CURWENSVILLE – Curwensville residents are continuing to ask for help with flooding issues.
At Monday’s Curwensville Borough Council meeting, resident Rick “Whitey” Swatsworth spoke to the council about continuing issues with flooding on Ann Street.
Swatsworth first appeared before the council in August.
As Swatsworth stood to begin speaking, Council President Sara Curulla asked if Swatsworth was going to talk about “the same thing you were here about before.” Swatsworth said he was, that the issue has not “gone away” and that he had additional information to present.
Curulla asked Swatsworth if he would “stick to the new information” in the interest of time, because members of the public wishing to address council were limited to three minutes.
Swatsworth said that since his first appearance before council, he had contacted Rep. Tommy Sankey, Congressman Glenn Thompson, the Department of Environmental Protection and Pike Township. He said he was advised to print out questionnaires for the council to fill out and he would be sending them to state and federal officials.
Council member Dave Donahue said that the problem was in Pike Township and that the council couldn’t do anything about it.
Swatsworth said while the problem may originate in Pike Township, half of Ann Street is still located within the borough, and the borough should at least try to work with the township to help the residents on Ann Street.
Swatsworth said around 1972, during Hurricane Agnes, the flooding issues began and have continued ever since. He said he was urged by a representative in Thompson’s office to have the council fill out the packets, which he will submit.
Several times, as Swatsworth was speaking, Donahue interrupted.
When Swatsworth asked if council had ever met with the township supervisors to try to work out a solution to the problem, Donahue replied with “who cares.”
When Swatsworth asked if any maintenance had been done with the stormwater drainage on Ann Street, Donahue replied with “why does it matter?”
When Swatsworth said he was following through with the problem on advice he received from Thompson’s office, Donahue responded with “Thompson doesn’t care, he only comes here once a year for gun rallies.”
Swatsworth said this problem was not going to go away and neither was he.
“I’m not going to quit until something is done about this, or I’m dead in the ground,” Swatsworth said, “and I’m not dead yet.”
Next to speak was resident Christina McCracken, who said she was at the meeting because she heard Tanner’s Run would be on the agenda. Curulla said it was not.
McCracken asked if there were any plans for Old Tanner’s Run. She said while part of Tanner’s Run had been relocated as part of a flood control project, there’s water still coming through where Tanner’s Run had been previously located.
She said there are sinkholes in the sidewalk, problems with the roads and water problems in a building she owns in the area.
Donahue said the council cannot do anything about the building, as it is private property. He said maintaining the sidewalks are the property owner’s responsibility, but the borough will have the street department see what could be done about the road.
