CORTLAND Pact intended to end flooding

Some residents complained the developer was let 'off the hook.'
By TIM YOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
CORTLAND -- City council has entered into an agreement with a local development company to resolve flooding on two streets -- it hopes.
Under the pact with WAE Corp. to correct the storm-water backup on Laura Lane and Anthony Circle, the company will spend $14,150.
Under the agreement terms, however, WAE can't be held responsible if the work doesn't correct the problem.
That irritated some residents who complained the city is allowing WAE "off the hook" for sewers they believe were improperly installed.
Service Director Don Wittman explained that the work includes installing two outlets in the neighborhood, bringing the number to three. The water will flow faster during heavy rainfall, he said, into a ditch and then into a culvert under state Route 305.
The city could have done the work for between $4,000 and $5,000, but Wittman said after the meeting it most likely wouldn't get done this year.
Wittman said the work WAE will do will reduce the frequency of flooding and that it "could" resolve the problem.
Law Director Patrick Wilson told lawmakers at their Monday meeting that if they didn't approve the agreement, the city would have to do the work and take the company to court to get its money back.
It would be a lengthy process, Wilson explained, with no assurance the city would win in court.
Edward Bayus, a former councilman, charged that the lengthy negotiations to reach the agreement have been done to reduce the developer's responsibility.
They were conducted, he asserted, to benefit WAE and not city residents.
Karen Reel, head of a group called Cortland Homeowners for Responsible Development, agreed with Bayus.
A Laura Lane resident urged council to enter into the agreement to avoid continued flooding and threatened that property owners on the two streets might file a lawsuit against the city.
Other agenda items
In other business, council moved to a second reading contributing $10,000 toward a feasibility study for a lodge at Mosquito Lake.
Mayor Curt Moll explained that $80,000 is needed for the study by Gateway Consultants Group Inc., developers of such projects as Jacobs Field and Gund Arena in Cleveland.
Trumbull 100, a private civic and business group, has committed $20,000 toward the study. Financial help is being sought from state and local sources.
Moll explained that there isn't a hotel between Howland and Ashtabula and Cortland stands to benefit if the project is viable.
Such a facility could provide golf and fishing packages during the summer, but Moll said he is unsure if there are enough winter activities to support it.
yovich@vindy.com