WASHINGTON COUNTY WATER AND SEWER DEPARTMENT
WATER AND SEWER ADVISORY COMMISSION
REGULAR SESSION MEETING
MAY 28, 1998

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CALL TO ORDER

Chairperson Scheer, the presiding officer, called the Regular Session Meeting of the Water and Sewer Advisory Commission to order at 6:10 p.m. at the Public Works Annex Building, 16232 Elliott Parkway, Williamsport, Maryland.

ATTENDANCE

A quorum was present including: Chairperson Scheer, Vice-Chairperson Diehl, Secretary Armel, and Commissioners Crabb and Renn, Greg Murray, Director of Water & Sewer Operations, and Vicky L. Malott, Office Associate IV. Commissioners Fishack and Parks were absent.

OTHER ATTENDEES

Also attending was Mr. Ray Horst, President of the Southwest Metropolitan Area Civic Association, Inc.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Regular Session - April 16, 1999 - Motion made by Secretary Armel, seconded by Commissioner Renn, to remove from the table and edit and amend the Regular Session Minutes of April 16, 1998 as follows:

1. Note which members were absent

2. Add the following script to the topic "Rate Equity/Method of Calculation" under OLD BUSINESS:

Other points of discussion included the notation that other billing methodologies were previously used by Washington County government and are used in other jurisdictions.

 Secretary Armel also postulated it as a point of discussion that within the cost of service methodology of the Black & Veatch Study, reconsideration of the distribution of certain costs within the "local collector sewers" category by some criteria other than "number of bills" (e.g., by volume, by EDU, by some other equitable criteria) could yield results that may be viewed as more fair. The application of a factor of 17.6 to the $39 million capital cost and to the $600,000 O&M costs based on a "number of bills" criteria was cited for comparison to the 1.6 factor applied on a volume basis against $34 million capital costs and corresponding O&M costs for treatment. (See tables 7.2, 7.3, 7.4 of Black & Veatch Study.) The motion passed by unanimous vote.

Motion made by Commissioner Crabb, seconded by Secretary Armel, to approve the Regular Session Minutes of April 16, 1998 as read. Unanimously approved.

Regular Session - May 14, 1998 - Motion made by Vice-Chairperson Diehl, seconded by Commission Renn, to approve the Regular Session Minutes of May, 14, 1998 as amended. The amendment clarifies the tabling of the motion for approval of the Regular Session Minutes of April 16, 1998. Unanimously approved.

Workshop Session - April 2, 1998 - Motion Made by Secretary Armel, seconded by Commissioner Renn, to amend the Workshop Session Minutes of April 2, 1998. Add "as amended" to the sentence, "A vote was taken on the original motion." Unanimously approved.

CITIZEN PARTICIPATION

No comments.

ADVISORY COMMISSIONER COMMENTS

Commissioner Crabb asked about the probability of Mack Truck returning as a customer of the Pretreatment Facility. Director Murray advised that the Department is pursuing this.

Vice-Chairperson Diehl stated that Chris Shank, of Delegate Donahue’s office is resigning effective June 1, 1998. He asked that the Advisory Commission seek a contact person to maintain communications with the Maryland State Delegation.

DIRECTOR COMMENTS

Ft. Ritchie - Director Murray stated that he had a meeting two weeks ago with Army Engineers, Pen Mar Development Corporation (PMDC), Gary Rohrer, Ted Wolford, and Terry McGee. He advised that he gave the engineers all of the specific information on the wastewater and water systems. Primarily the discussion centered on the wastewater system and the inflow and infiltration problems. An independent engineering firm is currently evaluating the wastewater system for the Army and PMDC. The Water and Sewer Department will receive a final report of this study for approval. The study requires an approved method for metering the system (a master meter concept).

Spirit Services, Inc. - Director Murray stated that he held a meeting May 27, 1998 with representatives of Spirit Services, Inc. and general departmental staff. He reported that equipment will begin arriving Monday, June 1, 1998 and that June 15, 1998 is the target date for startup of operational services. He projected that by July 1, 1998 we should begin seeing revenue from the facility. Director Murray stated that representatives of Spirit Services will attend an upcoming Advisory Commission Meeting.

Water & Sewer Department Web Site - Director Murray gave the Advisory Commissioners a presentation of the Web Site for the Department.

AWWA Rate Seminar Report - Director Murray gave an overview on the AWWA Rate Seminar that he attended. He explained the various factors that a typical water service provider may consider in developing a system rate structure. The actual costs for providing service and any other costs allocated to a particular class of user are the primary factors considered. Director Murray stated that our rate model is far more advanced than any he heard about at the seminar. In conclusion, Director Murray’s opinion was that the Department’s current rate model and structure are defendable. Discussion followed.

Centre at Hagerstown - Commissioner Renn inquired about the status of the discussions with the City of Hagerstown regarding the question of providing sewer service. Director Murray reported that Greg Snook is replacing Jim Wade in the discussions. Director Murray described various options of service for the proposed development. He affirmed that the City and County are currently working together to reach an agreeable solution.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

Cost of Service - Chairperson Scheer opened the discussion. He said that, "Contention outside our service area is that we could eliminate the County subsidy by adopting any other method than what we currently use to bill our customers." Chairperson Scheer recited particular factors as follows for discussion purposes: (Based Solely on Dollars)

SEWER ACCOUNTS ONLY

FY99 Total O&M & Debt Service $6,457,100

Number of Current Accounts 7,454

Number of EDU’s 11,045

REVENUE PROJECTIONS - Budget Assumptions (Using Gross Dollars)

Average Cost Per Account $216.56/qtr. Without County Subsidy

Average Cost Per Account $141.10/qtr. With $2.3 M County Subsidy

Average Cost Per EDU $146.16/qtr. Without County Subsidy

Average Cost Per EDU $ 95.22/qtr. With $2.3 M County Subsidy

Chairperson Scheer cautioned that if we were to revert to an EDU method for billing, the quarterly cost would be approximately $5.00 more than the current method without the county subsidy, and would have all users paying equally. Discussion followed.

In was suggested that the Advisory Commission schedule a workshop with the Board of County Commissioners to discuss the pros and cons. No action was taken.

NEW BUSINESS

Objectives for FY99 - During this discussion the Advisory Commission concurred to look into the best possible use of our industrial sites (primarily Hopewell Valley) to capitalize the use of the County’s water and sewer infrastructure.

ADJOURNMENT

Motion made by Commissioner Crabb, seconded by Commissioner Renn, to adjourn at 8:20 p.m. Unanimously approved.
 
 

Next Regular Session Meeting

JUNE 11, 1998


 
 

Prepared by:
 
 

_________________________________ Date: June 10,1998______________

Vicky L. Malott,

Office Associate IV
 
 

Reviewed by: Approved by:
 
 

_________________________________ _____________________________

Gregory B. Murray, Michael V. Armel,

Director of Water and Sewer Operations Advisory Commission Secretary

Date: June 11, 1998_________________ Date: June 11, 1998_____________