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By JENNIFER LEARN jlearn@leader.net
Monday, February 07, 2000 Page: 1A
EYESORE SPOTTER
One in a continuing series
Rats, rusty boilers and an open sewer pit are turning Smith Row into skid row
– minus the vagrants, some property owners say. Greg Kosicki, a resident of
the quiet street, points out the first eyesore – an uncovered sewer pit
located in front of a trailer owned by Mark Bradley. Kosicki said Bradley had
a problem with his septic tank, so he dug a hole in the front yard and ran his
sewer into it. A piece of sheet metal that covered the hole has fallen in,
and a pipe drains the raw sewage from the pit onto the street, Kosicki said.
Sewage from a second trailer also runs into the pit, Kosicki said. Kosicki
said he has complained to local, state and federal officials because he
believes the pit is a health hazard, but the officials have not forced Bradley
to install a sealed sewage collection unit. “There’s a drainage ditch that
runs down the road in front of my house, and the street department won’t even
shovel the dirt anymore because there’s so much sewage in the ditch,” Kosicki
said. Bradley could not be reached for comment on several attempts. Township
Sewage Enforcement Officer Frank Egenski said he received several complaints
about the pit last year. He waited a few months to act because Supervisors are
being forced by the state to develop an Act 537 plan to hook up that section
of the township to sewers. Act 537 requires municipalities to take steps to
eliminate wildcat sewers to prevent untreated sewage from seeping into soil
and water. For now, township property owners who are not connected to sewers
must have on-site collection units. But the township’s Act 537 plan might
take years to implement, so Egenski said he inspected Bradley’s sewage system
before Christmas. He found an unsealed pit but must complete more tests to
determine if sewage is diverted to the road. Egenski said he has sent Bradley
two certified notices informing him that the pit must be sealed. Bradley did
not respond to the first and refused to pick up the second. Egenski said he
plans to cite him for having an unsealed septic tank. “Lids must be sealed so
nothing escapes. It’s a physical and health hazard,” Egenski said. Kosicki
said he recently sided his home, and he worries that the pit and other
eyesores have reduced the value of his property. Kosicki said he and his wife
invested in the Smith Row property because the street is quiet and located
atop Curry Hill with a picturesque view of Plymouth. Times Leader eyesore
spotter Norm also found other deplorable properties on Smith Row. One woman
who lives near Bradley recently presented a petition to Supervisors asking
them to get rid of the rats that plague the row. The woman, who didn’t want
to be named for fear of retribution, said she recently killed 17 rats compared
to the typical one or two a year. “Since Mark’s sump pump has been open,
there’s been a major increase in rats,” the woman said. “In the summer you
can really smell it.” The woman said the rats have dug out an intricate maze
of tunnels in yards near Bradley’s property. She has filled the holes on her
property with glass, steel wool, cement and wood, and sometimes the rats still
chew through. Her neighbor, another woman who asked not to be named, said she
cut a hole in her wall to find the source of a fowl smell and found several
rats in a nest. “Dead rats smell real bad,” she said. “I have small
children, and I’m afraid one of them is going to bite the kids.” The woman
who started the petition said she has no personal problem with Bradley, but
won’t stop until the rats are gone. She said township Code Enforcement Officer
Robert Lehman, who is also the police chief, has been helpful. If he can’t get
anything done, she is prepared to send letters to state officials. “It’s not
like me to cause problems, but Mark should have some respect for others,” she
said. “His whole attitude is that he can do whatever he wants. Further down
Smith Row, Peter Hillard Jr. shakes his head in disgust at a deteriorated
house owned by Harry Stone. Hillard said the house has fallen apart, bit by
bit, in the 13 years he and his wife have lived next door. Hillard said the
floor has caved in, and several windows are smashed. Most of the wraparound
porch has fallen off. “I wish they would get rid of it. It’s a real rat
trap,” Hillard said, gesturing at the remaining front piece. Stone, who
lives behind the old house, said he bought the place at a tax sale about a
year ago to protect his water line, which runs under the property. He said he
does not have money to tear down the place, and the township has refused to
seek funding from Luzerne County to demolish the eyesore. Stone speculates
that the township wouldn’t get involved because he did not get along with
former Supervisor John Rinehimer. “Maybe now that we have a new
administration it will get done,” Stone said. Next to that house is another
rundown property that is barely visible because of the overgrown weeds and
shrubs around it. But standing on his new deck, next-door neighbor Kevin Brady
has a good view of rusty boilers and other junk discarded on the property.
Township officials say they are not sure who owns the house. The owner could
not be located in county records in time for this article. “I have kids
playing in the yard, and there are always animals coming out of there,” Brady
said. “There’s so much stuff over there it’s unbelievable,” Lehman said
there are about six properties on Smith Row that he wants to tear down, but he
is still wading through legal paperwork to figure out how it can be done. He
plans to start by asking Supervisors to authorize engineering studies of the
eyesore properties. If engineers conclude they are hazardous, Lehman will have
more cause to demand that property owners repair them up or tear them down.
Supervisor Carol Houssock, who was in the minority until January, said she did
not know about the rats or eyesores until the petition – signed by about 20
residents – was presented in January. “I’m upset that this went on so long,
but it doesn’t surprise me,” Houssock said. “It’s been difficult to even
locate all the records, but we just need a little bit of time to straighten
all this out.”
Call Learn at 831-7333.