The end is near with the FDR road project

The end of the FDR Boulevard project is within sight after the St. Mary’s commissioners approved a contract to complete Phase 3B Tuesday in Leonardtown.

The final phase extends FDR Boulevard from Buck Hewitt Road to Pegg Road, a distance of about a mile.

The $9.1 million contract was awarded to Great Mills Trading Co., which previously completed phases 1B and 3A of the project. Funding was allocated in calendar year 2023.

“This will finally get this thing all the way down to Pegg Road,” Commissioner Mike Hewitt (R) said.

Construction should be completed in about 20 months.

Hewitt noted that the bid seemed way low, and wondered if the project ran into trouble if there would be a recourse.

“The bid they submitted was analyzed to make sure they could complete it,” said St. Mary’s Procurement Manager/Contracting Officer Brandon Hayden, who added that “construction estimates for road projects are based on [State Highway Association] numbers and we tend to be much leaner down here in reality for what the consultants use as their estimates.”

Child support grant OK’d

The commissioners also approved the fiscal 2025 Cooperative Reimbursement Agreement for the Child Support Grant in the amount of $333,839.

The memorandum is a recurring agreement and will fund salary and fringe benefits for 3.58 full-time employees, supplies, fuel and oil, vehicle maintenance, telephone and training costs.

DHS provides about 66% federal funding for the total program operating cost on the agreement or $549,851.

The county is required to fund the difference of 34% of the total program operating cost, and it has already budgeted for the grant.

Hewitt asked how big of an issue child support is for the police department.

“It continues to be pretty taxing as far as the papers that come over to be served,” St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office Administrative Division Captain Shawn Moses said. “Yeah, sure [we have people who don’t pay], so our job is to go out, find them and make sure they come to court.”

The next commissioners’ meeting will be held 9 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 10, at 41770 Baldridge St. in Leonardtown.