Not every day does Howard seek to expand public water and sewer to more rural areas of the county.
But two growing churches in Fulton, St. Francis of Assisi and St. Paul?s Evangelical Lutheran, which rely on well and septic systems, want to make the connection.
“There?s tremendous growth going on in the southern part of the county,” said Tim Miller, senior associate at KCI Technologies in Laurel, which developed the plans for St. Francis Catholic Church.
The churches can move forward on their expansions because they border areas serviced by public water and sewer and have a public use.
The expansions are included in two bills before the Howard County Council.
“The boundary is not changed lightly,” Planning and Zoning Director Marsha McLaughlin said at a public hearing Monday.
Since 2000, Howard has extended public water and sewer seven times, four of which were for religious institutions, she said.
St. Francis wants to build a new two-story center for religious adult-education classes, Miller said. The church now rents space at nearby St. Paul?s for these meetings. It will also soon be time to double the 600-seat sanctuary to make room for the now-1,000 member families.
When the original church was built 10 years ago, only 300 families attended the Catholic church, said Tim Morris, building chairman for the church. The church also is asking for a 10-year window during which to connect the 12.47 acres to the public water line.
St. Paul?s doesn?t have plans to expand, but it is having troubles with its septic system, McLaughlin said. Evening meetings and religious activities have put a strain on the system, and the church wants to connect the 3.28 acres to the public water and sewer within the next year, she said.
