Owners of day-care center suing village of Sebring over flooding

Sebring

Village officials botched stormwater handling, lawsuit says.

By PETER H. MILLIKEN

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

YOUNGSTOWN — The owners of a day-care center have sued the village of Sebring for more than $25,000 because of repeated flooding of the center, which they said was caused by the village’s negligence.

Gerald and Melanie Brain, owners of Precious Cargo Daycare LLC, 1150 N. Johnson Road, Sebring, filed their suit in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court and demanded a jury trial.

Also listed as defendants are Village Manager Doug Burchard and Service Director Bill Sanor, who were sued personally and in their official capacities. The case is assigned to Judge Maureen A. Sweeney.

Village officials did not respond Wednesday to a request for comment on the lawsuit.

In their complaint, the Brains said the village’s wastewater treatment plant on North 18th Street has insufficient wastewater and storm water handling capacity to prevent flooding, and culverts beneath their business have insufficient stormwater carrying capacity.

On May 22 and Sept. 8-9, 2004, the plant’s bypass valve was opened, causing the day-care center to be flooded, according to the suit. Late in 2004, the village removed debris from a drainage ditch near the center and dredged the ditch to prevent further flooding, the suit said.

According to the suit, “Only minimal work was recklessly performed on the drainage ditch during 2004, and no further work has been performed thereon since 2004 despite the knowledge of the defendants concerning the ongoing flooding.”

On Aug. 20, 2007, the plant’s bypass valve was again opened, overwhelming the drainage ditch and culverts and causing the day-care center to suffer “severe flooding resulting in property damage and loss of business,” according to the lawsuit.

“Defendants recklessly and negligently constructed a retention pond at the plant meant to prevent further flooding,” later that year, the Brains said.

On June 17, 2009, the day after a torrential rain, the plant’s bypass valve was again opened, overwhelming the culverts and drainage ditch and causing the day-care center to suffer severe flooding, the Brains said in their suit.

milliken@vindy.com