Jackson Holds Separate Meeting For Sewers

NEWTOWN SQUARE–"I'm not here to criticize the township. I'm not here to grind any axe," stated former Chairman Bob Jackson at the beginning of his meeting on July 21. "But the project that was ready to go has been short-circuited."

The project Jackson referred to was the latest version of the Act 537 Plan involving two special studies for Echo Valley and Florida Park sewage plans.

At the last Planning Commission meeting in June, Jackson and Kevin Matson, the municipal authority engineer, for the Olde Masters golf course and the Marville site, in which they only approved the Echo Valley special study.

"I would've approve both the Echo Valley and Florida Park special studies. I would fight that fight," said Jackson. "Both of those studies can be done without a bond issue. The only people who were part of the special studies were with broken systems."

Jackson invited the public to his office at the Clara Barton Cottage located within the Ellis Preserve in Newtown Square for his own informal sewers meeting on Thursday night.

The meeting turned out to be intimate with four Echo Valley residents–Dan Gormley, Jim Curcio, Peter Richardson and David Dugery, all with failed sewer systems–and Paul Seligson of the Environmental Advisory Committee for the township were in attendance.

Dugery bought his home in Echo Valley with his wife and four children three and a half years ago, with the assurance from the township and realtors that a new sewer system would be in place within months, shared his concerns about the possible health hazard his family faces if they were to stop pumping.

"I don't know what would happen if we stopped pumping," said Dugery. "Every time it rains, it fills the septic system...We pay over $5,000 per year to pump and haul so you can imagine what we've been paying since we moved here."

For Richardson, who is a 25-year resident and lives farther down in Echo Valley towards the edge of Lewis Creek, he has to pump monthly and fears when a rainstorm comes which means pools of water will develop in his backyard. Richardson also shared that his family has had to readjust their lives accordingly to when to take showers and run the dishwasher. They no longer do laundry in the home but send it off to a laundromat as well, shared Richardson.

And when Richardson heard Jackson pushing along his project to implement a sewer system in the township that would allow Echo Valley to plug into the system, he was all for it.

"It's the most creative solution we've heard yet," said Richardson.

on June 29, said he had the sewer plan for the township worked out so that it would be no cost to the township.

"I had arranged to get this whole thing financed. The sewer plan would be self-sustaining," explained Jackson about the plan he had proposed to the township. "The developers would rent facilities from the township and the cost would be neutral to the township and it wouldn't cost the taxpayer a dime. But I don't think the township views it that way."

According to Jackson, developer John Rouse had committed to putting down $3.1 million for a direct line from the Ashford site which will go down Route 252/Newtown Street Road in which Echo Valley residents would be able to tap into.

In addition, Jackson said he was able to make a verbal agreement with developer Claude de Botton for $ 6 million for a pump station down Route 3/West Chester Pike and a direct line, while BPG would put down two months of security or a line of credit or bank guarantee and another $1.5 million from two other developers.

"I received a pledge from BPG and Claude [de Botton] that would be adequate to pay the monthly bond," said Jackson. "I can give neighbors a $4,000 tap-in fee or have us [township] finance it and then residents pay monthly, but I can't do anything anymore."

Although he didn't have to and although he has a functioning sewer system, Jackson said he volunteered to take on the role in the municipal authority to look at the sewer system after being prompted by Newtown Supervisor George Wood.

"I've been around this thing and know this. I didn't want this job. George [Wood] twisted my arm so I volunteered," said Jackson. "We were running a shop–we had systems, a budget it's all been put to a halt."

Jackson said one of his main frustrations from the township was that he offered to explain the sewer plan in its entirety to the Board of Supervisors but neglected his offer.

"They just don't understand," said Jackson. "The first thing the township needs to say is 'I need help' and it's not shameful. But they need to listen to the person who has done this. There's a lot more to this than putting a line in and flushing the toilet."

Jackson resigned after the Board of Supervisors had denied his two requests to convert the township's Municipal Authority to an operating authority and to agree to employ Jackson as a paid executive director of the Municipal Authority at a salary of $7,500 per month on a part-time basis.