Some of the Esperanza M.S. drainage work already accomplished. Photo courtesy of SMCPS.

Leonardtown, MD — When Tropical Storm Sandy slammed through the area in 2012 on its way north, it left behind a problem that has been plaguing the St. Mary’s County Board of Education ever since. The storm and its heavy rain caused severe erosion of the steep slopes behind Esperanza Middle School.

The erosion caused closing of a ballfield and fencing off of other play areas to keep the students away from the hazardous conditions. The erosion also came close to the school itself, although school officials insist no damage was done to the school building.

The board budgeted $780,000 for the work. Since then work on the slopes has been completed in two phases. Director of Design and Construction Larry Hartwick explained to the school board at its June 8 meeting, “In 2013, temporary stabilization, permanent repairs consisting of engineered slopes and extensive drainage structures were designed by the civil engineering firm of Whitney Baily Cox and Magnani. The Maryland Department of the Environment [MDE] approved the plans in August 2014. Due to the difficulty of the project and given the steep slopes, the Phase II repairs were completed in November 2015.”

Hartwick explained that during the course of doing the work on Phase II an additional area of erosion was discovered that was covered by vegetation That area is farther north of the completed two projects and closer to Maple Street.

The local civil engineering firm of Mehaffey and Associates was hired to design permanent drainage structures for the third area of erosion, according to Hartwick. The area to be disturbed is less than 5,000 square feet and thus does not require MDE approval.

After listening to the presentation the board awarded a contract of $48,700 plus a contingency if $15,000 to SGX, Inc. of Frederick. The work will be done this summer when school is out.

During the discussion, board member Mary Washington noted that one of the areas stabilized was fairly close to the school building. She wondered if the board shouldn’t be more proactive in assuring that any structural damage doesn’t occur to the school.

Hartwick responded. “We don’t see any evidence of impact on the foundation of the school.” He added, “I am not concerned about the structure of the school itself.”
With the completion of the third and final phase, the school board is expected to have a project fund balance of more than $300,000 from the budgeted $780,000.

In other action Items from June 8 meeting, the board:

•Awarded a contract for $163,700 to Titan Industrial Services of Baltimore for the painting of Leonardtown High School.

• Approved an increase in school lunch prices of ten cents, to bring the price to $2.65 for elementary schools and $2.85 for secondary schools. The increase was necessary because of the increase in the federal reimbursement for free lunch meals.

• Approved an increase of five cents for breakfast due to meal price increases. That brings the cost for elementary school breakfasts to $1.45 and to $1.50 for secondary schools.

Contact Dick Myers at dick.myers@thebaynet.com