Dredge -- and pay for -- tributary, property owners urge township

Estimates for the work range from 45,000 to 62,000.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
BOARDMAN -- Residents of Mill Creek Woods say they contribute 200,000 annually in property taxes to the community and want some return on that contribution.
More than 150 property owners -- 122 within the Mill Creek Woods, the remainder from surrounding businesses and neighborhoods -- want the township to dredge a tributary of Indian Run Creek that runs along their neighborhood. The development sits behind Pelican Park Plaza, south off of U.S. Route 224 near Pheasant Drive.
Joe Bush, one of the Mill Creek residents, and Debbie Walters, a nearby business owner, collected signatures on petitions asking trustees to pay for the work.
After speaking with township officials earlier this year, the Mill Creek Woods Homeowners Association secured three estimates for the work.
The estimates range from about 45,000 to 62,000.
Association members plan to present the petitions and the estimates to trustees at the township meeting this week.
The creek, designed to be about 20 to 25 feet wide, is filled with dirt, debris and shrubbery; a slab of 20-foot grass-covered land sits in the middle.
What heavy rain does
Because of that material, water that's supposed to be contained in the creek flows into the development during periods of heavy rain.
Bush said the banks of the creek have caved in and construction done in recent years has exacerbated the problems.
When torrential downpours pummeled the Mahoning Valley a few summers ago, Pheasant Drive was covered with water.
Pheasant passes along the bridge over the creek.
"You just had to park and wait," said Regina Howlett, association president.
Some of the garages the association rents to its tenants for storage also took on water.
"It got to a foot to 18 inches of water," Bush said.
Paul Waigand just moved into the development a few months ago, but he's been warned by neighbors that his garage may flood, too.
Another resident, Mary Lou Sheets, worries about potential damage if the creek isn't dredged.
"Sometimes it's scary when you go to bed at night and it's still pouring and [the creek's] near the top," she said. "I don't know what I'm going to find when I get up. I worry that it may get into my house."
She hasn't experienced flooding in her home, but water has crept halfway up her yard.
Irene Shaffer also worries.
"I can't believe when it rains how high it comes up," she said.
And it's only going to get worse, Howlett said.
Signatures, estimates
She and Bush met in January with Jason Loree, township administrator, and other township employees. Bush said the township officials advised them to collect signatures and estimates to give to trustees.
Loree said he sympathizes with the residents, but there are some limitations in what the township can do because the creek is on private property.
It will be up to the trustees to consider the request.
"Only one of us who lives here has one kid in school, we maintain our own roads," Bush said. "We plow our own roads. We salt them, and we pay about 200,000 in property taxes annually" from the whole development.
Most of that goes to schools.
Other than the costs of police and fire protection, the development costs the township very little, Bush reasons.
"We are 122 taxpayers, voters and constituents, and we're asking the township to dredge the creek," Howlett said.
denise_dick@vindy.com