Storm Water Subcommittee Talks Potential Project Criteria

At the previous , which took place during the Dec. 12, 2011 Community Development Committee meeting, criteria that would prioritize storm water projects were a major concern.

The Storm Water subcommittee updates appear as an ongoing agenda item of the monthly Community Development Committee meetings. During the Jan. 23 meeting, committee chairperson Joe Lavalle, Ward 4 commissioner, said that the project criteria would most likely be based on:

• Public health and safety
• Funds availability
• Sensible scheduling on when certain projects could be achieved

“In terms of getting this committee off the ground, we’re not ignoring any particular area or problem, whether it be on a public infrastructure or whether it’s on a private property,” Lavalle said during the committee meeting. “If it is brought to the three of us on our committee, it’s going to be evaluated and hopefully prioritized.”

Lavalle was referring to the three commissioners that help make up the storm water sub-committee, which includes himself, Ward 2 commissioner Kevin Spearing, Ward 5 commissioner Kip McFatridge, as well as the township’s engineer and director of public works.

Lavalle was responding to a comment from an Upper Moreland resident, questioning whether the subcommittee will create a projects list that will prioritize township storm water issues over private property ones.

The resident, Richard Booth, said that it should not be the fault of some private homeowners whose neighbors act irresponsible and allow heavy runoff from their properties, however responding to such problems may open a proverbial floodgate of private home-owner issues for the township.

“We might be careful not to spend money that’s not township related,” Booth said.

In response, another resident, Nick Scull, explained to the committee that he purchased his house in 1989. Prior to the purchase, the previous owner apparently altered the landscape that essentially created a retaining pond between his and his neighbor's property. [Update 10:52 am.] Despite this,  flooding still occurs on his neighbors’ properties.

Scull said, when he asked the township for advice, he was told that the township could not give advice to private homeowners, likely due to liability reasons.

“I could say that the township does have a responsibility to regulate these things, and they do have ordinances about it, but they still happened,” Scull said. “This is a governmental problem.”

“I understand everyone’s frustrations,” Ward 3 commissioner Donna Parsell said, during commissioners’ comments. "This debate, as you can hear it, goes back and forth.”

However, Parsell said that she would not be in favor of private residents using township resources, such as its engineer, and suggested that the subcommittee remain in constant contact with the township manager and solicitor to avoid liability.

[Updated 1-27-11] “We’re in the information-finding stage at the moment, some of this conversation is a little premature and we’re jumping to a couple of conclusions, in my opinion,” Lavalle said. “What I will promise you is we will be innovative of what we look at, we will be all-encompassing at what we look at and we’ll try to put our best foot forward for the residents both professionally and knowledgably and move in a direction.”

Wanting to help the subcommittee move in that direction, Ward 1 commissioner Lisa Romaniello submitted a document at the beginning of the subcommittte update.

She called the document (see photo gallery above), “Recommendations to Advance Stormwater management with Township Engineer.”

According to Romaniello, the ten concepts and ideas were based of research from Temple University, the Pennsylvania Environmental Organization and the Philadelphia Water Department.

Among the ideas was to provide incentives or a credit system to property owners to build BMP’s [best management practices] on their property. She said that such township-driven incentives might encourage property owners to do things like retrofit parking lots to become more pervious pavements.

“Thereby reducing runoff and retaining more water onsite. This allows for ground infiltration which will improve water quality and reduce harmful effects,” the document states. 

She said this document was made in conjunction to her meeting with the township’s engineer and public works director, as part of the first actions made by the subcommittee.

“It was great and very productive,” Romaniello said. “We did discuss sites, and I had a chance to go through some of these concepts and ideas.”

According to Lavalle, all but one commissioner have met with the township officials to provide feedback to the subcommittee – most of the commissioners have met in the last weeks.

He previously explained that after the final commissioner meeting with the township’s engineer and public works director wraps up, a more definitive and informational storm water management update will be given during the February committee meeting.

“We should have more information as the months go by in terms of what projects can be accomplished in 2012,” Lavalle said.