Date: Fri 20-Sep-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

sewers-easements-Main-Street

Full Text:

Main Street Residents Have Questions About Sewer Easements

B Y K AAREN V ALENTA

Only about 20 residents attended the public hearing held by the Water

Pollution Control Authority last week to discuss the directional drilling

planned to preserve trees along Main Street when sewer lines are installed

this fall.

WPCA Chairman Peter Alagna said he was "encouraged by the diminished

attendance," noting that there seem to be fewer complaints and obstacles as

the $34 million project enters what is expected to be the last year of

construction.

But some residents espressed concerns about the easements and about the

inconvenience of the construction along Main Street until the work is

completed, probably around the end of December.

The town is seeking three types of easements from Main Street residents:

permament easements for sewer lines which will run parallel to the street,

permanent easements for lines needed to serve two houses on back lots, and

temporary easements for directional drilling service connections.

Peter Grose, project manager for Fuss & O'Neill, the town's sewer consultant,

said open trenches will be dug to install sewer pipes along Main Street

between Schoolhouse Hill Road and East Street. Directional drilling, which

involves the drilling of underground "tunnels" for the pipes, will be done

between East Street and Glover Avenue on the east side of Main Street.

The town is awaiting final approval by the state Department of Environmental

Protection of an $860,000 contract, which the town intends to award FGB

Construction, the low bidder on the directional drilling project.

"Directional drilling is three to four times as expensive (as open trenching),

but it will be done to avoid damage to tree roots," Mr Grose explained. "We'll

be drilling futher than the property line - at least past the drip line of the

trees - so we need a temporary easement."

These lateral lines will be capped, leaving a stub on the residents'

properties "so that when everyone else hooks up (to the sewer main), you can,

too," Mr Grose said.

He said that this will be a cost-savings for those homeowners because the town

will be paying for part of the installation of the lateral lines on their

properties.

But Jim Gaston, an attorney who is a member of the Borough Board of Burgesses,

said he is concerned about the language in the easement contract. He said the

easement agreement covers only that area where the lines will be installed.

The agreement also should contain a "hold-harmless" clause to protect

homeowners in the event someone is injured.

Mr Gaston described a hypothetical scenario in which a gas main is ruptured,

causing a leak and an explosion in the house. A guest is injured in the

explosion and files a lawsuit.

Town Attorney David Grogins said the town has "layer upon layer" of insurance

coverage for this work. "The contractor, the subcontractor, the town - there

are about five layers of protection," he said.

But Mr Gaston said that unless a hold-harmless clause is included, property

owners still could be named in a lawsuit.

"If you own a historic home, you know how hard it is to get insurance," he

said.

Mr Gaston said he is concerned about children waiting for school buses since

construction will begin about 7:30 am on weekdays, and he doesn't want

construction trailers stored on residents' property. He also said the WPCA

needs to get approval from the Borough Historic District Commission before it

can begin the work.

Mr Gaston's wife, Stephanie, pointed out that hundreds of people will be

taking part in the house tour on Main Street during the annual Holiday

Festival scheduled for December 8.

Dr Steve Landin, a dentist whose office is on Main Street across from the

Booth Library, said he has "a lot of problems with what will be done to my

property."

He's already been inconvienced by having his water shut off without warning

while he is working on patients and by library contractors taking up all the

parking space along Main Street.

"One day before 8 am there were 12 trucks parked on the street," he said.

"Some contractors use their trucks as offices. I've had to call the town hall

about it," Dr Landin said.

Gordon Williams, Main Street resident who is president of the Library Board of

Trustees, said the contractors should be encouraged to park off the street in

the former Yankee Drover lot.

Mr Grose said Fuss & O'Neill is the town's agent and will carefully monitor

what happens when the work is done along Main Street. He said representatives

of the firm will meet with residents before the work begins to collect

relevant information such as the plans for the Holiday Festival.

Mr Grose said the contract also requires the contractor to put all property

back to its original condition by replacing sidewalks and stone walls and

planting grass in areas where it was dug up.

Also attending the meeting were Michael Anderson of Fuss & O'Neill, Public

Works Director Fred Hurley and WPCA members Dick Zang, Eleanor Mayer and Carl

Zency.