Bradford City Council held a work session before Tuesday’s
council meeting to talk about permanent solutions to flooding from
Bolivar Run, which caused major damage to KOA Speer in 1999.
Sara and Jeff Andrews of the Office of Economic and Community
Development, along with Dale Sorenson from Northwest Engineering
Inc., explained to council that several options can be
considered.
“This project has been culminating since 1999 when KOA Speer got
flooded out,” Jeff Andrews said. He said that officials with KOA
had asked them at that time to do something permanent to address
the problem.
“They basically said if something affirmative is not done, they
would very strongly consider relocating,” he explained. He added
that other businesses and homes in that region were effected by the
floodwaters, and something should be done.
Northwest Engineering was hired to study the problem, and
presented seven possible options to council at the work
session.
“They’ve reached a point where they’d like to know what the city
would like to pursue,” Jeff Andrews explained.
Sorenson presented the options, which are as follows: no action;
dredging the stream for a temporary solution; replacing the Seaward
Avenue bridge, which doesn’t eliminate the problem; managing flood
flows by constructing a channel behind KOA Speer, which wouldn’t
help other area businesses and may not be technically feasible
because of the proximity to U.S. Route 219.
Another option would be constructing concrete channel walls
upstream from the bridge, which is costly and would not eliminate
the problem, Sorenson said. The sixth option presented was a
combination bridge replacement and construction of concrete channel
walls, which would eliminate the flooding problems, but would carry
an estimated price tag of $5.2 million.
The seventh option presented was building a dike around KOA
Speer, which Northwest quotes as a “simple project (and the) lowest
cost of permanent solutions considered.”
“I’m not sure KOA would go along with having a four-foot
concrete wall,” Sara Andrews said.
“You’re talking a dike around the entire Speers? That’s kind of
silly,” said Councilman Dan Costello.
Jeff Andrews pointed out that Seaward Avenue is a state road,
and that means the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation must
be involved in anything done. However, Sara Andrews pointed out,
PennDOT has said in the past that the Seaward Avenue bridge is good
enough.
Moving ahead of any solutions will involve PennDOT, the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of Environmental
Protection. Sara Andrews suggested considering them, as well as
Rural Development, for possible funding.
“Any permanent solution will involve bridge replacement,”
Sorenson said.
Replacing the bridge will involve making the stream bed wider
and extending the length of the bridge by about 22 feet.
That will make the bridge awfully close to some businesses and
homes located near it already, pointed out Councilman Tom Riel.
“There may be some property issues,” Jeff Andrews said, “I can’t
really speak to that. There is potential there would be
easements.”
Sorenson said, however, that he doesn’t believe there would be a
significant widening of the stream. The banks that are currently
there are sloped. If the banks were straightened and defined, the
flow would carry better, he said.
All the council members present – Mayor Michele Corignani was
absent from the work session, but arrived at 7 p.m. for another
meeting – were in favor of Northwest and the OECD moving ahead with
efforts to coordinate a project with PennDOT, the DEP and any other
related agency.
“The residents (and businesses) there deserve all the protection
we can give them,” said Councilman Ross Neidich.
Following the work session, a brief meeting of the firemen’s
pension board was held to approve the pension of Fred Angell, who
retired, for medical reasons, from the Bradford City Fire
Department.
At the council meeting held after that, council approved
appointing Gregory Lewis as a probationary firefighter/emergency
medical technician to fill the vacancy created by Angell’s
retirement.
Lewis’s appointment takes effect July 18.
In other business, council approved
* a proposal from National Fire Insurance Co. of Pittsburgh for
blanket accident insurance coverage for the City of Bradford
Special Police for $5,906 annually;
* a promotion of firefighter/EMT Eric Taylor to the rank of
lieutenant effective today; and
* permission to advertise for civil service testing for the
position of firefighter/paramedic to establish a new list, as the
current eligibility list expired in April.
The next meeting of council will be held July 25.
