THE CITY OF FREDERICK

101 NORTH COURT STREET

FREDERICK, MARYLAND 21701

UTILITY COMMITTEE

Minutes

9:00 a.m.

Wednesday, December 8th, 2004, City Hall - Room 214

Item 1: Approval of the minutes from the meetings of August 11^th, 2004 and October 13^th, 2004. Minutes were approved as written.

Item 2: Continued discussion from the meeting of August 11^th, 2004 of a request by First Baptist Church for access to the City of Frederick sewer system. Mr. Roy Whitehouse updated the committee on their initiative. Mr. Whitehouse stated an application was submitted to the MDE for use of the water well that was installed on the property as a use for a municipal water source. MDE responded with a November 10^th, 2004 correspondence that outlines the requirements for development of that well if the city elected to approve their initiative. The information from the MDE was given to a consultant and asked for their interpretation in terms of cost. The total came to about $30,000. Mr. Whitehouse asked if there was a reasonable probability of a quid pro quo agreement from the city should all of the tests prove to be positive. Mr. Whitehouse spoke about an enhanced tax base that would be beneficial to the city. Mr. Dan Christy spoke about the flow rates and if 30 gallons a minute would be sustainable over a period of time. Mr. Christy stated that testing for sustainable yield for municipal supply and water testing would be about 5 - $7,000 dollars. Mr. Christy asked if the Church wanted to risk spending $30,000 and then to have the yield be beyond the permitted rate after testing. Mr. Christy stated other expenditures that would be expended by the city. Alderman Ramsburg asked Mr. Christy if it would be cost effective for the city if only a certain amount of water is available. Mr. Christy stated that an operator would need to monitor. Mr. Fred Eisenhart stated that in previous discussions with city staff and it had been decided that it was wise to work with several small wells all over the city. Mr. Eisenhart stated that other developers have made the same request over the years. Mr. Christy further explained to Mr. Whitehouse and the committee that a safe yield average for the year would be 15 gallons a minute. Mr. Christy further explained what safe yield and capability would be for an average day. Alderman Ramsburg stated her concern that this would cost city residents more than it would help them. Alderman Bill Hall stated that after listening to figures from all parties involved, he would like a compilation of all figures in a condensed form on one page. Alderman Ramsburg agreed, but still needed to know how much the city will have to pay for to make sure that the well is sustainable, how much to connect it, and how will it cost to treat it and then we need to know the difference in cost in treating that water compared to treating other water that is going into city sources. M. Rollins stated that she would still like to see a quid pro quo agreement or guidelines before the Church expends the $30,000 investment. Mr. Lee reminded the committee that there other concerns beside the yield of the well but that the it was outside the city without planning to be annexed, but that we have the issue for sewer capacity for city residents that is becoming precariously close. Ms. Nickols stated that whatever information the city brings forth, there is still no guarantee that the Mayor and Board will vote for final approval. Mr. Nickols also stated that tying any agreements to future annexations was not advisable. Mr. Boyd stated this area was not in the annexation area and the comprehensive plan and that Bowers road is the city boundary and that the city has no jurisdiction on the west side of Bowers road.

Motion: Alderman Ramsburg moved to put this request on the agenda for the February 2005 meeting with the following stipulations: 1) Should the church get the city information on the quality of the water, the city will use that information. 2) Should the city not get the information the city will go with a worst case scenario. 3) All of the information on water testing and quality should be presented by the Church to city staff in one month and all of this information should be presented to the committee in a condensed form before a decision will be made.. Seconded by Alderman Bill Hall. Vote 2-0 in favor.

Item 3: Discussion and consideration of a request by The Frederick SportsPlex at Worman’s Mill to not require abandonment of the Lot #7 sewer connection due to expansion and lot consolidation. Mr. John Laughlin stated that Frederick SportsPlex was proposing an expansion to add additional playing fields. Mr. Laughlin explained that before the building can begin they must consolidate Lot #7 and Lot #8 to build across the property line. Mr. Laughlin stated that the planning commission has recommended approval with some conditions and that one of the one of the conditions would be the abandonment of the sewer connection for Lot #7. Mr. Laughlin explained how they did not want to abandon the water connection so they would only have one water bill but that the outflow of the sewage from the lots is significant. Mr. Laughlin showed where the current sewage is at the end of a cul-de-sac and explained how Lot #7 connection is around the corner about ¼ of a mile. Mr. Laughlin explained how if they abandon Lot #7 connection they would have to pump more than a ¼ of a mile and in order to pump from lot #7 to lot #8 they would have to go underneath the stream between the lots and then pump up to about 195 feet to get to the current connection. Mr. Laughlin also explained how if lot #7connection is abandoned it would mean pumping a vertical distance of about 25 feet. Mr. Laughlin stated that with two sewer connections they would not have to build a separate pumping station that could cause many problems down the road. Mr. Laughlin further explained to the committee what the structure being built would look like and where it would be located. Mr. Stachowski stated that it in the past the city has allowed dual connections as long as there was a hardship to the applicant.

Motion: Alderman Ramsburg moved to approve the request by The Frederick SportsPlex at Worman’s Mill to not abandon the sewer connection of Lot #7 and bring this to the Mayor and Board of Alderman public meeting. Seconded by Alderman Bill Hall. Vote 2-0 in favor.

Minutes submitted by Eileen Farrar