The water woes on Marlboro Road will continue for a while longer.
At a public hearing last month, the Board of Selectmen asked longtime Marlboro Road resident Stephen Stanechewski to work with his neighbors and the DPW to find ways to curb the flow of water from his property onto the roadway. When the water freezes, it creates a public safety hazard.
But at a follow-up meeting on Tuesday, Department of Public Works Director Karen Galligan said they were unable to reach a resolution.
Stanechewski pumps water that accumulates in his backyard to his front yard. From there the water ends up on the road.
In an exchange with selectmen that was testy at times, he said he would be willing to lay a pipe to channel the pumped water to the edge of his property, but would not pay to tie it into the town drainage system.
Town responsibility?
Stanechewski said the water problem in his yard is the result of construction and septic work by his neighbors. Because that work was approved by the town, he argued the town should bear the burden of remediation, and noted that he contacted the town multiple times about the problem since it surfaced in 1998. “People need to be accountable for what they should have done,” he said.
After Stanechewski accused Selectmen Salvatore Giorlandino of trying to intimidate him at the December public hearing, Giorlandino replied, “What I get back from you is confrontation and I don’t appreciate it. From where I sit, this is a problem you created and you’re trying to put the blame on others.”
The board decided to postpone the public hearing and ask Town Counsel Aldo Cipriano to try to mediate a resolution, and if no resolution can be reached to come back to the board with a recommendation.
Stanechewski said he also planned to seek legal counsel.
Related stories:
Marlboro Road resident asked to stop water flow
THE RESPONSIBILITY LIES ON THE ENGINEERS WHO DESIGNED THIS SITUATION FOR A NEW SEPTIC SYSTEM WITHOUT TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION WHERE THE GROUND WATER WOULD TRAVEL AND OR BECOME A HAZARD. I THINK MR.STANECHESWKI SHOULD NOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR SOMETHING HE HAS NO CONTROL OVER. TO ME IT SEEMS THE TOWN IS RESPONSIBLE FOR RECONSTRUCTING WHAT THEY OBVIOUSLY OVERLOOKED.
Mr. Stanechewski, is that you? ;)
As someone whose basement regularly fills with water, I have to admit I have empathy for the situation.
Now That I read so many different articles about thi, It’s seems that the town is trying to wash their hands of the obivious responsibility. Trying to make someone pay for whaat they neglected to act on is just wrong. Why do your inspectors still have a job?