Some opposition surfaced Wednesday night to a proposed water tower in Charlotte Hall. St. Mary’s County Metropolitan Commission (MetCom) is proposing to construct either a 300,000- or 400,000-gallon elevated water storage tank (WST) next to the Charlotte Hall Park & Ride on Golden Beach Road. Budgeted cost of the project, that includes a new well, is slightly under $4 million.
MetCom Chief Engineer Dave Elberti and Executive Director Dan Ichniowski explained that there are two options for the project: build a new 400,000 gallon water tower or move the unused 300,000 gallon tower at Myrtle Point. Ichniowski said MetCom would go with the option that garnered the lowest bid.
Ichniowski said planning and design for the project are 95 percent complete which triggered the need for a public meeting. That comment brought criticism from several speakers at the public information session at MetCom’s California headquarters. President of the Golden Beach/Patuxent Knolls Civic Association Dale Antosh said, “This looks like a done deal.” Ichniowski said the project has been in the agency’s capital plan since 2007 and MetCom holds public hearings every year on their capital plan.
Former MetCom member Fred Pumphrey said the people in community didn’t know it was in the capital plan so it would have been difficult for them to know to come to one of those hearings.
According to the public notice for the project, “The proposed WST and Well would serve existing development and provide additional fire protection flow as well as accommodate future growth in the Charlotte Hall area.” It was that future growth potential that several speakers really latched onto and criticized.
One speaker who lives adjacent to the proposed water tower said there was a vacant piece of property next to him and the new tower that was ripe fort development. He charged that 900 new low-incomes homes would be built there and said that builders John Parlett and Sonny Burch were behind it.
Pumphrey said he had inside information that no low-income housing was planned. And Ichniowski said that there had been no proposals presented to MetCom
Director of Land Use and Growth Management Phillip Shire added that there have been no applications to his agency for any housing project there. He said even if public water is made available to that site, it still doesn’t have public sewer and that lack would severely limit the number of homes on the property.
Public sewer to the area is very controversial, mostly from opponents of more growth because of the area’s failing road system. Several planning commission members have insisted
