The Calvert County Commissioners voted Tuesday, Sept. 11 to award a $773,280 contract to a Leonardtown business for the interior renovation work of a storefront in Solomons. The unit had been the location of Woodburn’s food store for several years. Once the retrofit is completed, the storefront will serve as the temporary location of Calvert Library’s Southern Branch.
The vote to award the contract to W.M. Davis Inc. was 4-to-0-to-1, with Commissioners’ President Gerald W. “Jerry” Clark [R] abstaining. Clark has previously cited a longtime friendship with the owner of the shopping center as his reason for recusing himself from the library project.
According to a memo from Roberta Baker of the Department of Finance and Budget, the contract includes installation of an HVAC system, windows, and the furnishing and installing broadloom tile.
Funding for the project is coming from a designated capital project account.
The interim library project has drawn criticism from some county government employees who claim the project is being funded with money that ought to be used to give them cost of living adjustments and salary step increases.
“The money for this renovation came from a one-time premium that came from our Triple A bond rating,” said Commissioner Susan Shaw [R], who added “I can’t wait until the ribbon cutting. This [funding] is not coming out of tax and not coming from operating money.”
Commissioner Evan K. Slaughenhoupt Jr. [R] noted the project was needed to ease the overcrowding at the library branch’s current location in the Southern Community Center (SCC).
Commissioner Pat Nutter [R] added that the library’s site at SCC “is just jam-packed.”
The contract award comes nearly one year to the day when the commissioners approved the project and entered into a lease agreement with Patuxent Plaza LLC President William Glascock II. At that time the board agreed to pay $94,240 rent per year beginning in fiscal year 2013 for the storefront.
Contact Marty Madden at marty.madden@thebaynet.com
