Bridgewater crews busy with flood-damaged roads

BY PAT FARNELLI

Correspondent

Bridgewater Township lost a few bridges and had to close roads after recent storms. Several of those roads are still closed, supervisors said at their mid-month meeting on Monday, Sept. 17.

“We are really busy with roads, and we are going to continue being really busy on roads,” said township secretary Connie Ely, who is hoping to begin discussing a budget for the coming year.

Sprout Road resident Paul Organsciak attended the meeting to voice his concerns over the state of the road. A bridge is gone and drivers who are not aware of the problem have difficulty turning around, he said. Sprout Road and Wood Road are located off of SR 167 north of Montrose, and join onto SR 167 in a sort of fork. He said that putting up some more signs might help motorists avoid turning onto a closed road.

Supervisor Kirk Heffner said that the damage is extensive enough to warrant making a temporary cul-de-sac so that pickup trucks and larger vehicles can safely make a u-turn.

“We are waiting for DEP approval,” Heffner said. “Getting a DEP engineer in there will cost $7,900 for each place.”

Ely Lake Road in Bridgewater Township and Sprout Road are still closed because they don’t have pipes in place.

As if storm damage wasn’t enough, beavers have been busy filling pipes beneath the roads with dams, causing flooded roads. So far, the road crew has removed beaver dams from inside pipes on three local roadways.

At the meeting held on Sept. 4, the Tuesday after Labor Day, Chris Oleniacz attended to discuss natural gas rights and who should receive royalties for property located underneath Lake Raylean Road. The township has a deed for the property 50 feet wide. However, in most cases, the township only has a right of way. The supervisors suggested that Oleniacz discuss the matter with township attorney Mike Giangrieco, as he has previously spoken with Cabot Oil & Gas on the township’s behalf, regarding gas rights and royalties. It is possible that the property owners could have their deeds amended to have their property lines as the center of the road, rather than the edge, Ely said, in which case the road property could be included in the tax rolls.

The township did receive royalties for approximately one year, Ely said, but then the gas company said that the matter would have to be reviewed, and Bridgewater Township has not received gas royalties for either roads or township property since, or heard anything further.

Heffner made a motion to provide trucking or dumpsters if there were properties in Bridgewater Township that needed storm cleanup help. The offer was made because Southern Baptist Church, a volunteer organization that helps with flood cleanups, was active in nearby Franklin Township after the storms.  However, it turned out afterward that no one in Bridgewater Township needed help from that organization.

The township’s pension plan was updated, and an additional $10,000 was added to the plan so that it is fully funded. The supervisors also voted to pay an employee for the four remaining holidays in 2018.

A local business has been more than generous in providing stone for road work after storm damage, and has contributed 1362 yards of stone for Beebe Hollow Road and Phillips Road for 2018 storm damage. The supervisors approved sending a thank you letter to that business.

A permit was reviewed for a two-story garage in Heart Lake, with no objections.

Bridgewater Township Supervisors hold meetings on the first Monday of the month at 7 p.m., and on the third Monday of the month at 3:30 p.m. in the township building on SR 29.