The impetus for what became a Neighborhood Revitalization Grant Project in lower Masury was to help
alleviate the flooding that occurs in yards, basements and the streets in the area of Second and Third
streets.
The work is complete, but some of the first comments are not favorable.
After a recent heavy rain, water floods a yard at Second and Miller streets in Masury, the site of a recent drainage improvement project.
“This has done nothing but create more flooding,” said Jeannette Mcilvain of Second Street. “The project has made a bad situation worse.”
“Total failure, and the yards are washing away into it (new ditch),” added Phillip Decot of Third Street.
Township officials agree the work has not had the outcome they had hoped for, but said they want residents to know that this is not the only effort that will be made to fix the problem, and that they have
had several discussions regarding other avenues for relief.
“The purpose of it was to resolve the flooding problem,” Trustee Gary Lees said of the revitalization
effort, which also included building new sidewalks and a park and paving streets, at a July 21 meeting.
“It doesn’t seem like it has,” said Trustee Dan Suttles.
Lees said he would like to meet with the Trumbull County Engineer’s Office, through which a consultant
was hired to design the storm sewer project, so he can ask “why these things are not happening.”
“I agree,” Suttles said. “We need to address it before it’s over and then we’re stuck with it.”
Township officials said the replacing of storm drains, installing new catch basins, yard drains and a
headwall and tying pipes into each other, addresses the middle of the water flow problem, but not the
origin of the water or its outflow.
There are several issues that contribute to the overall flooding problem, said Road Supt. Jaime
Fredenburg.
The majority of the water is coming from Route 62, which is controlled by the Ohio Department of Transportation, township officials said. Lees said he would like the state to look at ways to divert water from coming into the neighborhood, and Fredenburg said Aug. 2 he will ask ODOT to consider adding water diversion to a project ODOT already has committed to, to improve safety at the crossovers of Route 62 at Bedford Road and Broadway Avenue. ODOT officials have said they have not settled on the work to be done, and construction is not likely to be done until 2023.
“I think that’s the ultimate solution, get rid of that water,” Fredenburg said. “It still ends up down the
cloverleaf, but it doesn’t go through the neighborhood.”
Another issue is property owner encroachment on an easement between Second and Third streets, through
which water is supposed to flow. The flow has been interrupted by residents who built garages and sheds
onto the easement, and filled in the ditch, officials said. Fredenburg said he hasn’t ruled out the township
doing some sort of work in the easement, although he’s not sure how he would get equipment up there and
dirt out.
Other problem components are that the existing storm drainage pipe on the eastern portion of Second
Street seems to be holding water, and ditches on the east side of Standard Avenue need to be cleaned out
so water can flow away from the neighborhood more easily, Fredenburg said. The county has agreed to clean out the ditches, he said.
Fredenburg said he has been inspecting pipe to look for obstructions, and can ask the county to bring its
water jet truck to help remove any he finds. He said he found a boogie board in a catch basin at Second
Street and Standard
