MINUTES
REGULAR MEETING
ST. MARY’S COUNTY METROPOLITAN
COMMISSION
SEPTEMBER 14, 2006
The meeting commenced at 1:01 p.m.
In attendance were Commissioners Taylor, Suggs, Gant, Cranford, Werner
and Wood; staff members King, Frederick, Cullins, Sullivan and Bryan.
MOTION TO APPROVE AGENDA
Commissioner Cranford moved to
approve the Agenda as presented by staff. Commissioner Gant seconded
the motion and approval was unanimous.
Commissioner Suggs moved to approve
Minutes of the Regular Meeting held on August 10, 2006. Commissioner
Werner seconded the motion and approval was unanimous.
LENGTH OF SERVICE AWARDS:
Commissioner Taylor presented Ms.
Lee Lee Raley, Purchasing Agent, with a Meritorious Service Award and
pin commemorating her 30th year of service with the
Commission. He thanked her on behalf of the Board for her commitment
and tenure, and added his good wishes on her impending retirement.
In addition, Commissioner Taylor
presented Mr. Ramas Poteat, Construction Laborer, with a 16-year
Meritorious Service Award, and also thanked him for his service. He
concluded by wishing him well on his recent retirement.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
Commissioner Cranford moved to
adjourn into Executive Session to discuss personnel issues at 1:08
p.m. Commissioner Wood seconded the motion and approval was unanimous.
The meeting readjourned into
Regular Session at 1:12 p.m.
Commissioner Gant moved to approve
Minutes of Executive Session dated August 10, 2006. Commissioner
Cranford seconded the motion, and approval was unanimous.
DIRECTOR’S REPORT
A. Resolution for Extension of
Board Terms.
Mr. King justified his request to
change language within the Code to enable MetCom Board members to
serve five-year terms, which would be comparable to that of the
Planning Commission Board. If approved, the changes will be presented
to the Board of County Commissioners for their consideration and,
subsequently forwarded for submittal to the next session of the
legislative assembly. House Bill 1698, involving the Commission’s
proposed fee restructuring, will also be resubmitted at this time.
Commissioner Werner moved that the
Commission authorize the Director to submit to the Board of County
Commissioners, and to the St. Mary’s County legislative delegation,
changes to Section 113-1,A, of the Public Local Laws of St. Mary’s
County that will increase the length of Metropolitan Commission
members terms from three years to five years as indicated on the
attached proposal. Commissioner Wood seconded the motion and approval
was unanimous.
B. Fee Payment Extension, The
Gateways Subdivision:
As recommended by Mr. King,
Commissioner Gant moved, that in consideration and support for the
efforts of the Housing Authority of St. Mary’s County to provide
affordable housing to residents of St. Mary’s County, and in
recognition of the challenges that the Housing Authority has faced in
recent months to keep construction of the Gateways development on
schedule and at a reasonable cost, that the Metropolitan Commission
approve the Housing Authority’s request to extend the deadline for
their payment of the Water Supply and Storage Charges and the
Wastewater Treatment Capacity Charges for this project until September
28, 2007. Commissioner Wood seconded the motion, and approval was
unanimous.
C. Wildewood Residential, LLC
A Formal Request has been received
from Wildewood for approval to include its new well as an addition to
the active Modification Contract between the Commission and AC
Schultes, which provides for a series of well replacements throughout
the County. Mr. King noted that although he has not had the
opportunity to discuss this issue with Counsel, he does not have a
problem with the concept. However approval would be conditional on
their accepting total responsibility to drill the wells in a timely
fashion and at 100% of their cost. The ideal situation would be for
Wildewood to negotiate its own contract directly with A.C. Schultes
but, if this is not feasible, he would consider recommending approval
of their request based on the referenced conditions. Commissioner
Taylor noted the risk of setting such a precedent, and Mr. King agreed
that serious consideration would have to be given to this issue prior
to a final determination being made.
Staff will update the Board on
Wildewood’s request at the October meeting.
FISCAL OFFICER’S REPORT
A. Accounts Receivable
Mr. King presented the Accounts
Receivable Report, a copy of which is attached to the Minutes.
B. Securities Report
Mr. King presented the Securities
Report, a copy of which is attached to the Minutes.
ENGINEER’S REPORT
A. Standard Report
Mr. Frederick presented the
Standard Report, a copy of which is attached to the Minutes.
He reported that rebid packets and
specifications for the Lexington Park/Essex Drive Pump Station became
available today. The following schedule will apply to this project.
·
Prebid meeting/site
visit on 9/22;
·
Required Addendums
will become available on 10/18;
·
Return of bids on
10/26;
·
Bid review with KCI
on 11/2; and
·
Request for award
scheduled on 11/9/06.
B. Bay Ridge Water Line Relocation
Mr. Frederick requested that the
Board approve the increase of $8,000 above the original estimate of
$52,000 for the relocation of the Bay Ridge Water Line. This includes
$1,700 for the site survey, $210 for bacteria testing, $3,506.85 for
sand, gravel, top soil land erosion control fabric and $2,529 for
additional labor.
Commissioner Wood so moved.
Commissioner Werner seconded the motion and approval was unanimous.
C. New Hickory Hills Patapsco Well
Mr. Frederick reported that because
of a significant increase over their original bid proposal, staff has
rejected KC Schultes bid to drill an additional well at Hickory Hills.
He added that Schultes current contract will not expire until January,
2007. However, in the interim, he requested approval to amend the
existing Engineering Services Contract, Purchase Order #9124, which
was awarded to KCI on 5/25/05, to expand the scope of work to include
the engineering services necessary for the design and construction of
the new well at the Hickory Hills well site, which amendment will
result in additional engineering costs of $34,600.80; thereby,
increasing the contract sum of $163,695.50.
Commissioner Suggs so moved.
Commissioner Cranford seconded the motion, and approval was unanimous.
FACILITIES MANAGER’S REPORT
A. Open-End Sludge Hauling &
Disposal Contract
Mr. Sullivan requested approval to
accept and award the proposed Sewage Sludge Hauling and Disposal
contract to Synagro Central, LLC for the contract prices of $37.97 per
wet ton for “Class B” Sludge and $98.60 for sludge that does not meet
“Class B” parameters.
Commissioner Cranford so moved.
Commissioner Werner seconded the motion and approval was unanimous.
B. Laboratory Services Contract
Mr. Sullivan requested approval to
accept and award the proposed Open-End Contract for Laboratory
Services to Microbac for the contract prices as listed on the attached
proposal.
Commissioner Wood so moved.
Commissioner Cranford seconded the motion and approval was unanimous.
C. Customer Service Survey
Mr. Sullivan reported that,
primarily, there is a 96% positive and 4% negative response received
from customers reporting sewer/water problems; with an overall return
rate of 20%. Commissioner Taylor requested Mr. Sullivan to pass on his
congratulatory remarks on these results to the appropriate employees.
CONTINUING BUSINESS
A. Hollywood Water & Sewer Project
Mr. King updated the Board on the
Hollywood Water & Sewer Project, which was initiated in 2002. He noted
that the original cost to implement this project was too significant
for property owners at the time, and discussed the problems currently
facing staff:
-
The Hollywood Town Center must be
approved as a Priority Funding Area in order for it to receive State
or Federal loan/grant assistance to construct water/sewer
facilities. To date this approval has not been received. He has
initiated discussion on this issue with the Director of LUGM and
requested action directed towards resolving the delineation of the
Town Center.
Mr. King also referred to
correspondence addressed to Senator Barbara Mikulski’s representative
relevant to the Commissions request for help in securing grants.
However, the Senator has since indicated that it is not a national
issue at this point and is, therefore, not eligible for assistance. He
will continue to attempt to convince the Senator and her aides that
this is not the correct decision.
A complete copy of the Power Point
presentation is attached to the Minutes. This will be further refined,
and a Public Hearing scheduled in the Hollywood area.
In conclusion, Mr. King reported a
significant problem involving parts of the service area that does not
lie within the Pine Hill Run sanitary district. Everything west of the
boundary is within the Leonardtown sanitary district, including a
portion of St. Mary’s Industrial Park. However, the project cannot
proceed with two different methods of assessment. He explained that
the boundaries, established in 1957 were based on the major drainage
areas in St. Mary’s County, and is currently not relevant. General
Counsel will review the proposed Resolution to initiate boundary
changes, which will be forwarded to the Office of Land Use & Growth
Management for their review. The Resolution will then be presented
for adoption by both the Board of County Commissioners and the MetCom
Board. He noted that if House Bill 1698 is adopted, this process
would be moot.
He will update the Board further on
this issue at the October meeting.
COMMISSION MEMBERS’ TIME
A. Charlotte Hall Station
Mr. Frederick reviewed the 119,338
square feet Concept Site Plan for community water and sewer service at
Charlotte Hall Station, at Commissioner Cranford’s request.
At this point, Mr. King reported
the existence of a draft Agreement with Messrs. Parlett and Burch,
which specifies that more than one property owner can connect to the
sewer system if the property is sold. It also provides for both the
system, and the ten acres of land directly behind it, which is an
excellent site for Rapid Infiltration Basins, to be turned over to
MetCom. This will provide the necessary expansion to serve the
remainder of the Charlotte Hall area.
Mr. King added that the County
intends to further develop their property adjacent to the Charlotte
Hall Veterans Home. He will be discussing this issue with Phil Rollins
and other County staff on Monday, and anticipates that the system will
be installed within the next two years.
B. Nutrient Removal
At Commissioner Wood’s request, Mr.
King discussed some of the efficiencies of nutrient removal from open
waters resulting from oyster ranching, etc., in addition to
limitations on achievable engineering processes involving nutrient
removal. He also discussed areas of diminishing returns regarding the
Commission’s ability to remove nutrients from effluent, and the
probability of increasing benefits from expanding other options.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business,
Commissioner Wood moved to adjourn at 3:05 p.m. Commissioner Werner
seconded the motion and approval was unanimous.
Lilian J. Bryan,
Secretary
