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MetCom capital plan approved; commissioners press for clarity on Charlotte Hall water-tank purpose and hookup limits
Summary
The board approved the St. Mary's County Metropolitan Commission FY2017 capital budget and 2018–2022 CIP and discussed the Charlotte Hall water-tank. Commissioners sought explicit reassurance that the immediate purpose is fire suppression and that future hookups and system extensions will follow county planning and zoning.
The Commissioners on May 24 approved the Metropolitan Commission’s FY2017 capital-improvement budget and the FY2018–2022 capital program and pressed MetCom leadership for clarity about the Charlotte Hall water-tank project.
MetCom representatives asked the board to approve their five-year capital plan, noting it had been endorsed by the county planning commission as consistent with growth-management objectives. Commissioners expressed appreciation for MetCom’s recent changes to hookup fees and for coordination between MetCom and county roadway projects, including joint work on an FDR road phase.
Charlotte Hall tank: fire suppression vs. future growth
Commissioners, led by Commissioner John O’Connor and others, asked MetCom to put on the record the immediate purpose of the Charlotte Hall tank. MetCom staff said the tank’s primary purpose now is to improve fire suppression in the north-county area and that capacity was sized to accommodate anticipated growth reflected in prior planning estimates.
MetCom’s director said the utility has no current plan to extend distribution lines beyond the immediate loop required for two-directional flow and fire-protection reliability; any future extensions tied to development would follow the board’s land-use and master-planning decisions. MetCom indicated it would not resist a board action that restricted hookups to fire-suppression needs until such time as the county’s North End master plan determined appropriate services and zoning.
Timing and next steps
MetCom said construction of the tower and associated well is expected to be completed next year. Commissioners asked that residents in the north end be engaged in the North End master-plan process so the community understands how water infrastructure, fire protection and future hookups would be coordinated. The board approved MetCom’s capital plan as requested.
