THE CITY OF FREDERICK

101 NORTH COURT STREET

FREDERICK, MARYLAND 21701

UTILITY COMMITTEE

Minutes

9:00 a.m.

Wednesday, August 11^th, 2004, City Hall, room 214

Present: Alderman Bill Hall, Alderman Donna Kuzemchak Ramsburg, Randy connatser, Kenneth W. Parker, Roy Whitehouse, George Littrel, Dan Lawton, Dan Christy, Paul Lee, Anne Rollins, Rachel Depo, Fred Eisenhart, Pam Reppert, Alice Miller

Item 1: Approval of the minutes from the meeting of July 14^th, 2004.

Alderman Ramsburg moved to approve and Alderman Bill Hall seconded. Alderman Lenhart was not present.

Item 2: Consideration and discussion of a request by Daniel Lawton on behalf of East South LLC, for approval of a second water and sanitary sewer connection for the property at 35 East South Street in Frederick.

Mr. Daniel Lawton stated that he represents East South LLC, which owns the property on 35 East South Street and reviewed the site plan which has three buildings which is serviced by a water tap at the far western edge of the property. Mr. Lawton explained how the tap and the sewer were in the same location. Mr. Lawton showed the proposal for a new office building and explained where it would be located. Mr. Lawton explained that in order for this new building to use the existing tap they would have to cut service to the existing building and redue all of the existing lines and get from 200 feet from the existing line to the new building and explained the most direct route which would be a distance of only 20 feet from the new building under the street. Mr. Randy Connatser stated where existing water meters and taps were located in this area. Ms. Pam Reppert stated that Mr. Lawton will need to do a lot of paving and cleanup in the parking area. Mr. Paul Lee explained other options that are possible due to the work that Mr. Lawton will need to do. Mr. Lawton agreed to provide all of the information that the engineering staff will need to move forward with this project.

Motion: Alderman Ramsburg moved to allow East South LLC, to work with engineering and public works staff to find a resolution for this request and to bring back to the utility committee only if requested by staff. Seconded by Alderman Bill Hall.

Item 3: Continuation of a discussion from the meeting of April 14^th, 2004, for a request by First Baptist Church regarding access to the Frederick City Sewer System.

Mr. Roy Whitehouse spoke about the water source on the Bower Road property and the possible potential of a quid pro quo arrangement for water from access to the city sewer system. Mr. Whitehouse reviewed the attachment that explained a study done by a well drilling firm that measured a flow rate of 30 gallons per minute. Mr. Whitehouse also spoke about the location of a well on this property as well as two other wells located on surrounding properties and their flow rates. Mr. Whitehouse stated that they felt they had a reliable water source. Comparisons were made between Well #4 at Riverside Park and the different flow rates of the wells. Alderman Ramsburg asked questions regarding how the city would get to the water, who had done the testing on the water, and would MDE permit the city to use the water. Alderman Ramsburg stated that this test should provide information as to how it would come into our system and how much water the city would get. Alderman Ramsburg stated that there were still issues with the County regarding water. Mr. Eisenhart questioned the depth of the well and Mr. Whitehouse stated that their contractor thought the depth to water was 30-38 feet. Mr. Paul Lee stated that there was still more technical information needed. Alderman Hall asked if we didn’t accept this proposal, is there a way to give sewer capacity without water. Paul Lee stated that if we allowed the sewer connection, then capacity would be taken out of our system for non-city customers and setting a dangerous precedent. The question of annexation was asked and Ms. Anne Rollins stated that there was a moratorium on annexations and would like to annex when possible. Mr. Dan Christy had concerns regarding information from the well driller and the 30 gallons a minute rate and spoke about the location of the other wells. Mr. Whitehouse stated that they had already spoken with MDE and stated that the cost might be about $100,000 dollars but there are variables that could cost more. Mr. Whitehouse stated that he was speaking in terms of getting an arrangement with the city. Alderman Hall asked if there was a way to mitigate without quid pro quo. Fred Eisenhart stated that a dangerous precedent could be set because we would be servicing a zone that we can’t service and that this property was technically outside the water and sewer service area. Mr. Chuck Boyd stated that this area was not slated for future annexation in the comp plan. Mr. Boyd stated that there servicing issues with that area. Questions were asked about a tower located in that area and how water would be pumped into that tower. Alderman Ramsburg asked if staff could look into the possibility of the placement of a tower. Mr. Lee stated that they could look at the technical issues, maintenance and operating costs to store and continuous pumping. Ms. Anne Rollins requested that she have reassurance from the legal department of the city that a quid pro quo agreement was an option along with a letter of intent for annexation once the moratorium is lifted.

Motion: Alderman Ramsburg moved to have the legal department look into a possible quid pro quo/annexation agreement with First Baptist Church to see what the legalities are and develop terms after that. Seconded by Alderman Bill Hall.

Other items requested for future meetings:

Alderman Ramsburg requested a continuation of a previous agenda item regarding the Wayside Radio property be brought back to the September Utility meeting for discussion.

Minutes submitted by Eileen Farrar