Chief Engineer Davce Elberti (l) and Acting Executive Director Dan Ichniowski at Elbertiu’s final meeting.
California, MD – St. Mary’s County Metropolitan Commission(MetCom) Chief Engineer Dave Elberti has resigned. Elberti’s last day with the county’s water and sewer authority will be Thursday Nov. 3.
Elberti has only been with MetCom for six years and told TheBayNet.com that he resigned from his post at St. Mary’s County Metropolitan Commission.
Elberti’s resignation comes on the heels of the ousting of Executive Director Scott Bundy and Attorney Jacquelyn Meiser at the troubled agency. Ichniowski said a search for a replacement for Elberti would commence.
The announcement of Elberti’s leaving came at MetCom’s Thursday, Oct, 27 meeting prior to a 3-2 decision for the agency to proceed with a $30,000 salary study of their staff. Chief Financial Officer Becky Schick reported that three individuals had applied for a recent vacancy at the Marlay-Taylor Wastewater Treatment Plant and each o them turned the position down because of salary.
Ichniowski said of Elberti, “He will be greatly missed.” Ichniowski especially singled out Elberti’s shepherding of the Enhanced Nitrogen Removal (ENR) upgrade of Marlay-Taylor. That project is just about complete.
At the Thursday, Oct, 27 meeting one of Elberti’s last assignments was presenting the proposal to proceed this fiscal year with the first phase of the upgrade of the St. Clements Shores Wastewater Treatment Plant. Fund balance from two accounts will be used to pay for the almost $1 million project.
Elberti had earlier told MetCom that the St. Clements Shores project was the most pressing capital project largely because of the failing septic systems and the county commissioners’ interest in it.
The current plant is not very efficient in winter months, requiring longer storage before treatment. Phase One involves mostly maintenance of the plant in Compton so that it can accommodate more hookups. The anticipated dozen hookups include failing septic systems and properties that have been allocated capacity once it was made available.
The facility was constructed 33 years ago and upgraded in 2000. The first-phase upgrade incorporates rapid infiltration basins (RIB) cleanout. The second-phase could involve serving a much wider area, and the addition of more than a hundred homes. However, it could also involve the purchase of extra land for additional spray fields.
Maryland Department of the Environment will have to approve whatever plan is submitted for phase-one due to their imposed 100,000-gallon limit.
The MetCom board has reported to the St. Mary’s County Board ofCommissioners that a decision on the second-phase awaits the commissioners’ decision on what area they want to be served, which is essentially a county planning decision.
The decision of MetCom to precede with the first phase during the current fiscal year is contingent on approval from the county commissioners. The county commissioners and MetCom have a joint meeting scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 1 at 9 a.m. at the MetCom offices located on First Colony Way in California.
Contact Dick Myers at dick.myers@thebaynet.conm
