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Woodward supers to address roads, drainage

LOCKPORT — The Woodward Township Supervisors are planning a road tour next Tuesday.

The supervisors will be visiting multiple homes and roads in the township to address issues on township roads, including North Vista Drive and Oak Hollow Road, that were brought to their attention at this week’s meeting.

Bobby Maguire and John Jarrett, residents of North Vista, are seeking a solution to make turning off of the roadway onto Oak Hollow Road safer.

The roadway is very narrow, with pieces of the berm crumbling away, Maguire said, suggesting that the township remove trees in the area of the roadway and widen it to make turning easier and safer.

Residents of North Vista are also requesting the road be widened.

“We’re seeking a long term solution to the issues at Croak Hollow and North Vista Drive,” Maguire said.

The roadway has major drainage problems as well as a large 20-foot hump on the southern section and multiple pot holes, Maguire said.

The drainage issue is due in part to tires being used to stop erosion, said Supervisor Wayne Love. The tires were placed in the road decades ago and in recent years water has gotten underneath them and brought them out over the roadway, Love said.

The tires are located along one stretch of property but are not the fault of the current owner, Love added.

“I’m not just coming solo,” Maguire said. Other residents Maguire has spoken with have voiced their support of repairs being made to the roadway, that includes Jarrett, he said.

“These are all good solid taxpayers who would like to see this fixed,” Maguire said.

The township is already making some moves to fix the problem with the tires, Supervisor Chairman Kyle Coleman said.

The supervisors also agreed to come visit the area and try to come up with a solution to some of the problems Maguire listed.

Also, excessive amounts of rain have caused a few drainage problems in the areas of Oak Hollow and Woodland Drive.

Jamie and Tom Winslow, Deb Styers and Sarah Shade all asked the board to look into fixing drainage issues on their properties.

The Winslows and Styers are neighbors on Oak Hollow Road near North Vista and have had issues with water run off from the roadways. Rain water has washed out their driveways and, in Styers case, flooded her basement and garage area, they said.

There is a storm drain located near Styers property but it is elevated above the ground making it hard for water to flow into it, Styers said.

Shade lives in the Woodland Heights Development and has experienced water so severe her foundation has allegedly begun to crack, she said.

Drainage pipes are located on the opposite side of the roadway which is also at a higher elevation, she continued.

All three supervisors agreed to go visit the properties on Tuesday to try and find a solution to the problems.

During the meeting, some residents expressed their reluctance to come speak with the board due to past communication issues.

Coleman and fellow supervisors Love and John Barth are encouraging residents to speak with them when they need to.

“We’re trying to let people know that if there’s something that needs to be addressed we’ll address it,” Coleman said.

OTHER BUSINESS

In other business the supervisors:

∫ Amended the Recreation Committee By-Laws to allow an out of township resident of the county to be a member of the board.

This came after the loss of member Jennifer Hoy, wife of former supervisor Brian Hoy, who moved out of the township in 2018.

Hoy was very active in the committee having helped plan Riverfest and other township events throughout her years.

∫ Discussed patching a man-made pipe with concrete under a bridge in Reeds Run Road until permits can be acquired to place a drainage pipe.

The “pipe” was made out of mountain stone decades ago and is now beginning to crumble, causing the roadway to cave in, Coleman said.

The supervisors also discussed looking into finding a steel plate which could be used to patch up the problem.

∫ Appointed sewer authority employee Mike Stover to the township’s planning commission.

∫ Approved the completion of surveillance cameras to be installed in township police cruisers.

This is the final installation after the supervisors had cameras placed around the township building in 2018.

∫ Are still waiting for final paperwork for the PennDOT Multi-Modal grant which will pay for a large portion of Oak Hollow Road paving project.

If the paperwork isn’t completed and given to the township soon, the paving project may need to be pushed back to next year, Coleman said.

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