The house that was flooded, 102 Chester Road, is close to the Springfield Health and Rehabilitation Center at 105 Chester Road, owned by Genesis Health Care.
www.eagletimes.com
www.facebook.com
Sewer blockage floods Springfield house, prompts town action By JEFF EPSTEIN vtreporter@eagletimes.com 32 min ago 0 A backed-up sewer line caused a house to be flooded last weekend, resulting in action Wednesday by the select board. The backup that caused the flood was allegedly the result of a sewer violation, according to town officials. The house that was flooded, 102 Chester Road, is close to the Springfield Health and Rehabilitation Center at 105 Chester Road, owned by Genesis Health Care. Precise details of the flooding incident were not available at the meeting, and neither the affected property owner nor officials from the health center attended. However, Town Manager Tom Yennerell stated during the meeting that the health care facility has for several months been flushing prohibited solid matter such as adult diapers into the wastewater stream, and town officials have asked the facility to cease doing this. However, the town employees apparently could not cite the facility themselves, as the sewer ordinance requires the select board to take any enforcement action. The select board passed a motion Wednesday to authorize town staff to handle such events in the future without explicit permission of the select board. The motion also initiated a process to update the sewer ordinance itself, which dates back to 1976. At some point, said Yennerell, the property owner of the house brought in a private company called Beard Sewer and Drain, of Newport, to clear a blockage in the sewer pipe or to install some kind of equipment. The blockage itself wound up not far from a manhole that the town has been monitoring for several months. It is unclear if the company cleared the initial blockage and created another downstream, but town officials said action was taken on Monday to resolve the issue in the town sewer line in about 45 minutes. The blockage was “totally avoidable,” said select board member Walter Martone. It will be up to the Genesis company or the health care facility “to make them whole” referring to the owners of the flooded house, said vice-chair Stephanie Thompson. SEVCA tax exemption In other action, the select board unanimously agreed to add an item to the next town meeting warrant that would grant a property tax exemption to a property owned by SEVCA (Southeastern Vermont Community Action). SEVCA is a nonprofit organization that uses various strategies to help alleviate poverty.
No comments :
Post a Comment
Please keep your comments polite and on-topic. No profanity