On July 16, Mayor Gavin Buckley issued a “fact sheet” on the City Dock Plan to clarify the ongoing confusion and controversy on the objectives, costs and funding of the biggest public works project in city history. Unfortunately, the fact sheet confirms that the current City Dock Plan is misguided where it deviates from its resiliency objectives. Buckley continues to suggest the current plan reflects the will of the citizens expressed through the City Dock Action Committee, which last met in 2021.
His fact sheet fails to mention that the 2021 City Dock Action Committee Report does not recommend a new Maritime Welcome Center on the water in a treacherous flood zone, a luxuriant splash fountain or the resort-style amenities that now comprise the City Dock Plan. Some might recall the Capital Gazette reported in 2022, quoting former DPW Chief David Jarrell, that the cost for the City Dock Plan was $42 million. It included the raised park on Dock Street, flood barriers, storm water pumps and removing the Harbor Master Office.
No splash fountain or welcome center was identified as part of the plan. Now, the total updated estimate is $90 million with the park, amenities, Maritime Welcome Center and the related and essential City Dock Compromise Street resiliency work. Resiliency work is $18 million of the $90 million estimate.
The increase in the City Dock Plan from $42 million in 2022 to at least $90 million in 2024 largely relates to the amenities and unnecessary Maritime Welc.