St. Mary’s County commissioners approve restoration agreement, museum lease and several grants and budget amendments

The Commissioners of St. Mary’s County on May 26, 2015 approved a package of agreements, grant applications and budget amendments that include a privately led restoration of the Drayden African American Schoolhouse, a lease and startup funding for the Patuxent River Naval Air Museum, county emergency repairs at the health department, and several public-safety and behavioral-health grants.

The most immediate preservation action was approval of an agreement enabling Colony Builders Incorporated to supervise improvements to the Drayden African American Schoolhouse, a county capital project (RP 1503). Don Cropp of Colony Builders, who presented the plan alongside Brian Louie, director of Recreation and Parks, described a volunteer-led restoration that will repair floors and roofing, repoint masonry and reinstall a chimney using reclaimed bricks from the 1800s. "We're gonna jack up the floors a little bit, kinda sand them, and put linseed oil like they did in the old days," Cropp said, and said he and his wife are collecting period furnishings and volunteer help to turn the building into a museum and living-history site. The board voted to approve the agreement and authorized the commissioner president to execute it.

The board approved a $2,500 Autism Speaks Baker Summer Camp Scholarship award to support scholarship slots at Camp Inspire. Jessica Hale, recreation division manager, said the camp can host up to 48 attendees including peer assistants and that Recreation and Parks will offer a mix of full and partial scholarships based on need; she said registrations have ranged from the mid-20s to roughly 50 in prior years.

Commissi…