After reviewing a proposed $88,000 project to improve the stormwater flow at Charles Baber Cemetery in Pottsville, the Greater Pottsville Area Sewer Authority nixed parts of the plan involving the installation of new inlets or storm drainage pipes.
"The project cannot add stormwater to the authority's system," Timothy R. Yingling, the authority's executive director, said Monday.
Carol S. Field, Pottsville, a member of the Charles Baber Preservation Trust, said Monday she wasn't certain if the new inlets or pipes would have, but the trust has agreed to make changes to its plan, reducing the cost of Phase I to an estimated $51,600.
On Monday afternoon, the trust decided to add a new rock wall to the plan, jacking the price up an additional $10,000 to $61,600, Field said.
Recently, the trust began fundraising to hire contractors to begin work on the two-phase project. The trust is hoping to start work on Phase I in May, but the trust cannot hire a contractor until it acquires more funding, Field said.
"So far less than $5,000 has been raised," Field said, but she didn't have an exact number Monday.
The cemetery is north of West Market Street between 12th and 16th streets. It's managed by Trinity Episcopal Church. The trust was assembled a few years ago to help the church preserve the cemetery.
For more than two years, the trust was looking for ways to improve the stormwater flow through the cemetery and beautify the pond there. In June 2013, the trust commissioned WJP Engineers, Pottsville, to develop a plan. In September 2013, the trust said it would move forward with it, if the plan was approved by the Greater Pottsville Area Sewer Authority.
In December, the authority questioned if a resolution adopted April 17, 1973 - Section 9, Prohibited Wastes, paragraphs A and B - would be an issue:
- No person who connects to a sewer after the effective date hereof shall discharge or cause to be discharged any stormwater, surface water, spring water, groundwater, roof runoff, subsurface drainage, building foundation drainage, uncontaminated cooling water or unpolluted industrial process waters, cellar drainage or drainage from roof leader connections into any sewer.
- The authority reserves the right to refuse permission to connect to the sewer system, to compel discontinuance of use of the sewer system or to compel pretreatment of industrial wastes by any industrial establishment in order to prevent discharges deemed harmful or to have a deleterious affect upon any part of the sewer system.
"We have a resolution on the books since 1973 which says you can't do any new construction there. You can't put any new stormwater into the system," Yingling said previously.
On Jan. 31, WJP Engineers submitted its plan to the authority. Earlier this month, the authority approved the plan.
"The proposed work, as stated, will not be in violation of the authority's resolution adopted April 17, 1973," Yingling said in an April 4 letter to WJP.
Phase I is made up of three projects:
- Improvements to the entrance at 16th Street.
"We'll construct a new curb and sidewalk at the entrance to the cemetery to better control stormwater from entering the cemetery from the 16th Street and West End Avenue areas. The work will direct the stormwater more efficiently into the two existing inlets on the east side of 16th Street," William J. Parulis, president of WJP Engineers, said Monday.
This part of the project will cost an estimated $16,000, Field said.
While on site Monday, Parulis suggested an addition to the project, the establishment of a "landscaped rock wall," which would cost an additional $10,000, Field said.
"We're going to go with that because we want to divert water from a neighboring driveway which is coming into the cemetery," Field said.
- Repairs to existing combined stormwater inlets and pipes.
"The work will consist of cleaning and repairing the existing inlets and cleaning the lines to the extent possible. Existing inlet grates will be used to the extent possible. Inlets in poor condition will be replaced with cast-in-place inlet tops and new grates. The existing brick gutters will remain in place," Parulis said.
That part of the project will cost an estimated $16,000, Field said.
- Pond maintenance.
There's a pond in the middle of the cemetery. Stormwater from it flows into the authority's combined sewer/stormwater system. The cemetery trust was planning to improve stormwater management by installing a spillway for excessive water flow and a second pond for that overflow. But the sewer authority didn't approve those plans, Field said.
"There will be no changes to the outlet area or the connection to the combined sewer system. An additional drainage area or new storm drainage will not be added," Parulis said.
"Work will include clearing brush, debris and invasive plant species from the pond area during dry weather. In addition, limited grading of the pond embankments will be completed to make that area more suited to regular maintenance," Parulis said.
That part of the project will cost an estimated $5,000, Field said.
"Engineering costs are estimated at $6,000," Field said.
Phase I will cost an estimated $53,000, but the trust is aiming to raise a total $61,600 to make sure a "contingency plan" is in place, Field said.
Donations can be sent to Charles Baber Cemetery Trust, 200 S. Second St., Pottsville, PA 17901.