St. Mary’s commissioners authorize assurance to MetCom so YMCA can obtain building permit while wastewater upgrades proceed

The St. Mary’s County commissioners on Feb. 4 authorized the county administrator to sign a letter of assurance to the St. Mary’s County Metropolitan Commission (MetCom) so the YMCA project can receive a building permit while upgrades to the Forest Run wastewater pump station are completed.

Deputy county attorney John Sterlinghauser told the board that MetCom would not issue the YMCA’s building permit until there were ‘‘assurances in the file’’ that sufficient wastewater capacity will exist once the YMCA is operating. He said the county’s letter of assurance attaches a condition that, should a nearby developer project not create the expected system capacity, the county would undertake the approved design and construction of pump station improvements.

Why it matters: The YMCA project is ready to move toward construction, and MetCom’s hold on the building permit risks delaying work that county officials and the YMCA say is time-sensitive. County officials said a developer project — the Villas at Lexwoods by Green Street Housing LLC — is contracted…