MINUTES

PUBLIC HEARING

PINEY POINT HOUSING SEWAGE COLLECTION SYSTEM

REPLACEMENT

JUNE 06, 2005

The meeting commenced at 7:05 p.m. In attendance were MetCom Commissioner Noel (Tim) Wood of the 2^nd and 9^th Election Districts; MetCom staff  Steve King, Bill Shreve, Norah Pons, and Lilian Bryan. Also in attendance were property owners as listed on the attached sign-in sheet.

Mr. King introduced officials, and thanked property owners for attending the hearing. He noted that the proposed project area has been identified as one of three within the County with the most significant infiltration inflow problems. This situation occurs when ground/stormwater enters the system through broken pipes, misaligned joints, illegally connected downspouts, exterior drains, flooded manholes, etc., during high levels of groundwater. As a result, it can overload the treatment plant, pumping stations and, on occasions, sanitary sewers if it enters the system. He reiterated that the Piney Point system is worn out and needs to be replaced.

Mr. King invited Mr. Shreve to give a Power Point presentation on the proposed project, a copy of which is attached to the Minutes. It is also available for viewing on the Commission’s website at www.metcom.org.

Mr. Shreve commented that all of the sewer lines in the area which have been televised and smoke tested have illustrated numerous problems. Mrs. Nagle agreed, offering that a significant overflow occurred on April 25^th in the County ditch, which runs into the Potomac River. She claimed that the overflow lasted several hours and entered her property. There was a lengthy discussion concerning MetCom’s response to this incident, and Mr. King concluded by assuring Ms. Nagle that he would direct staff to investigate the incident and report their findings as soon as possible. Ms. Nagle also added that this was the only incident she could recall occurring in the last several years; and which showed significant improvement over previous problems. Commissioner Wood concluded that this incident highlights the importance of the proposed project.

The first section of a brief videotape that Ms. Pons offered, illustrated the sewer line behind the houses along Rt. 249. This showed that the ceiling of the old clay pipes which were installed in the 1940’s has fallen in, with significant root intrusion entering the joints and service connections.  She also showed brief clips on smoke and red dye testings.

Mr. Shreve continued his presentation by reviewing the “Excess of Average Flows Resulting from Heavy Precipitation” chart. This shows that 55% originate from the Piney Point Gravity Sewer; 14% originates from both Piney Point Landings/Sheehan Subdivision; and 17% originates from St. George Island.

Mr. Shreve stated that the Hearing being held tonight is specifically to acknowledge the existing problem, and to assure property owners that MetCom proposes to resolve it. Several methods for repairing the sewer system were evaluated to determine the most economical and effective way to achieve this. He strongly stressed that the rates, as shown, are rough estimates which cover constructions costs only.  As required, a second Public Hearing will be held in the latter part of September, at which time property owners will be presented with costs; project schedule etc. Estimated total cost for the project at this point is $879,000.

As a matter of interest, he noted that the applicable Annual Debt Service for an interest rate of 1.6%, covering a 20-year loan period, is estimated to be $47,264/yr. This will be recovered through the Commission’s Operation and Maintenance Budget. 

Mr. Shreve concluded his presentation by stating that house connections to the new sewer system, which are considered to be a major source of inflow and must be replaced as part of the project, will be the homeowners’ responsibility. In order to ensure that this is achieved economically, and with minimal inconvenience to property owners’, the Commission proposes that only one contractor install all of the connections at the time that the new system is being built. A connection fee will be averaged out to each of the 55 houses in the service area; the amount of which will be presented at the September, 2005 Public Hearing. In answer to a question from the floor he assured property owners that, because the distances between their properties are fairly uniform, at approximately 50’, there would not be sufficiently significant differences to make this method inequitable. A one-time charge, which he estimates to be approximately $1,000 at this time, will be applied when the system is ready-to-serve.

Mr. King assured Mr. Krumke that those customers on grinder pumps would not be charged this connection fee. Mr. Krumke agreed, noting that when the pumps

were installed, the majority of house services were replaced; and new lines were

run from the house to the grinder pump. He also added that Ms. Nagle’s residence is the only one on Stark Drive without a grinder pump.

Mr. King said that staff will investigate the reason for this, and whether new service connections were installed at her residence when she was hooked up to the gravity line. He stressed that staff will have to ensure that the proposed project is done correctly. The seven houses will be tested to ascertain if the connections are properly sealed, as there will be a continuing problem if they are not.

Mr. King continued that, following tonight’s Hearing; Board approval to hire an engineering firm to prepare a design for the project will be requested. The successful firm will review the cost estimates and determine if they are accurate. They will then prepare final cost estimates. In addition they will recommend the best option to be presented to the Board.  

In answer to a concern regarding adequate capacity of the treatment plant following completion of the project, and proposed new development on Lighthouse Road, Mr. King replied that the station is designed to handle 300,000 gallons/day. This has not been fully allocated to date, and still has a few more years’ worth of capacity. However, the County will eventually have to decide at that point whether to expand the pumping station or whether to impose a moratorium. He added that adding more customers will be a benefit, in that there will be more people sharing in the costs. He also briefly clarified a proposed Uniform Debt Service Charge which MetCom will be presenting to legislature in the Fall.

Reverting to the house connections issue, Mr. King informed property owners’ that MetCom has never implemented a deferral program for house connections. However, he is willing to recommend to MetCom’s Board that they consider financing this cost, as opposed to immediate payoff by property owners’. He stressed, however, that it will be excluded from the proposed Uniform Benefit Assessment Charges as it would not be fair and equitable to have other MetCom customers finance building sewers on private property.

Mr. King continued that part of the design would involve not only cost considerations, but continued service during installation of the new system. He warned that, although the contractor will make every attempt to avert this possibility, some property owners might have to avail themselves of their neighbor’s facilities for a day or so during this period.  

Mr. Krumke left the Hearing at this point, and complimented staff on its efforts

on their behalf.

In answer to a request from Ms. Lake, Mr. Shreve offered the following estimated project schedule –

• September, 20           Second  Public Hearing;
• October 13                 Project Approval by MetCom Board;
• November 30                        Bid Opening scheduled;
• December 08                         Bid Approval by Board;
• January 06, 2006       Contract Award; 
• January 30, 2006       Notice to Proceed
• May 30, 2006             Scheduled Completion Date.

The meeting concluded at 8:20 p.m.