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 system replacement in a single year to manage costs.

• Wells and water towers: MetCom described three well projects nearing 95% design: Hollywood/Broad Creek, Hickory Hills (a proposed 600‑gallon‑per‑minute well), and Charlotte Hall (a proposed 400‑gpm well). Associated storage tanks include a proposed roughly 500,000‑gallon tower to serve Broad Creek/Twin Ponds and a 300,000–400,000‑gallon Charlotte Hall tank; Hickory Hills will replace an existing ~500,000‑gallon tank with a ~2,000,000‑gallon tank to equalize pressure in parts of Lexington Park.

• Village of Leonardtown well (arsenic mitigation): MetCom said a new well is proposed in the Villages of Leonardtown to drill into a deeper (Patapsco) aquifer because the existing Acquia aquifer well is testing near 8 parts per billion of arsenic, close to the EPA maximum contaminant level of 10 ppb. "The EPA limit is 10 parts per billion," MetCom staff said; the new deeper well would be blended with the existing source to ensure compliance, or treated if needed.

• Radio‑read water meters: The meter replacement program is split into two phases; the total planned replacement was scaled back from roughly 12,000 to about 10,000 meters after the loss of a roughly $1.5 million grant. MetCom said the new meters are read on an activated monthly schedule (rather than continuous transmission) and that meter batteries are expected to last decades; staff also said monthly reads should help detect leaks sooner than quarterly reads.

• Marley Taylor treatment plant and ENR work: MetCom said contractor bids for the enhanced nutrient removal (ENR) upgrade and several non‑ENR upgrades at the Marley Taylor wastewater plant came in higher than initial estimates. MetCom plans to present a bond resolution to the commissioners to address a $3,000,000 shortfall tied to contingent contract items and other upgrades included in the bid package; staff said removing contingent items would allow compliance with ENR requirements within the prior budget level, but that performing additional upgrade work while a contractor is mobilized is more efficient.

• Sewer system priorities, Lexington Park I&I and pump stations: MetCom reiterated several Lexington Park interceptor and rehabilitation projects are underway or in design, and described an inflow and infiltration (I&I) rehabilitation program. Pump station upgrades and replacements are on the FY2014 list, including Great Mills, Lynn Drive, Piney Point/Piney Point Landings, St. Clement Shores and others; some projects include right‑of‑way acquisition and major construction in later years.

Long‑range items and planning

MetCom also listed longer‑term projects that are currently conceptual: a water‑reuse link to the Naval facility for irrigation (a previously estimated Navy project that would require new transmission), a potential Marley Taylor facility expansion (MetCom staff cited a very preliminary $25 million placeholder for an expansion in later years and $1 million allocated for early studies/design), and a facilities plan update (the commission said it last completed a facilities plan in 2008–09 and intends to revisit growth and siting assumptions with county Land Use and Growth Management). MetCom cautioned that watershed implementation plan (WIP) costs were not yet included because requirements and timing remain uncertain.

Commissioners' questions and staff commitments

Board members repeatedly questioned why some project lines grew dramatically from last year’s plan and urged MetCom to produce more reliable estimates earlier in the budget process. MetCom staff acknowledged the jump and said newer engineer estimates and more detailed design work explain much of the increase; project managers will aim to provide more accurate estimates earlier in next year’s cycle.

MetCom said it is rolling out an asset management system (Cityworks/GIS) to improve condition tracking, prioritize projects and help produce more defensible cost estimates; staff noted the asset management rollout began with the sewer inventory and is being extended to water and treatment plants.

Why this matters

MetCom’s capital plan funds pipe replacement, wells, storage tanks, pump stations, meter replacements and the Marley Taylor ENR upgrade. Commissioners noted that higher estimates and additional borrowing flow through MetCom’s system improvement charges and can push up monthly water and sewer bills: MetCom projected roughly a mid‑single‑digit operating increase plus an increase in the system improvement charge that together produced an approximate 9% increase in typical monthly bills for FY2014 in the materials presented. Commissioners said that degree of year‑to‑year change makes it difficult for ratepayers and called for more precise estimates and clearer scheduling.

Next steps

MetCom will hold a public hearing at the Camden Way MetCom office on May 6 at 6:30 p.m., MetCom’s board will review comments and is scheduled to act May 23, and the county commissioners are scheduled to consider the plan June 11; staff indicated implementation would begin July 1, 2013. MetCom also plans to return to the board with a bond resolution related to Marley Taylor and to continue refining engineer estimates and the asset management database.

Ending

The presentation left commissioners and staff agreeing on a need for clearer early cost estimates, more granular phasing of large projects where possible, and continued public outreach before the May 6 hearing. MetCom staff encouraged commissioners or members of the public with questions to contact the commission before formal action.