Heavy spring rains exacerbated water problems in some areas of Mt. Pleasant Township, and residents are looking to the supervisors for help.
Residents of Brush Creek Road attended their third consecutive supervisors meeting Monday to complain about persistent flooding, and farmer Tim Boytim said they are losing patience.
While flooding has been a problem along Brush Creek for decades, Zeglin and his neighbors maintain it has gotten markedly worse in recent years, particularly since the nearby stretch of the Pennsylvania Turnpike underwent reconstruction.
"They left the turnpike drains run right into the creek," said Brush Creek Road resident Sam Trout.
Everyone agrees that part of the problem is that a small bridge spanning the creek on Carpentertown Mine Road is clogged with silt almost to the bottom of the span. The result is that little water can flow under the bridge, forcing it to back up along Brush Creek Road several times a year.
Residents are forced to deal with backed-up drains.
"How long would you put up with that if you lived there?" asked June Trout. "You've got to get in your car to go to the mailbox because the mud on the road is so bad."
Supervisor Don Scott said the township can't dredge under the bridge and along the creek.
Ramez Ziadeh, a senior engineer with the state Department of Environmental Protection's hydraulic water management office, gave the township approval to do the work, but Scott said several other permissions and notifications are required and that takes time.
"It sounds to me like you're not hounding them enough," Boytim told Scott.
"It makes us feel powerless not to be able to do something for you," said Scott, who promised to spray for mosquitoes until the work is completed.
In another area of the township, Mellingertown Road resident Carolyn Wescoe told the supervisors that the construction of homes on a hill behind her home caused her $22,000 swimming pool to wash away.
Wescoe said stormwater from drains put in by the developer initially caused $5,000 damage to the pool, but recent rains "totally wiped out our pool. It's a $27,000 loss."
The supervisors promised to look into the problem and contact Wescoe.
A group of residents from School Street, Fairview Drive, Chestnut Acres, Mellingertown Road and the Mt. Laurel View development expressed concerns about John Guzzy's plans to build multi-family housing along Mellingertown Road.
John Amoroso reminded the supervisors that Guzzy was denied permission to put in multi-family units in 1985. He said the homeowners have deed restrictions limiting the properties to single-family dwellings.
Amoroso said multi-family units tend to draw more transient owners and renters who don't maintain their properties.
"We purchased our properties in good faith that we would be living in a neighborhood, not a commercial enterprise," Amoroso said.
The supervisors said Guzzy's plans are in the initial stages of the review process.
