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Neighbor makes plea that flooding won't worsen
(by Sue Reid - May 09, 2012)
Neighbor makes plea that flooding won't worsen
By SUE REID
Resident Debbie Paskell expressed anxiety last week to Solon City Council's public works committee about the proposed Neptune Oval Estates subdivision at the southwest corner of Miles Road and Neptune Drive.
The Solon planning commission referred the subdivision of 13 single-family homes to the public works committee for review, with a focus on storm-water management.
Mrs. Paskell asked the city for a "100 percent guarantee" that the subdivision would not worsen existing flooding issues she said she has in her backyard on Hemington Boulevard. The full length of her property at the low end of the North Park Estates subdivision would abut the new development.
"Everything flows toward me," Mrs. Paskell said. "I have city workers out at every rain checking the program, and sometimes it happens in the middle of the night," she said. "The city is still trying to fix our problem," she said, and water has come close to the basement of her 3-year-old home.
"My property collects all the drainage," Mrs. Paskell said. "If you look at the grade, it's tremendous."
Developer Randy Kertesz has made a commitment to divert water, according to his engineer, Daniel Neff. It would be collected in a water-quality basin, treated and directed back in the stream, Mr. Neff said. It is a method that detains storm water for a 24-hour period, which gives it a chance to "settle out," he said.
City Engineer John J. Busch said he believes the proposed development would help alleviate some of the Paskells' issues, "because it will divert some of their flow.
"But you can't control Mother Nature," Mr. Busch said, "and there are some pretty steep slope issues that the developer will have to address, because, in higher-intensity storms, there might be the likelihood that those catch basins will get bypassed because of the slopes."
Mrs. Paskell said it's possible that the development may actually benefit her property rather than be a detriment to it.
Councilwoman Nancy E. Meany, who represents the ward, reiterated residents' concerns about flooding. She said she wants to make sure they are protected. "I don't want to see their situation worsen," she said. "I'm going to try to protect my residents. I've heard from a number of them, and I think they have legitimate concerns."
"We don't want to do anything that would adversely affect downstream residents," Councilman Robert N. Pelunis said. "If anything, we want to make it better.
"We want to make sure that we, as a committee, have some sense of security this will not be made worse downstream."
Mr. Pelunis asked what the city is doing to address the current flooding issues raised by residents.
Mr. Busch said, since the storm of 2006, the city has been working diligently to get basins back to their original condition, and they are regularly maintained.
"We can say we can do anything we can to stop flooding, but can we do it?" Mrs. Meany asked.
Mr. Pelunis said, "I'd like to have some type of assurance for residents that there's not going to be a problem. It's one thing to say it," but the city needs to show what it did to prevent flooding issues," he said.
"The city can't give you a guarantee, but we can make sure the safeguards are in place," Mr. Pelunis told Mrs. Paskell.
"You have a property owner adjacent to you that has every legal right to develop his property," he said, and efforts to divert the flow may be a benefit to her current situation.
"It will, without question, improve drainage going into her back yard," Mr. Neff.
"Your concerns are our concerns," Mr. Kertesz said.
"They can give guarantees, but nature is nature," Mrs. Paskell said. "Someone has to be responsible for it when everyone packs up and goes home and not leave it up to my family," she said.
"I just want a guarantee, because, once they build and people settle into their homes, I'm left. No one is going to come and protect me," Mrs. Paskell said. "What am I left with?"
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