Drainage problems cause damage to Mingo Junction home
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MINGO JUNCTION -- A resident of Hallock Avenue told Village Council Tuesday about the circumstances around water damage her home sustained from an August waterline break in a nearby alley.
Linda Horsburgh of 209 Hallock Ave. said a 6-inch waterline broke in a side alley near her home, flooding her basement with mud and water. The water entered a window well, burst through the side window and entered her basement, damaging the mortar.
"My basement was filled with 6 inches of mud in my first two parts," said Horsburgh, a 32-year Mingo Junction resident. "Thank heavens it didn't get to the third part because that's where my furnace and everything else is at. I had water practically up to my knees."
Horsburgh said she has had continuing water problems in the past and has asked the village's service department repeatedly to install a drainage system next to the alley, which is level with her yard.
"I can't sell this house with all this water damage," Horsburgh said. "It's repaired, but still, it's going to continue to get damaged."
Water from the break also "totally ruined" the foundation of her two-year-old garage, Horsburgh said, adding onto costs to eventually replace the foundation. Horsburgh has had the basement damage repaired through private individuals, with costs falling between $3,500 and $4,000, she said.
Horsburgh said her insurance company told her that the village is exempt from paying for the damage.
Village Administrator Bob Smith said this was the first time he had heard about there being a continuing water problem in the alley. He disagreed with the village insurance company's own claim of exemption, saying that the village ought to pay for the damage or at least help to pay.
"I don't agree with our insurance company on this at all, but ... I can't make them pay," said Smith, later adding that he will contact the company again. Smith asked Horsburgh to provide him with her insurance company's write-up on the damage to reference while speaking with the company.
Separately, Smith expressed dissatisfaction with the village's water billing system, Muni-Link, which has been plagued with issues involving billing records. The village has a contract with the system, he added.
Smith said the due date for water bills has been extended to Nov. 8 due to implementation problems with Muni-Link. An announcement from Smith through Facebook on Wednesday said that the village will attempt to have "all meters read and bills distributed by Nov. 17 for the next billing cycle.
"We are asking for your patience," Smith said. "Like any new system, we have experienced setbacks, but hopefully the situation will be resolved before the next billing cycle."
Councilman Adam Peeler said an Oct. 13 meeting of the village's water and sewer board included discussions on the benefits of the Muni-Link system. Peeler expressed the difficult of quantifying the system's "return of investment."
In other business:
• The council's safety committee discussed having a meeting soon to discuss buses by the schools swinging wide into traffic due to curbs possibly being too long and safety equipment for the Mingo Junction Police Department.
• Mingo Junction Police Chief Willie McKenzie said the only safety concern for trick-or-treating, which will be on Saturday from 7-9 p.m., is Logan Avenue, which will be partly shut down to traffic and turned into a one-way street -- a protocol McKenzie said the village has done in past years.
• Peeler suggested the creation of a job description and expectation write-up for any new individual elected to the village council. For the Nov. 7 general election, the council has four open seats being contested by five candidates: newcomers Patti Mannarino and Douglas E. Smith, as well as incumbents Jack Brettell, Jodilynn Fitzgerald and Patricia Cramblett. At least one seat is guaranteed to be filled by a newcomer to the council.
• Councilwoman Jodilynn Fitzgerald said that the village will be legally able to combine its clerk and treasurer positions once the treasurer position comes back up for election. Councilman Jack Brettell added that, if the positions are combined, it will become a fiscal officer and cease to be an elected official, instead being a mayoral appointment.
• Councilman Jack Brettell encouraged councilmembers to visit Elizabeth Street, which connects to South Commercial Street by the underpass, to determine what is there. Earlier, the council's meeting had seen the second appearance of attorney John Mascio, who has acted as the arbitrator for a petition by adjoining property owners to have the street, and an alley behind it, vacated.
• Peeler volunteered to look at streetlights on South Commercial Street after the council's meeting, following when Mayor Ed Fithen inquired about how dark the street was.
The council meets on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. in the village's municipal building.