures to alert local governments and reduce runoff and reflected on recent deadly flooding in Texas that has killed more than 100 people. She emphasized the need for investing in infrastructure that could save lives in flood-prone areas in Maryland.
“As a former Texas resident for a few years, it is absolutely devastating to watch what happened there,” Comptroller Lierman said. “We are not immune in Maryland to that type of flooding that we saw happen there. Close to home, just in the last week, officials ordered the shutdown of Main Street [in Ellicott City] not once but twice as a result of significant rain-producing events.”
The three-member board also approved a $7.5 million grant to support the construction of a new downtown hotel and conference center in Frederick. Comptroller Lierman, who voted in support of the project during her time as a delegate in the Maryland General Assembly, congratulated Mayor Michael O’Connor on completing the project.
”When I think of the project, I just think better late than never,” she said. “Projects like this that promise a truly transformative effect on the local economy should be easy wins for local and state governments to form partnerships on. I look forward to staying there in the coming years.”
The Comptroller praised the State Highway Administration’s efforts regarding four of six contracts for maintenance services being awarded to Minority Business Enterprises.
In all, the Board of Public Works approved 81 items, representing a total State expenditure of $241,262,959.41, including:
- Grant agreements for nine recipients for 10 projects located in seven counties and Baltimore City with a total value of $31,276,596.
- Nine items awarding $13,078,553.77 to prime certified small business primes.
- Nine items awarding $12,906,653.77 to certified minority business enterprise primes.
- 13 items awarded with established participation goals for minority business enterprises.
- One item awarded with established participation goals for veteran-owned small business enterprises.
The next meeting of the Board of Public Works is August 6, 2025.