Borough’s slow pace angers property owner
Collapsed storm drain creating havoc at his rental property, he says
KEYPORT — For three years now, Jerry Green has been complaining about a collapsed storm drain near a two-family house that he owns and rents out on the corner of Waverly and Second streets. Because nothing has been done to fix the problem, Green went to the Borough Council meeting on Sept. 4 to plead with everyone to finally do something.
"Take it from the back burner and put it on the front burner," Green said. "Whatever I have to do to remind you, I will do it, because I’m tired of my tenants not having the utilization of street parking, which is at a minimum at best in this area." Besides that, he said the basement floods whenever there is a heavy rainfall.
Green told the council that when there is a heavy rain, he has at least 4-6 inches of standing water on his property, extending at least 15 inches from the curb into the street.
"Not only is it a problem for parking, but you have a [possible] litigation problem. If someone in the winter slips on ice there, you are going to have more to contend with than me just being a pain … ," Green said. "You are going to have someone suing the borough plus the property owner probably, and then I’m also going to be liable, which isn’t fair because it’s really not my problem." Green said that during the winter, the area does ice up because the water is just sits.
Green just wants the issue addressed, he said in a separate interview. He said he is a good landlord and property owner, but he wants the borough to pay for the breakage because it is their responsibility. "We need to have a safe area there. It’s not just my issue. It’s the whole community’s issue, but I am willing to be the voice to get this done." Green said that he pays approximately $17,000 in property taxes and sewer fees, and he does not feel that he should have to pay for anything to be fixed.
At the meeting, Councilman Wade Pedersen said the Public Works Department had previously sent in a sewer jet to pinpoint the break, and pull back crushed rock and sand. "I know it’s been a couple of years, but if we can have a couple of weeks, we can try and do something," Pedersen said.
Pedersen said later that the break has been pinpointed, and that there are two options. "We can do a Band-Aid repair, which would entail digging up the road and putting in 10 to 15 feet of pipe, or wait for further funding and do a total reconstruction of the entire road."
If the road was completely redone, work would include new storm drains, pipes, sidewalks and paving. The council will have to decide, but funding may not be available from the state for two or three years, he noted.
No one is questioning the need to fix the problem. Pedersen said that the storm drains have been there since the early 1900s, but they have discovered that the collapse is between 4 and 5 feet deep, a safe range for the Public Works Department to fix.