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MINUTES
PUBLIC
HEARING
ANDOVER ESTATES RD/RTE. 249
APRIL
13, 2005
The meeting commenced
at 7:10 p.m. In attendance were County Commissioner Thomas Mattingly,
Sr., MetCom staff King, Shreve, Frederick, Petty and Bryan; and
interested parties as listed on the attached Attendance Sheet.
As required, Mr. Shreve
commenced the meeting by reading the Public Hearing notice into the
record. A copy is attached to the Minutes. Following introduction of
officials, he reviewed the following Agenda items:
1. Purpose of
Meeting and Scope of Project.
The
proposed project has now progressed to the point where drawings and
engineering work have been completed, and the cost estimate more firmly
established. The Code requires that a Public Hearing must be held at
this time to advise property owners of the project status, and estimated
final cost. Contingent upon County approval, Mr. Shreve reported a
further connection to the service area. This will slightly decrease the
overall cost.
2. Revised Cost
Estimate
Mr.
Shreve reviewed numbers within the attached document, “Revised Total
Estimated Cost – With Pumping Station and 1,775 L.F. of Mains by Others
at an Interest Rate of 0.9% per year for 20 Years”. He noted the Revised
Contractor Estimate of $423,530.
3. Funding and
Debt Service
Mr.
Shreve continued by reviewing the attached document entitled “Debt
Service for 20-Year Loan at 2% for 21 Property Owners”. He credited the
Grants Administrator with being instrumental in obtaining a State loan
which decreased the percentage rate to 0.9%. This had a significant
impact on final costs.
Questions and Answers.
Q. Where do
you propose to locate the pumping station?
A. It will
remain within the same location.
Q. How much
of this cost will the developer pay?
A. The Commission currently has a bond from them in the
amount of $600,000. However, this is an excessive amount, considering
that they are only going to connect five houses. Consequently, a
scaled-down version of the structure is now being considered. Final cost
is anticipated to be in the region of $200,000-$600,000.
Q. Is it possible to hook up two dwellings into one
grinder pump?
A. Yes, if the two separate dwellings are on one piece
of property that is owned and utilized by the same person. However, if
the lot is subdivided, a separate grinder pump will have to be
installed. MetCom has no control over this issue; it is handled entirely
by the Office of Land Use & Growth Management (LUGM).
Q. Will the St. George’s Peninsula (SGP)
subdivision hook up to the system.
A. Only 5 of the 11 lots have been approved for connection.
Q. In the event that approval is granted, can they hook up?
A. The Consent Agreement does not permit the connection of
new structures.
Q. Can the developer install another Pumping Station to serve
those properties?
A. No.
Q. Why is the pumping station such a distance from the
project?
A. The design was selected in order to serve the 5 lots
within the SGP subdivision. This has resulted in a significant savings
to property owners. The remaining 6 lots will be served by mound
systems.
Q. If the mound system should fail, will they be allowed to
connect at that time.
A. These systems are not intended to fail, as they meet a
higher standard. In any event, mound systems normally have the
capability to be replaced twice. In addition, it is possible to return
to the original site at this point, as the soil is capable of
rejuvenating itself.
Q. In that case, wouldn’t it be cheaper to install mound
systems for everybody?
A. You need to have the right soils to be able to do so.
Q. Is there going to be an Andover Estates project?
A. Yes, but your project precedes it by approximately 3-5
months. They will utilize the same pumping station, and will be paying
for a portion of that cost. They have chosen to build a self-help
project.
Q. How far from the well will the pump be located?
A. The policy is 50’ for a drilled well, and 100’ for a dug
well.
Q. Why then is my pump situated less than 50’ away?
A. Provide staff with your particulars before you leave
tonight and staff will investigate this.
Q. I have a neighbor who doesn’t like the location of the
stake in her yard. Is it possible to relocate it further towards the
road?
A. MetCom’s policy specifies a general location within 200’
of the house. However, staff will be pleased to review this, together
with any other homeowners’ who are dissatisfied with location of the
stakes.
Q. What is visible above ground?
A. The lid and part of the vault. Mr. King cautioned
homeowners not to plant bushes around its immediate location, or build
anything over the top of it. Flowers planted in this area will be at the
homeowners’ risk. The ideal location would be a fair distance from the
driveway, near the property line. There would also need to be an
unobstructed range of vision from the electrical panel located on the
side of the house, to the pump. There are two lines; one powers the pump
and the other powers the alarms.
Q. How much does the grinder pump affect the electric bill?
A. Approximately $1/month. You have to be cautious in not
allowing contractors (plumbers/electricians) to disconnect the house
from the septic tank until the power line has been run and inspected.
MetCom will not turn the power on to the pump until this has been done,
as it can cause significant damage. If the property owners’ choose to
turn the power on themselves, they will be responsible for any resulting
damage.
Q. Who mounts the box?
A. MetCom does.
Q. What voltage does the pump draw?
A. 20 amp breaker with 220V.
Q. Does MetCom have standard specifications that the
contractor must abide by, and would they be responsible for contacting
the Commission regarding this?
A. Yes, they are all generally aware of this. With this type
of project, the Commission installs the grinder pump and hooks it up to
the control panel. All of the yard work, apart from disconnecting the
building sewer from the septic tank and connecting it to the grinder
pump, is performed by MetCom.
Q. Does Bay Country remain the contractor of choice?
A. Yes. They have a lot of experience with this type of work.
Q. What is the normal life expectancy of the pump.
A. Generally, 20 years. Tanks will last longer than this. To
prolong its life, don’t treat it as a garbage disposal.
Q. What is the timeframe between installation of grinder pumps
and the deadline to connect?
A. A further Hearing is required to be held prior to
declaring the system Ready-To-Serve. This is intended to give
homeowners’ the opportunity to state if the assessed charges, based on
the actual finished cost of building the system, are correct. Following
this, they will be sent a notice verifying that the system is
ready-to-serve, and that connection must be made within six months.
Billing will commence at that time. At this point, legal action can be
instituted to force connection. A reasonable extension may be requested
if a legitimate reason
prohibits you from immediate connection.
Q. Is this a Cost plus Contract rate?
A. Hourly rates are in effect for labor and equipment used on
the job. Staff will supervise construction of the project. There is a 5%
contingency built into the quote, and the final amount should be very
close to the estimate, if not less.
Q. If MetCom proposes to commence construction of the system
in June, 2005 what would happen if the developer does not keep pace with
the schedule?
A. MetCom has in its possession a bond from the developer
which is tied into a date. The original bond has been signed and dated
based on installation of the $600,000 pumping station. The developer has
the opportunity to reduce the scope of that, and will do so if it is
justified. If construction of the pumping station does not keep pace
with the project, the Commission has the authority to call the bond and
do the work itself. However, there is no indication that this will be
necessary.
Q. Why didn’t
the developer pay for the entire cost of the pumping station?
A. Because it cost him a lot more than he anticipated. It is
not reasonable to expect him to pay $600,000 for connecting only 5
houses.
There being no further
questions, Mr. Shreve thanked attendees for their participation, and
offered staff’s assistance following the Hearing if help is required
with issues involving their
individual properties.
In conclusion, Mr. King
requested that, during construction, all questions or concerns should be addressed to
MetCom staff on site, rather than directly to the contractor. Past experience has
proved that this delays their work. Should a member of the staff not be visible, they
are invited to contact Mr. Chet Frederick, Chief Engineer; Mr. Bill Shreve, Assistant
Director; or himself, at the head office location in Hollywood.
Prior to officially
closing the Hearing at 8:00 p.m., Mr. King especially thanked County
Commissioner Thomas Mattingly, Sr., for his attendance.
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