St. Martin's by the Bay

1. Drawings

The drawings are 99 percent complete.

• Approvals from the county center for road control, the environment, the USDA, and the Maryland Department of the Environment should be in hand within the next three months.
• That review proceeds at the same time as the USDA approval.
• The project cost is $1.6 million, made up of a grant and a loan.
• Documentation is being pushed for the end of June, with a six-month extension in view.
• Delays in the design phase are pressing the DBL engineers, who have struggled with timelines. A meeting is required every two weeks.

2. Staging area

The staging area needs the association’s permission to use HOA property.

• Permits and easements are needed near the burn pile.
• The county is asking permission to use HOA property as a staging area, with a silt fence around it.
• Renting a fence was discussed, at a cost of $4,000 to $10,000.
• An easement has been requested from the horse farm for the fire hydrants.
• Construction is estimated at 8 to 10 months.
• The association must sign a form allowing the USDA to use the staging area. The board will review it and sign after this meeting.

3. Homeowner permission

Every homeowner must sign a document giving permission for the project to enter the property and make the individual connection.

4. Fire hydrants

The maps were reviewed. The project includes 17 hydrants.

5. Questions from Bill

• The contractor is required to connect from the existing water service to the water meter.
• Each homeowner must give permission for access to private property. The contractor will patch repairs on private property.
• A question was raised about whether a break in a county easement would be at the homeowner’s expense.
• All water mains will be installed first. Taps to the individual service connections will be installed afterward.
• The pressure is expected to increase by 10 psi.

6. Timeline

• Bidding in August.
• Procurement by December.
• USDA review, with the project shovel-ready in spring 2027.
• Completion by December 2027.

7. Estimated cost

• The USDA requires the loan to be used before the grant.
• The estimated cost is about $298 per house per quarter.
• Homeowner’s insurance is expected to go down once the fire hydrants are in.
• The meter for the pool and the dock will be billed to the association.
• The county maintains everything on its side of the main.
• The association keeps the right to reject the project if the cost is too high.
• The project includes the cost of abandoning the well.
• The Bahrami lot is not part of the HOA and will not be part of this project. That lot will need to pay connection costs later.

8. Resident meeting

Lee will hold an in-person meeting for residents to discuss the project sometime this summer.