Gripes About Drain Pipes Fill Meeting

VILLAS – Several residents of the Bayshore Estates section of Lower Township attended the May 4 meeting of Lower Township Council. They hoped to see real progress in their battle to stay above water.
In a literal sense, residents of Roseann Avenue have been underwater due to poor drainage, low elevations and clogged drain pipes for a long time; some say this has been a problem since the 1980s.
Senior Associate Mark Sray of the engineering firm Hatch Mott MacDonald provided a status of its investigation into the problem and how it can be addressed.
His firm has learned that drainage pipes that had serviced the area for many years are, and have been, 60 percent blocked with sand and other materials for quite a while.
This hydraulic study covered an area of about 150 acres along the Roseann Avenue tract, and was completed in 2013.
Sray proposed that his firm can provide a completed Phase Three engineering study with cost estimates to correct the problems found by an August council meeting.
Several residents were clearly impatient with the lack of urgency they felt caused them to suffer needlessly. One resident said that he has spent $16,000 to try to deal with water issues on his own property.
Another expressed frustration that the preliminary studies had been completed three years prior, and nothing has been done to fix it.
Mayor Michael Beck interjected that he was not sure that the township could legally dispose of any materials removed from the pipes on the county landfill. Councilman David Perry offered they cannot continue to “kick the can down the road” any longer. All agreed that something needs to be done.
Beck mentioned the Cox Hall watershed project as having to be part of the solution and asked questions about drainage that site provides to the Roseann Avenue area. “We do not own Cox Hall because it is controlled by the county MUA and public works,” Beck said.
He continued that the drainage pipes at Cox Hall are draining more water than ever, yet the issue remains at Roseann Avenue. Other residents complained that the street is actually falling, and that sink holes keep opening up no matter how responsive public works laborers are to fill them.
Brian O’Connor, a GIS specialist with Cape May County Planning Department, rose to clarify that the problems at the Bayshore Estates area are not caused or aggravated by the Cox Hall project. He stated that when Hurricane Sandy struck, “We closed the gate to prevent salt water from coming in and Clubhouse Road did not flood.”
O’Connor stated that tide gate is not the problem. He blamed the clogged pipes on a failure to collect leaves from the streets. He added that those leaves eventually find themselves in the drainage pipes. Homeowners or the township do not dispose of leaves properly. Council promised to take immediate action as soon as it receives the Phase Three report with cost estimates on how to comprehensively address the problem.
MUA Board Member Selected
Councilman Erik Simonsen (R-Ward 3) nominated Jackie Henderson to fill a vacant seat on Lower Township Municipal Utilities Authority. Henderson is a member of the county Republican Committee and a former interim member of Lower Township Council in 2013. Councilman Thomas Conrad seconded the motion and Henderson as approved by Council with a unanimous vote.
Lower Chamber Plans Initiatives
The image of Lower Township is very much on the mind of Lower Township Chamber of Commerce, according to Kathy Louderback of that organization. “You’re going to love this,” she remarked, prior to her proposal for Lower Township.
She requested council’s support on several new initiatives designed to inform visitors about the many little known features of the township including Diamond Beach, Sunset Beach and the Cape May Lighthouse. She wants the slogan “Home of the Best Sunsets” to be adopted as the township’s official slogan and to use it on signage and other informational materials. She suggested that a “Sunset Festival” be held annually at the ferry, and “let’s see what else we can do” to promote the township.
All members of council were supportive; Beck requested that Louderback provide council with a written proposal with ideas, and promised the governing body’s full support.
Cub Scouts Honored
Council honored Cub Scouts Joshua Smith and John Payne of Pack 63 for earning the “Arrow of Light” award which is a special badge that Cub Scouts may carry on into Boy Scouts. It is awarded for participation in numerous projects that exemplify their dedication to Cub Scout ideals.
To contact Jim McCarty, email jmccarty@cmcherald.com.