Leonardtown, MD — Tennis courts at Great Mills and Chopticon high schools will be refurbished in the next two months. And the tennis courts at Esperanza Middle School will also be refurbished after completion of an engineering study.
The St. Mary’s County Board of Education at its April 27 meeting approved the award of a $429,750 contract for the two high school projects, including a $50,000 construction contingency. A total of $700,000 was budgeted in the current fiscal year for tennis court reconstruction. The remainder will be used for the Esperanza project.
According to the school system’s Director of Design and Construction Larry Hartwick, the staff hired a consultant to determine the status of the existing tennis courts at the two high schools, He said, “Core samples were taken at both locations which showed sufficient asphalt below the tennis courts to allow for two inches of the asphalt to be milled and a new asphalt overlay provided.”
In addition to the asphalt overlay, the work involves removing all fencing, net posts and anchors. All cracks at the sublayer (which is at least three-inches thick), will be filled and a Petro Magic fabric installed. Base coat, color coats and paint playing lines will be provided and new nets and fence installed. The fence will have top, middle and bottom rails.
The contract was awarded to American Tennis Courts, Inc. with a piggyback contract under the National Purchasing Alliance Cooperative. A state agency in Texas let the original bid and a number of school systems around the country use it, including several others in Maryland. Prices for the tennis court construction have remained stable under the contract since 2013.
American Tennis Courts is the largest tennis facilities contractor in the country. Although they are national, they have a local office in Maryland.
School board member Rita Weaver has been consistently critical of piggyback contracts, wondering if bidding locally might save money. Weaver was not at the April 27 meeting. The piggyback contract was approved unanimously by the other four members. And, two of those members offered vigorous support for using the piggyback bidding process.
Board member Daniel Carney said using piggyback contracts is considered a best procurement practice by the organizations that he has been involved with. Board member Cathy Allen also said the legislature in the just concluded session rejected a bill to require local bidding because it was determined piggyback contracts are often considerably less expensive.
The board also approved a second piggyback contract at the April 27 meeting. The board awarded a contract for $23,212.20 plus a $1,160 contingency for overlaying 5,000 square feet of the roof at Esperanza Middle School. The work will be done by Lincoln Contractors, Inc. under a contract originally awarded by the St. Mary’s County Government.
The board also approved under the same contract up to $50,000 in roof Improvements in the next fiscal year for Great Mills High School, Esperanza and Margaret Brent middle schools, and Ridge Elementary School. Work will include resealing flashing grave stops and HVAC corner details.
Contact Dick Myers at dick.myers@thebaynet.com