Metcom presents FY2014–19 capital plan; commissioners press for clearer cost estimates

St. Mary's County Metropolitan Commission staff presented the agency’s fiscal 2014 capital improvement budget and the FY2014–19 capital improvement plan at the St. Mary’s County Board of County Commissioners meeting on April 30, 2013, and told the board a public hearing on the plan will be held May 6 at the MetCom Camden Way offices before final county consideration June 11 and implementation on July 1.

The presentation, led by MetCom representatives, flagged several projects with substantially higher engineer estimates than the numbers used in last year’s plan. Metcom staff said the increases reflect new engineer estimates and more detailed design work; commissioners repeatedly pressed staff for better up‑front costing to avoid large year‑to‑year jumps that translate into rate pressure for customers.

Dan Igniomski, speaking for MetCom, summarized the near‑term schedule and process: "the purpose of the meeting… is to present the Metcom capital improvement budget for fiscal 14 and the capital improvement plan for fiscal 15 through 19," and staff said a public hearing is set for May 6 and MetCom’s board expected to act May 23 before the county commissioners review and (if approved) implementation on July 1.

Key projects and cost changes

• Town Creek and Esperanza water systems: MetCom said fiscal 2014 funds are programmed for design work on the Town Creek and Esperanza water systems. Staff said those systems are roughly 60 years old and were previously private systems taken over by MetCom. The fiscal 2014 line for Town Creek shows $2,445,000 for design work; MetCom staff said an engineer’s 30% estimate for full construction places the total at about $6,000,000 (staff characterized this as a rough estimate), versus roughly $1.27 million reflected in last year’s documents. Staff said they may phase work rather than attempt an entire…