An eye-popping proposal from METCOM that would have cost a number of landowners near $20,000 each has been axed by the St. Mary’s County Planning Commission.
The proposal seeks to extend public water lines to the area of Mohawk Drive in Charlotte Hall, which would allow for new development to take place.
A crowd of residents from near Mohawk Drive again showed up Monday night at the St. Mary’s Planning Commission meeting to reject the proposal. A similar crowd filled the room two weeks ago, cheering and applauding each speaker against the project.
All the existing homeowners in the targeted project area already have functional water wells, and none have been labeled “failing.”
The introduction of public water to the “town center” neighborhood would require each house to cap the well, install lines and a meter, and pay their share of the public system upgrade over the next couple of decades.
The cost per property was estimated at $18,000, but outspoken property owners showed how the costs could exceed $25,000 for many property owners who have houses set way back from the road.
Steve King, director of the Metropolitan Commission (METCOM) appeared before the board during this most recent meeting to offer a slightly modified plan that would let existing property owners slide on connecting to the new system right away.
The offer was not enough to sway the Planning board, whose members continued to be skeptical and rejected the proposal unanimously.
Now the issue will come before the St. Mary’s County Commissioners for a final decision during a to-be-scheduled regular Tuesday meeting.