Outside of existing Garvey center. Photo courtesy of St. Mary’s County Public Information Office.
Leonardtown, MD –– The Commissioners of St. Mary’s County have approved the architect and engineering (A&E) contract for the new Leonardtown Library and Garvey Senior Center. The $1,696,491.92 bid was awarded to Grimm and Parker of Calverton, MD.
The bid was unanimously awarded at the commissioners’ Dec. 1 meeting. According to St. Mary’s County Procurement Officer Randy Burns the firm winning the bid has experience in designing both libraries and senior centers and co-locating them.
Seven bids were received and a committee consisting of representatives of the library, and departments of Aging and Community Services and Public Works narrowed that down to the top three. The winning bidder was the one preferred by the committee based on the cost and the firm’s experience. The bid was under the budget for the project.
During the discussion before the vote, Commissioner Mike Hewitt [R – 2nd District] asked how much of the administrative staff for the library and Office on Aging would be occupying the space. He said he wanted to make sure that wasn’t taking away from needed program space, considering the commissioners had gone with a lower square footage than had been requested by the library board.
Director of Public Works and Transportation George Erichsen said that library staff would occupy the new facility since they are in the current Leonardtown Library. He also said senior center staff would likely occupy space there although how many department staff would be there will be addressed during the design phase.
Hewitt then asked about the future use of the existing Garvey Senior Center building. Erichsen said the plan was to demolish it, but conceded it could be renovated instead and adopted for other uses if need be.
A new committee has been formed to work with the existing and planned Garvey centers to make sure that all of the program space needed is included in the design of the new facility.
Erichsen said the firm awarded the contract would provide solid construction estimates and be held accountable for any discrepancies. The commissioners are cognizant of what happened with the proposed jail expansion, which came in significantly over the engineer’s estimate and was subsequently shelved in favor of a renovation.
With the cost estimate in hand, Erichsen said the commissioners could make a decision whether to redesign it or come up with more funding if it comes in over budget. Commissioner Todd Morgan [R – 4th District] said that didn’t necessary mean the project had to come in exactly at or under budget to move forward as designed.
The co-located library and senior center will be on the Hayden farm property near the new Captain Walter Francis Duke Elementary School in front of Leonard’s Grant subdivision within the town of Leonardtown.
Contact Dick Myers at dick.myers@thebaynet.com