WINONA LAKE - Winona Lake Town Council Tuesday discussed the Stonehenge Subdivision roads improvement project.
Winona Lake residents attended the meeting to learn more about the project and voice their concerns with the project.
At the council's Oct. 14 meeting, the council tabled a lease for financing the Stonehenge roads improvement project to further discuss it. The council also requested town engineer Larry Long meet with the Stonehenge Golf Club and Winona Lake Property Owners Association.The Prestwick project will include total reconstruction of the streets in the subdivision and storm drainage improvements. The Murfield subdivision will include street pavement repair and storm drainage improvements and an asphalt overlay on Pierceton Road.
Long said the streets need to be resurfaced due to moving concrete slabs. He said moisture under the streets are causing concrete slabs to move and they will continue to move unless they are drained underneath.
Bob Marshall, of 2986 E. Prestwick Road, said he has concerns with the project.
"I am concerned that the water drainage will go into a pond that sits behind my home and raise the water level with the possibility of flooding my basement," Marshall said.
"I want to make sure the council takes this engineering into consideration and the impact on the homes that could be ruined in finished basements without intending to," he said.
Long said there will not be a significant increase in the amount of water that will go into the pond by installing the additional storm drainage system.
"We are proposing to add a drain on the west end of Prestwick Subdivision that had drainage issues," Long said.
He said the town is wanting to take water off the streets with proper curbs, gutters and storm drainage and pump it out with a pump so it will not effect the groundwater table as much as it currently does.
He said the town has met with Stonehenge Golf Club and the Winona Lake Property Owners Association to work out arrangements for the town taking ownership of the wastewater pump station and gaining access through easements.
The pump station is at the corner of Prestwick Street and St. Andrews East.
"We have been assured by Stonehenge Golf Club and the Winona Lake Home Owner's Association that we would have easements for the pump station and private property owners said they would give us easements," Long said.
Dave Wolkins, of 501 Pierceton Road, expressed his concerns with the proposed $2 million cost of the Stonehenge street improvement project.
"I'm not skeptical that something needs to be done out there, but if the project will be $2 million, I'm worried because there is an economic crisis right now," Wolkins said.
He said he didn't think the project would cost $2 million. He said he was concerned Winona Lake residents who do not live in the Stonehenge Subdivision will have to pay for the project.
Long has been working on design work for the project, but the council still needs to decide how it will finance the project and a public hearing will need to be held.
"We thing it's important that we have thorough agreements with the Stonehenge Subdivision residents about access to the pump station. The pump station is currently broken, so the town will inherit the problem and have to pay for it," said Council President Joy Lohse.
In other business, Public Works Director Pete O'Connell said one of the street department's leaf machines motors broke last week. Leaf crews are working two shifts instead of one to get leaves in the town picked up, and O'Connell asked residents to be patient.
The council approved O'Connell seeking price quotes to replace the leaf machine.
