By Gary Ogle
gogle@wbcowqel.com
As wet as this summer has been Polk Township Trustees, the Crawford County Engineer and County Commissioners are hoping for more rain soon. That is so they can determine exactly where problems remain on roads stemming from the Westmoor Sewer Project.
County Engineer Mark Baker asked, “What do the trustees think they need to make them whole?”
The issue, according Polks Township Trustees Glenn Cheesman and Tom Ray, are roads that continue to be an issue as well as broken tile from the construction of the Westmoor Sanitary Sewer Project. The results are roads in the area that are difficult to navigate and flooding in yards, roads and homes.
“We knew it would offset streets and break some tiles,” Cheesman said of the project. “The big issue is we think every street the tile went down needs resurfaced. We appreciated the fact they are patched. But it was our impression from day one they would be resurfaced. We want to work with the county as much as we can.”
County Commissioner Doug Weisenauer acknowledged the problems, as did Baker. Weisenauer said the commissioners had received some money through the contractor, Elite Excavating, through a settlement.
“The county is responsible for the streets,” Weisenauer said. He went on to say the county would seek further funding for the needed work through a “zero interest” loan from Issue One money. The deadline for applying for those funds is Oct. 21. “We are going to take responsibility for resurfacing the streets.”
Baker conceded that some driveways were of particular concern because of getting them flush with the roadway and wanted to know if all the streets needed resurfaced immediately, or if some would suffice with a patch until it was time for resurfacing them through regular maintenance.
“The county would pick up other issues in the future,” Baker said.
Ray felt the best way to determine exactly what needed to be done when was for the trustees, commissioners and Baker to go through the area after a rain and see where water was laying on the roads and clearly identify the problem spots.
“We’re talking hundred’s of thousands (of dollars) if we resurface everything out there,” Ray said.
Ray went on to name Evans and Greenbrier as having some serious problems in need of immediate work.
“The bottom line is we didn’t have the patches and seams before,” Ray said. “We did our part on our end over the years to keep those roads up. I think we all need to get together and walk through like we did before. When it rains the proof is in the puddles.”
Weisenauer identified another potential problem where residents have again fed their sump pumps into the sewers; an issue he feels has been identified through flow meters. He noted after the meeting there are homes that have been taken back by banks through foreclosure that still have not tied in as required to the sewer system.