City Council works committee proposes Mae’s school prefab structures remain until next year

Last Updated on Wednesday, 10 September 2025, 22:15 by Writer

The Works Committee of the Georgetown City Council on Wednesday agreed unanimously to propose to the wider Council that Mae’s School’s prefabricated structures remain on Farnum ground, Subryanville, Georgetown for the next six months until the new school building is rebuilt, a source said.

City Mayor Alfred Mentore did not divulge the Works Committee’s decision, but said other councillors would be asked whether they support that decision. He said the wider City Council would meet with representatives of the Subryanville community next Monday at 2 p.m. to inform them about the Council’s decision.

“We discussed as a committee and the recommendation will be round-robin for the full Council buy-in or object. We will then release that decision based on a majority. By Monday we will be armed with the decision and all other relevant information for meeting with the residents at our Kitty (Market) boardroom,” Mr Mentore told Demerara Waves Online News.

Demerara Waves Online News was reliably informed that the wider Council would be asked to say whether they agree with the Works Committee’s decision to allow Mae’s to remain on the recreational space for six months, pay a one-off amount for that period, a security deposit, and produce its building plan for the new permanent school no later than Friday to demonstrate their readiness to move forward.

The Works Committee, according to the source, also proposed that the so far unspecified one-off payment would be transferred to Subryanville residents to decide how it would be spent on the ground. The Finance Committee is expected to decide on the lumpsum amount that Mae’s would have to pay. Also, according to the source, the security deposit would be used to restore the ground to its original condition if the school’s owner refuses to do so.

The owner of Mae’s School, David Sugrim, on Wednesday declined to respond to a reporter’s questions and instead wound up his vehicle window and left the construction site.

Residents of Subryanville on Tuesday threatened to take legal action against the City Council if Mr Sugrim does not dismantle and remove the structures from Farnum Ground. City Mayor Alfred Mentore conceded to residents that they were not consulted in the aftermath of the fire when the school was allowed to erect tents on the ground to house the students. A number of councillors and City Engineer Colvern Venture also said they gave no permission for the prefab building to be erected on the land.

Mr Sugrim, who said he acquired the school from Mayfield French, told the meeting that the prefabricated two-flat building was resting on piles and would be removed after the multi-storey building is erected.

The outcome of Wednesday’s Works Committee meeting partly mirrors what Mayor Mentore said earlier of what he planned to propose.