Resolution aims to keep residents informed about when flooding is likely
Stephen Finn
The Sun
At the Palmyra Borough Council meeting on Monday, Feb. 4, council approved the installation of five piezometer wells, instruments that monitor the pressure or depth of groundwater, to address recent complaints of flooding from residents and local businesses.
During the professional updates portion of the meeting, borough engineer William Kirchner addressed the proposed project expected to cost $14,750.
According to a news update on the borough website, a number of residents and business owners have reported basement flooding. As a result, the borough has been working on ways to provide relief.
“This came about due to all the groundwater issues (Borough Administrator) John Gural had approached me about last fall, with what can we do to start looking at tracking the groundwater elevation so we can provide more information to people?” said Kirchner.
According to Kirchner, when residents call the borough about flooding, there is little it can tell them other than it has rained recently. Gural added that while the borough can do little to prevent flooding from occurring in people’s homes, it can take steps to notify them when flooding is likely.
“We just don’t have a baseline. This will help establish where we are today, all it really is is information,” said Gural. “What we can absolutely do is rely on the fact that these monitoring wells will tell us groundwater is at this particular level, and anybody who has a living space below that level is going to experience water infiltration, period.”
Another resolution to allow the sale of alcohol in the borough at 11 a.m. on Sundays was introduced during the meeting.
Mayor Michelle Arnold read a letter from Mark Oberg, the owner of Curran’s Irish Inn, during the correspondence portion of the meeting, inquiring about the possibility of changing the hours businesses are allowed to sell alcohol on Sundays.
Oberg hopes to recoup losses his business has experienced as a result of recent road construction on Broad Street affecting the number of parking spaces outside of his pub. Given that St. Patrick’s Day falls on a Sunday this year, extending the hours of sale on this day of the week would allow his business to make up for some of their recent loss in revenue. According to Oberg, the holiday represents his most lucrative day of the year.
According to Gural, to have a final vote on an ordinance by the holiday on March, 17, an ordinance had to be introduced at the meeting.
Although the council stressed the holiday was not a driving factor in its decision, it voted unanimously in favor of introduction. A public hearing for the ordinance will take place at the council’s March 4 meeting.
In other news, Councilwoman Gina Tait announced the Martin Luther King Day of Service project, which had been postponed due to weather, will be rescheduled for Monday, Feb. 18. The President’s Day holiday will allow schoolchildren to attend the community center cleanup event that will run in two parts, from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., and 6:30 to 8 p.m.
