Some residents on Buckner feel that an open drainage ditch should be modified before it causes a problem, but the Orion Township Supervisor Jerry Dywasuk isn’t sure the Road Commission for Oakland County will do anything about the issue.
‘This is the road commission’s right of way and we can’t really dictate what to do with their right of way,? Dywasuk said at the Oct. 4 board of trustees meeting in regards to the request about the open drainage ditch in front of 3070 Buckner.
The homeowner, Sharon Lowry, asked the board to install cement culverts along the open ditch path, and revert payment back to the original Reid and Branch Drainage improvement project.
Lowry said township engineers Orchard, Hiltz and McCliment (OHM) had not been able to improve the flow in the ditch in front of her home.
She told the board in her agenda item request that the ditch was too deep to maintain, and that the over 200 feet of open ditch collects airborn debris, gravel, grass clippings, swamp-like growth and even fish.
Lowry said the water wasn’t flowing properly and that she felt it was dangerous.
Another Buckner resident, Amy Bartlebaugh, sent a letter to the board saying the ‘ditch is a swampland.?
Bartlebaugh said water in the ditch was stagnant, which was contributing to a mosquito problem.
‘With the West Nile Virus scare I am sure you can understand our concern with the infestation of mosquitoes due to the ditch not being maintainable,? Bartlebaugh wrote, adding the steep incline of the ditch made it difficult to maintain.
‘Not only is this ditch a danger to anyone trying to maintain it, the ditch is a danger to our neighborhood,? she said. ‘This ditch is extremely steep.
We have many small children riding their bikes up and down the street and god forbid if one of them fell in it. I feel as a taxpaying citizen I shouldn’t have to live across the street from a pond.?
According to Dywasuk, the ditch in question was part of the Reid and Branch drainage project in 2003, and that the township had presented Lowry with options for the ditch and she obtained an attorney.
Dywasuk said a letter was sent out indicating the township had no additional responsibility to Lowry’s property.
‘The road commission said they would cut the weeds,? he added. ‘Our engineers said they could enclose the culverts, but the ground is so level the water can hardly move. ‘It’s about a year and a half we’ve been dealing with this issue.?
Clerk Jill Bastian said after the drainage program was approved, the road commission was told the ditches needed to be farther away from the edge of the road.
‘A slightly grated area wouldn’t work,? she said. ?(Lowry) has a very wide piece of property…that’s why the expense was so great. You cannot maintain it, it’s deep. It’s not like nice and smooth where you’d be able to get up and down.?
Bastian said she knew from experience with a drainage ditch in front her home on Heights Road that it could change the appearance of one’s property.
‘It’s not the same,? she said. ‘I don’t know what hers looked like before.?
Dywasuk said the township did over $350,000 worth of drainage improvements.
‘All the people in that area were contacted by OHM…people signed off on it,? he added. ‘Even if we were to budget that additional $15,000, which I don’t think is appropriate…What do we say to other people with drainage problems??
A representative of OHM said the intent of the project was to increase the ditch capacity along Buckner Road on both sides of the road, to prevent issues with flooding. Due to road commission requirements, some things had to be relocated.
‘I don’t know how we can do anything to force the road commission to make a change,? Dywasuk said.
Dywasuk will send a letter to the RCOC requesting it maintain the road right of way.