Chronology of Public Water in London Towne
2019
At the March Board meeting, the group that was asked to spearhead the public water effort reported that they found very little volunteer interest or means of financial support from residents in the community. Therefore, the president thanked the group for their effort and brought the matter to a close.
SPRING 2017
Pam Brown reports that the required amount (51%) of participation signatures from the proposed route has been received. The next step in the process is the information and petition phase.
WINTER 2016
Chair Pam Brown reports that nine signatures are still necessary to get the 51% participation. Out of 69 responses, 57 said yes and 12 said no. After the holidays and the new year, the Committee and other volunteers will canvas the route.
MAY 2016
At the April 21 meeting, Pam Brown presented THIS PACKET OF INFORMATION from the County. The next meeting is schedule for Wednesday, June 29, 6:30pm at the Community Hall.
MARCH 2016
The Public Water Committee met on March 17 to discuss two options for public water routes.
2015
From time to time over the years, the issue of whether or not the residents of London Towne should connect to the public water
system comes up for discussion. The issue was raised again in 2015 at the April Board of
Directors meeting. The President appointed an ad hoc Public Water Committee and the Board approved a small budget from the fund raising account.
The Committee is chaired by Pam Brown and each Section is represented - Don Creveling for Section Two, Rita Robertazzi for Section Three, John Gleeson for Section Four, Will Hottle for Section Five and Tom Walsh for Section One.
Chair, Pam Brown presented THIS HELPFUL SUMMARY AND UPDATE at the August Board meeting.
April 2, 2012
Click
Here to View the Most Current Map of the Proposed Public Water Route in London
Towne
Click Here
to read more details about the pros & cons and the petition process
Anne Arundel County DPW Notifies
Property Owners of Declaration of Invalid Petitions
The Woodland Beach Water Extension Project
Comes To An End
Anne Arundel County DPW notified London Towne property owners on the
Public Water Route that the County Legal Department had re-evaluated the
petitions originally validated in June 2010, and issued a final declaration that the petitions were not valid under
County Code.Click here to view the letter sent to property owners from
Director, Ronald Bowen.
May 4, 2011
PUBLIC
INFORMATION MEETING - London Towne / Woodland Beach Water Extension
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM South River High School Auditorium, 7:00pm
Anne Arundel County DPW presented information regarding the scope
of the project, the schedule, the
various charges and fees to will levied against the abutting properties, and
provided Property owners the opportunity for questions and feedback regarding the
proposed project. Meeting host, Leslie Campbell, Financial Manager
for DPW, presented projected front foot assessment costs more than 40% higher
than the original projected costs that were quoted ($12.18 vs
the original $7.39 per linear foot).However, she stated the County was continuing the Cost Study seeking to reduce the cost per property owners, with state and/or federal grants and
loans.
The County plans to hold another public meeting on the project and
will notify affected property owners when the final cost figures have been
determined and the cost study is completed. They will petition property owners
to decide if the project should proceed if the assessment cost still exceeds
the original $7.39 per linear foot.
Click
here to view the Project Map as presented by the County.
November 2010
Feasibility Study Completed and Cost
Study Begins
The Anne Arundel County Department of Public Works Engineering Division
has completed the feasibility study.As a result of that study, the County has chosen to add approximately 25-28 properties onto the route of those who will receive public water (almost all of
them on Londontown Road) because it is a better route for water to flow for
fire-fighting. The County determined the
project was feasible and the existing public water system could handle the
projected additions.The cost study will be completed next.
16 June 2010
Petitions Validated and Feasibility
Study Begins
On June 16,
2010, Anne Arundel County Department of Public Works (DPW) sent letters to
1225 property owners in the London Towne community whose properties are on the
route proposed by the petition for Public Water in London Towne.
The letter stated that the County had
received and validated the petition to extend public water to the owners of
certain properties in the community. Those who did not receive the letter are not on the route for public
water.
The letter
also explained that the System Design Section of the DPW will prepare a
feasibility study to determine if the estimated project cost will be self
supporting and that once the study is completed, [DPW] will contact you with
further information.
UPDATE:
In Mid-June
2010, we received an email from Mr. Glen Shipley, Assistant Manager of
Financial Services for DPW indicating that his department will follow up with
the Engineering group each week to check on the progress of the feasibility
study and inform us when they are coming to a conclusion. If the project is determined to be feasible,
an initial cost estimate will be completedIf the initial cost estimate is at or below $7.39 per front foot, then
the County will go to the Final Design and Construction Bid documents.
For those of
you who have inquired about being having your properties added to the route
proposed by the petition for public water service, Mr. Shipley confirmed that
this would not be possible.He advised
in his email that the only avenue would be to be [sic] to submit a separate
petition.If validated, the projects
might be co-ordinate [sic] as one but that would be determine [sic] at the time
of construction. To [his] knowledge, no one has gone to this next step.
22 Nov
2009
Petitions
for Public Water in London Towne Submitted to Anne Arundel County
All petitions for and against public water that were received by the
LTPOA Public Water Committee were submitted to the county the first week in
September.The county is in the process
of verifying the petitions.� Petitions
were received from 1,321 property owners, while 706 did not respond.Of the petitions that were received, 895 (68%) requested public water, while 426 (32%) requested not to get public water.
Because a majority of owners did
not petition for public water, a proposed route for the water main to over half
of the community was submitted that would accommodate the most persons wanting
public water and at the same time not provide public water to those persons who
did not petition for water, whether by returning negative petitions or by not
responding to mailings.
Of the 1,178 properties on the proposed route, 61.8 % of the property
owners petitioned for water, 15% opposed water and 23.2% did not respond. One hundred sixty-seven owners who
petitioned for water could not be included in the route.
By mid-November, the County had almost completed the validation
process. Though some petitions have been disqualified for technical reasons (not
all owners signed, property changed hands, no witness, etc.) it appears that
there will still be well over 50% along the proposed route, which is all that
is required by the County. According to
Ms. Gail Rash of the Department of Public Works, the next step is to send the
information to the engineering department, which will let a contract to design
the system. Ms. Rash is also preparing a
mailing list of all property owners on the proposed route to officially inform
owners of the process.
A map of the proposed route for the water mains is available by
clicking the link below. As you will see
from the map, those properties that are not currently on the proposed route are
within two blocks of the route, at most. After the water line is installed, it will be much easier for small
groups of property owners to petition the county for public water, if they
choose to do so in the future.
We have confirmed with Ms. Rash that the clubhouse and all community
piers along the proposed route that now have wells will also be provided with
public water and will only have to pay the County the $2,100 connection fee.
The LTPOA Public Water Committee thanks the very large number of London
Towne Community residents who volunteered their time and energy to help with
this project. We also thank the 1,321
property owners who returned petitions.
April
2009
LTPOA
Sends Final Notice to All London Towne Property Owners to Submit Petitions
Below is a copy of the final notice to all London Towne Property Owners
to submit their Petitions either FOR or AGAINST bringing public water to the
Community.
Dear London Towne Property Owner,
Based on the response from two mailing to
all London Towne Property owners, we have identified two potential paths to
bring public water to parts of the community. Your property is on or near
one of these paths.
You are receiving this
letter because we do not have a petition from you. We need to know whether or not
you wish your property to be included in the petition for water. We expect to finalize the paths and submit petitions to Anne
Arundel County in the near future.
A brief fact sheet and a
petition form are enclosed. Please read the information and check one of the
boxes on the form. Your property information has been included on the form.
Then, in the presence of a witness, all co-owners should sign and the witness
should sign. (Notary not required.) Please return this form to the address on
the return envelope.
Further information can be found at the County web site, http://www.aacounty.org/DPW/Utilities/petition_process.cfm;
or, you can call LTPOA Board Members, Joe ONeil (410-956-2687) or Lois Fussell
(410-956-2641).
Thank you in advance for
your response,
John Rhoads, President
London Towne Property Owners Association
April
2009
PUBLIC WATER INFORMATION
I. The Petition Process
To start the process, a petition area must be defined.
It can be a property, group of properties, or
a whole community. All properties which adjoin the proposed water line are
included in the petition area.A
majority of all tax accounts in the defined area must support the petition. All
owners listed on the property deed must sign the petition.
When a majority of property owners in the defined area have
petitioned for public water, the petition must then be submitted to Anne
Arundel County. County officials will
validate the petition to ensure that property ownership is current and that all
owners have signed the petition and that the signatures were witnessed.
After the petition is validated, the county develops a preliminary
cost estimate which is presented to the petitioners.
If the costs exceed the ceiling defined in
the County code, the project is halted unless a majority of the owners still
request the project proceed.
The County currently estimates that it will be two to three years
from the submission of the petition to start of construction.
II. Costs
Front Foot Benefit
Assessment: Public water petition projects are paid for by the property owner
through a Front Foot Benefit Assessment. To calculate an assessment, add the
front (abutting) property dimension to the rear dimension and divide this total
by two. (For commercial property, the average width is then multiplied by
three, industrial property by five.) This average width is then multiplied by a
rate calculated from total construction and financing costs. The ceiling on
this rate is currently $7.23 per foot. (Once petitions are submitted to the County, this ceiling is frozen.)
This assessment is paid for by the property owner over a thirty year
period. If the property is sold before
the 30 year period, the assessment is transferred to the new owner.
Connection Charges: For residential property, the current connection charge for
water is $6,600. The County offers several options for financing this charge
over thirty years and there are special provisions for hardship cases. This
charge must be paid in full when the property is transferred.
Other Costs: The owners of all developed properties in the petition area will
have to hire a plumber to connect the property to the water line within 6
months of when public water is made available. There is a $55 permit required for this action. Property owners will also have to pay for the
water they use. Current water cost is
$2.32 per 1000 gallons (cost updated 5/14/2009).
FINAL REQUEST
OFFICIAL PUBLIC WATER
PETITION
London Towne Property
Owners Association I/We have read and understand the public water information
provided to us in the "Public Water Information" document dated April
2009.
PROPERTY IDENTIFICATION: Property Owner:
Mailing Address:
Telephone Number: Property Co-owner: Property
Address:
Edgewater,
MD 21037 Tax Account Number:
Lot Numbers:
We vote as follows:
YES;
Connect to public water.
No;
Do not connect to public water All owners and co-owners must have their
signatures witnessed by a third party.
(If more than two owners, use space on back.)
Signatures
Property
Owner:
Co-Owner:
Witness
(print name)
Date:
Please remit completed petition to :LTPOA Public Water Petition
P.O. Box 356 Edgewater, Maryland
21037-9906