YOU BRING THE FISHIN’ POLES, I’LL BRING THE BAIT

At last Tuesday’s Council meeting Engineer Brian Mader told Council he was working on revising the plans for the Miner Road renovation project.

The original plans called for culverting open storm water swales on the east side of Miner Road.

Talk about the best laid plans….

It turned out the swales were part of a FEMA 100 year flood plain, which put them under the Army Corps of Engineers’ (ACE) jurisdiction.

ACE investigators reported to their bosses that they found fish swimming in the swales.

Their finding changed everything.

The swales are no longer swales........They are streams.

The city can’t wily-nily culvert streams.

So it’s back to the drawing board for Mader.

The Miner Road project will still go forward in 2015, minus the culverting of the east side swales.

That work will have to wait until the city obtains permits…

Or convinces ACE that its investigators were seeing things

ROUGH ROAD AHEAD?

Engineer Brian Mader also reported on Tuesday that the city’s 2014 road work contractor had almost completed its work.

Not everyone is satisfied with that work however.

Councilman Bob Mastrangelo spoke for a number of residents when he commented:

“Highland Heights Road, since it’s been repaved (in connection with culvert repair work), seems rough. “

Mader explained:

There are some areas where the patches, when tying into other parts of the road, they are not able to match it 100%.
There might be a small bump.
There have been some patches I am asking them to dress up.”

Sounds like Highland Road needs to be on Mader’s "dress up" list.

POOL DECK DISPUTE: ROUND THREE

The zoning appeals board does not necessarily have the last word on zoning matters in our city.

Ask former Fire Chief Ed Bencin if you don’t believe me.

Bencin went to court ---and won----after the zoning appeals board issued an unfavorable ruling regarding property he wanted to develop along Miner Road.

I have been told that the Rutland Road neighbors have decided to follow Bencin's lead and challenge the zoning appeals board's recent 3-2 pro-deck decision in court.

Hopefully the judicial system will provide the neighbors what they deserve, but have not received, at the hands of the city's powers-that-be:

Relief from the after-the-fact permitted, non-permit conforming, enormous, towering deck that sits 11 feet from the rear property line.