Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Utilities Wastewater topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Marketplace LLC (Hub City) seeks Invest Hagerstown extension; city staff recommend wastewater exemption and deduct‑meter approach
Summary
Staff briefed the council on an Invest Hagerstown project at 25–31 West Church Street and recommended a wastewater exemption with a bill‑accurate deduct meter so most evaporative process water would not be charged as sewer flow.
City economic development and utilities staff on March 18 updated the mayor and council about an Invest Hagerstown project at 25–31 West Church Street (Marketplace LLC, home to Hub City Brewery), and described a wastewater exemption/deduct‑meter approach staff said would preserve system capacity while accommodating the business.
Nancy Hograt (utilities staff) described expected water and wastewater patterns for the commercial operation. "When this business comes online at full operation we expect them to use an annual average of 75,000 gallons per day of water," she said, adding winter averages around 50,000 gallons and seasonal peaks up to roughly 100,000 gallons for cooling operations. Hograt told the council the wastewater expected to enter the city's collection system would be about 15,000 gallons per day because most process water is evaporative.
Staff explained the proposal would use three meters: a potable water meter for the office area (a percentage of which would flow to wastewater), a commercial water meter for the production operations, and a bill‑accurate wastewater meter on the line to the collection system to capture only the wastewater that actually enters the system. The waste stream would be permitted under a non‑significant industrial user classification and the wastewater meter would be calibrated annually.
Utilities staff said the arrangement would allow the city to retain roughly 300 EDUs (equivalent dwelling units) of capacity that would otherwise be sold, preserving allocation for future housing and development projects. Economic development staff said the structure reduces the business's operational costs and was a factor in attracting the company to Hagerstown. Staff recommended that the council approve the wastewater exemption and that a motion for formal action be prepared for the regular meeting agenda.
Councilmembers signaled support; staff said a motion is prepared for the next council meeting.
