The St. Mary’s County Board of Education has given to go-ahead for the first phase of the Esperanza Middle School erosion project. The school board at its Wednesday meeting approved the award of a $94,700 contract to Allied Contractors to begin the soil stabilization work.
The St. Mary’s County Commissioners had earlier forward funded monies to begin the work. A bank behind a ball field at the school caved in as the result of Hurricane Sandy and subsequent rains. The project was originally in the schools’ Fiscal Year 2014 capital budget, but the school board insisted that the project be advanced out of safety concerns.
Work that will be done is solely on school property. A second phase will require the school system to secure drainage easements on adjacent property and that will be done later.
An open contract with Allied by the Maryland State Highway Administration is being used to expedite the work which the school board considers to be a safety hazard.
Additional fencing and warning tapes were constructed in front of the baseball field backstop in addition to the fencing that already exists around the entire field. Another field is being used until the project is complete.
The school board is seeking recovery of up to 75 percent of the money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency because the problem was caused by Hurricane Sandy.
School Board Vice President Brooke Matthews questioned the high percentage contingency of $35,000 that was also awarded. Larry Hartwick, the system’s director of design and Construction, said that was necessary due to “the uncertainty of field conditions.”
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