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.

Commissioners also approved a standardized lease between the county and the Patuxent River Naval Air Museum Association Inc., converting prior memoranda of understanding into a tenant-landlord arrangement. George Erickson, director of the Department of Public Works and Transportation, said the lease clarifies responsibilities such as grounds and building maintenance, and includes a reverter clause tied to a Federal Highway Administration grant that requires the facility be used as a museum or visitor center.

Separately related to the museum, the board approved a budget amendment of $27,300 to bring Internet connectivity to the museum by using dark fiber made available under the county's franchise arrangements. The county’s director of Emergency Services and Technology, Mr. Kelly, described the plan to extend existing fiber to the facility and noted the one-time costs cover installation to the building and equipment to light the fiber. "Fiber is anywhere between $18 to $25,000 a mile," Kelly said, describing the value of the donated infrastructure; he summarized dark fiber as "a piece of glass in the ground" that the county will light with equipment.

The board approved a $30,000 budget amendment from the FY15 capital reserve to cover emergency repairs at the county health department after a rupture in underground heating oil supply lines. Jeanette Cudmore, county CFO, said the county installed a temporary above-ground tank to keep operations running and will upgrade piping and containment to meet current Maryland Department of the Environment standards.

On behavioral health, the commissioners approved four memoranda of understanding and the FY16 conditions of award from the Maryland Behavioral Health Administration totaling $3,746,369 across multiple project numbers (MD 1659, 1689, 1697, 1698 and US 1623, 1655). Lori Jennings-Harris, director of the Department of Aging and Human Services, and Matt Riesdorf, substance-abuse coordinator, presented the awards, which the county will use for prevention, intervention and treatment services.

The sheriff’s office presented two grant actions the board approved: a $52,000 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (to support a jail-based Vivitrol program aimed at treating opioid dependence in heavily addicted inmates) and a Project Safe Sell award of $27,047 to address security camera blind spots and related detention-center needs. Captain Dietrich described the Vivitrol regimen as a monthly injectable blockade used with counseling and community providers; he said the program aims to target roughly 20 high-need inmates with in-jail doses and follow-up community treatments.

Finally, commissioners approved a $130,000 draw from the commissioners’ emergency reserve to support start-up maintenance and operational needs tied to the Navy museum’s opening and early operations; Jeanette Cudmore said the action is intended to help the museum sustain itself through initial months without creating a permanent county operating subsidy.

Votes at a glance

- Approve minutes of May 19, 2015 — motion carried (unanimous). - Agreement: Colony Builders Incorporated to supervise improvements to the Drayden African American Schoolhouse (Capital Project RP 1503) — approved (unanimous). - Autism Speaks Baker Summer Camp Scholarship Award, $2,500 for Camp Inspire — approved (unanimous). - Lease: Patuxent River Naval Air Museum Association Inc. — approved (unanimous). - Budget amendment: $30,000 from FY15 Capital Reserve for health department emergency repairs (PF 1507) — approved (unanimous). - Budget amendment: $27,300 from FIN 15 Capital Reserve to Navy Museum Project 1408 for dark fiber connectivity — approved (unanimous). - FY16 Behavioral Health Administration awards and four MOUs totaling $3,746,369 (project numbers MD 1659, 1689, 1697, 1698, US 1623, 1655) — approved (unanimous). - Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant application, FY2015, $52,000 — approved (unanimous). - Project Safe Sell grant award (MS 15 US 1518), $27,047 and related budget amendment — approved (unanimous). - Budget amendment: $130,000 from commissioners’ emergency reserve to support Patuxent River Naval Air Museum initial operations — approved (unanimous).

Context and next steps

Most approvals authorized the commissioner president to execute related documents. Several items — notably the museum lease and connectivity work — have follow-on implementation steps (construction and equipment installation, coordination with the franchise holder and museum staff). The behavioral-health awards and jail grants require coordination with external state grantees and community providers for service delivery; the sheriff’s office said the Vivitrol program will include in-jail administration and community follow-up. The county will post updates and construction photos for the Patuxent River Naval Air Museum project on the county website’s special-projects pages.