Construction is about to resume on the stalled Patuxent River Naval Air Museum and Visitor Center. The final hurdle to resume construction occurred several weeks ago when the state signed off on the new $4.8 million bid which was then formally awarded on November 14 to Biscayne Contractors.
The county commissioners on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the State Highway Administration that extends the completion deadline to February 2015. Construction on the museum came to a screeching halt when the county rescinded the museum’s original construction contract with Broughton, a minority-owned business, when it was learned that the company had supplied “fraudulent performance bonds” according to the county Director of Finance Elaine Kramer.
In August the county accepted a new $4.8 million bid by Biscayne Contractors. The bid was $200,000 more than the original bid. The county had to wait for acceptance by the state because the state was the lead agency for the federal monies for the project. Tuesday’s decision to extend the construction completion holds in place the federal funding.
Of the bid price, the federal government will kick in $3.373 million, the state $350,000 (from a bond bill), the museum association $945,000 and the county the remainder, which represents 10 percent of the total.
During the discussion at the commissioners’ meeting on Tuesday, Commissioner Todd Morgan (R: 4th) asked about the fencing around the construction site. Morgan said some of the fencing had fallen down during the construction delay and asked who was responsible for replacing it. County Director of Public Works and Transportation George Erichsen said t
