History/Resources
Covert Run Pike wasn’t always a flood zone. As you can see from these photos, taken 80 years apart, houses on the south side of the street were originally built with driveways and garages, many of which have since been filled in and blocked off in an effort to minimize damage brought on by the floodwaters. In many cases, these measures have proven only marginally effective, as flooding comes not only from the street side but also from the creek behind the homes as well as up through basement drains and water faucets.
The following timeline is made up of announcements, letters, council minutes, and other documentation pertaining to the flooding and highly anticipated repairs. Hundreds of older documents exist, but the files listed here represent the most recent steps taken by city council to resolve the issue.
We’ve been busy.
February 1, 2010: Street repairs commence.
Sunesis Construction Co. begins installing new storm water and sewage lines along Covert Run Pike, working in 300 ft. sections of the street at a time.
November 12, 2009: Council accepts 1.28 million dollar bid for repairs.
West Chester-based Sunesis Construction Co. plans to begin replacement of the sanitary line and storm sewage drain in spring or summer of 2010.
October 16, 2009: City Council announces the opening of a second bidding session.
Bids by area contractors will be accepted until October 29 and reviewed thereafter.
September 10, 2009: Sealed bids are opened and reviewed by members of Council.
Residents are informed by City Administrator Keith Spoelker the following day that NO bids were received and the Covert Run Pike project remains uncontracted. The reasons for this disppointing news are not specifically outlined; Spoelker assures residents that bidding will resume for another 21 day period, but there is no indication of when a new bidding window will commence.
August 20, 2009: Council begins to accept bids for street repairs from independent contractors.
July 7, 2009: Council hosts meeting to discuss proposed repairs to Covert Run Pike.
Residents met with city officials, engineers, and members of SD1 to voice concerns and get a progress report on the anticipated street repairs. Plans were made to open bidding for the project to independent construction and road crews on 8/20/09, with sealed bids to be opened on 9/8/09. Read a synopsis of this important meeting here.
May 4, 2009: Resident Gina Wolfe receives letter from State Rep Dennis Keene
This letter confirms that state funding was secured and earmarked for repairs to Covert Run Pike.
Letter from Rep Keene 5-4-09
February 13, 2009: SD1 issues an outline of the repairs project
This document offers a broad description of the Covert Run Pike repairs.
SD1 Project Ouline 2-13-09
January 26, 2009: Budget update letter from City Administrator Keith Spoelker to SD1 President Jan Steinman
The city and the Sanitation District No. 1 resolved their budgeting disputes earlier this year.
Budget Update 1-26-09
January 2009: Study of Taylor Creek conducted
Early this year, SD1 hired a company called LimnoTech to gather research and report on the “physical and natural features, land cover, infrastructure, waterbody conditions, potential pollutant sources and other features” of Taylor Creek. Their findings are listed here.
Taylor Creek Study 01-09
2009 City Council Minutes
The following are transcripts of council meetings in which flooding/repairs of Covert Run Pike were discussed.
Council Minutes 3-11-09
Council Minutes 2-11-09
2008 City Council Minutes
While Covert Run Pike residents are currently experiencing unprecedented progress on the long road to resolution, the struggle is far from over. It’s no secret that some residents have been working for decades to fix the problem. These council meeting transcripts reflect just a few of the more recent efforts by residents, as well as various project coordinators, in defining the problem and securing a budget to move forward with repairs.
Council Minutes 12-10-08
Council Minutes 8-13-08
Council Minutes 6-18-08
Council Minutes 5-14-08
Council Minutes 5-8-08
Council Minutes 4-9-08