A non-functioning sewage system in Glenwood is County Executive Kenneth Ulman's "top priority" at the moment, he told a crowd of more than 200 people at a community forum last week.

The system, which is intended to treat and dispose of sewage from nearly 100 upscale condos at the Villas of Cattail Creek, instead serves as a holding tank for waste, county officials said.

The tank is emptied several times each day by a truck that pumps and hauls away the liquid waste much to the frustration of the residents who say the procedure is noisy and rank.

"I completely and utterly share your frustration. This is just something that never, ever should have happened," Ulman told residents who attended a June 26 public forum at the Glenwood Community Center. "It's absolutely unacceptable. ... We also want to make sure it never happens again."

Officials conducted the forum to give residents a chance to address Ulman and the leaders of county departments on any topic.

More than 50 came from Cattail Creek, while an equally large contingent came in a show of opposition to a proposed used car lot in Woodbine.

Operable system wanted

Cattail Creek residents asked that Ulman intervene to ensure that an operable sewage system is installed in their community.

The Maryland Department of the Environment, which oversees septic systems, is requiring the developer, Villas at Cattail Creek LLC, to replace the system by Nov. 15, said Kim Lamphier, a department spokeswoman.

Residents have told officials that they are unable to sell their condos and want assurance that a replacement system will work properly.

"I don't think you realize how upset this community is and how badly we want out of here," resident Renee Parkover told Ulman.

The County Council is set to vote July 7 on two bills that would address shared sewage systems in western Howard, which is not served by public water and sewer systems.

A bill proposed by council member Greg Fox, a Fulton Republican, would prohibit residential "multi-used" sewerage systems unless the county health department determines that extraordinary circumstances necessitate such a system.

The state defines such systems as those that serve a number of individuals located on a single lot, have a treatment capacity of more than 5,000 gallons a day, and are not publicly owned or operated.

The other bill, proposed by Ulman, would grant the county's Department of Public Works greater oversight and regulatory power over future "multi-used" systems built in the county.

County officials said they are working on an amendment to Ulman's bill that would make it apply to Cattail Creek.

Ulman told the crowd that the county's Office of Law is interviewing Cattail Creek residents as part of an investigation into potential violations of the county's consumer protection code committed by the developer and builders at Cattail Creek.

"I think it's fair to say this has taken far too long," Ulman told the residents. "It's fair to say it's our top priority right now and it will remain so until we come up with a solution."

Lisa Heimlicher, general counsel for the developers, did not return a telephone call seeking comment.

Residents decry car lot

Another group of west county residents used the forum to voice opposition to a plan by developer Frank Saglimbeni to build a used car lot on a four-acre parcel at the intersection of Daisy and Union Chapel roads. The Department of Planning and Zoning is reviewing the plan.

The residents say the narrow, rural roads around the site are ill-suited to handle the large auto-carriers that would supply the dealership with cars and will therefore create a safety hazard.

Hugh Flaherty, a member of a group called Concerned Citizens of Western Howard County, which opposes the lot, asked Ulman to reevaluate the zoning designations for all rural crossroads in the county to prevent commercial construction that residents say would destroy the character of their neighborhoods.

Ulman told the residents that he intends to take a more "proactive" approach to examining rural crossroads that are zoned for commercial uses.

At the Daisy intersection, county traffic engineers have recommended a traffic circle be installed and that large vehicles traveling to the site be flanked by escort vehicles in an effort to prevent collisions.

Ulman said at the forum that he has asked the Department of Public Works to reevaluate the proposed traffic circle.

"Clearly, it's an intersection that doesn't work," he said, adding that he visited it last week. "Just because something is zoned a certain way doesn't mean something will necessarily fit there or be safe there."

Saglimbeni did not return a telephone call seeking comment.

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