Turnpike will clear out debris
By DOM COSENTINO
The Intelligencer
Kevin Spearing pointed to a pair of trees at either end of the small hillside, both of which were choking from the effects of the mounting pile of stone and debris.
“Look at those trees!” he shouted. “Those trees are dying!”
The pile extended the hillside outward from the contractor's storage area near Easton and Maryland roads in Upper Moreland, right next to the Willow Grove interchange of the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
It contained mostly paving material — concrete, gravel, rocks — plus a few pieces of misshapen metal and other detritus that had simply been dumped off the hillside, all the way to the bottom, all the way to the tall weeds below.
The small storage area sits within a mostly wooded right of way shared by the Turnpike Commission and the state Department of Transportation. Nearby, there is a makeshift access road at the intersection of Easton and Maryland roads. A sewer pipe that juts out into an adjacent creek and sits beneath piles of rocks had been put down to create the roadway. Numerous trees had obviously been cleared out for that purpose, too.
Spearing, an Upper Moreland commissioner, was at the site Thursday afternoon with a pair of turnpike officials: senior engineer and project manager Joe Serbu and public involvement specialist Mimi Lindelow.
While Spearing said there was no way the road could pass muster with the state Department of Environmental Protection, Serbu said there was no way of knowing at that moment what regulations applied to what had been done there, and when.
The access road leads to a culvert that runs beneath the turnpike interchange. The culvert, which is maintained by the township, has a dike in front of it that keeps the creek waters from flooding out downstream homeowners.
The nearby rock pile, however, was another matter.
The pile had been there for about a year, building and expanding to maybe 30 feet in width. It has become a source of frustration for Spearing, who said his attempts to get someone (I wonder if he even attempted to contact the Turnpike? I know his Father brought this before the comissioners way before the construction began and I think that it (the "construction debris") is the same size now as it was then.)— anyone — from the Turnpike Commission to do anything about it in the past had gone unheeded.
“In my opinion,” Spearing said, “they were ignored.”
Serbu, however, expressed a willingness to get the pile cleaned up.
“We're going to rectify that,” Serbu said. “We're going to have them remove that. We're going to get them to pull it out.”
Serbu was referring to the contractor, whom he declined to name and who could not be proven guilty of having done the dumping, based on the fact that no one had actually observed it happen.
“We just want to make sure that now you know that we're listening,” Serbu said. (See, ask and ye shall receive!!!)
Dom Cosentino can be reached at 215-345-3148 or dcosentino@phillyBurbs.com.
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8 comments:
I am so glad that all of Montgomery County knows what an eloquently articulate commissioner we have in Upper Moreland. I am so proud to be a resident of Ward 2. I have to say that I am extremely disappointed in Kevin as a commissioner so far. Before he was elected he put out flyer after flyer to "inform" residents of issues in our neighborhood. Since he was elected we haven't heard a thing from him. Any issue we have taken to him has taken days for him to acknowledge and promise to do something, but nothing was done. Kevin needs to concentrate on issues in Ward 2 and leave construction piles to who's ever ward it is in.
You wonder if he even contacted the PA Turnpike? What makes you question him? If Stacey Efkowitz made that statement, would you question her? After all, she is the commissioner for Ward 3, which is where the turnpike interchange is located. While we're at it, why hasn't she tried to contact the turnpike about this issue? See, I can play that game too. Is it really necessary?
While the interchange technically lies within Ward 3, it can be easily seen from Wards 2,4 & 5 as well. Besides, our board of commissioners should be working for the best interests of our entire township, not just their wards. Do you really have an issue with one of our commissioners trying to clean up an environmental hazard, not to mention an eyesore located at the busiest spot in Upper Moreland? Are there other issues that could arise from this expanding construction debris? Do we want to chance any exacerbation of our already dire flooding concerns?
I feel like I'm repeating myself, but we need to quit the partisan finger-pointing and work to better our township. If a commissioner is working towards trying to clean up a hazard in our township, why would we want to stop them?
You can't say that I am pointing a pastisan finger because you know nothing about me. You don't know what party I am affiliated with, if any at all. I only stated facts. Kevin has been non-communicative since he has been elected. We only hear from him when election time is coming. What about the rest of the year?
I have a problem with people who only do things in front of the press. There are many things done by our Commissioners that the press knows nothing about because they aren't called. I believe in getting things done, I just don't believe in grandstanding.
Snow White - I wasn't addressing you personally in most of my comments. My only point made towards you is your belief that he should keep out of the other wards in the township and only focus on Ward 2. That's not how it's should work.
Regarding my comment about partisan finger pointing - If you read through this blog, you'll note that almost all of the comments are made to discredit Lisa Romaniello. I don't see any constructive conversation about the direction of our township at all. It appears to me that the biggest issue the bloggers here have with Commissioners Romaniello & Spearing is the (D) after their title.
However, I do understand your concern about only doing things in front of the press. I'm not convinced there was any granstanding here. Think about it; he may have needed to get the press involved in order to get the attention of the turnpike. I can personally vouch that they're completely non-responsive. Hey, maybe he was just making a big show for the press to get in the paper, I don't really know.
I'm a resident of Ward 4, so I'm not familiar with Kevin Spearing's before/after performance in Ward 2. I do know that both Kevin & Len Spearing have fought many of these same types of battles in the past. I recall many commissioner meetings where one or both of them addressed the board about community issues.
Mike,
If your looking for someone to cheer Lisa and Kevin you would need to find a D run blog. This is obviously an R run blog. With that being said, My read on the Turnpike entry is that the previous boards did nothing with regards to the construction trash and the potential effect on flooding. Kevin did nothing in the public (ie at a board meeting) to get help from the Turnpike. He went out and got the media involved and of course the Turnpike responded. Now did they listen only time will tell.
Thanks, but I'm not looking for a blog to cheer anybody. I'm just trying to bring to discussion a little bit closer to center. There's no declaration of the bias of the blog anywhere until you actually read it. I know it's very exciting to the bloggers to see that the hit count has exceeded a quarter million, but the content hear is so insanely biased I can't help but put in my two cents.
I can actually state my opinion and explain my position without attacking any of the commissioners of the township. The same can't be said of the bloggers or the people leaving comments.
Oooh fun! Thanks for telling me about the blog. I must say, I like Kevin (and yes I am a Republican). I think he has the best interest of UM at heart but I do agree he could take care of issues with a little less fan fare. Any how, I can say that my Dad did see Stacy Efkowitz out at the Turnpike with three other people last Wednesday afternoon, the day before he saw Kevin at the same time of day with the same people, so it seems as if they are both concerned that whatever the problem is, it just gets taken care of. As for Lisa, come on, does anyone really like her?
This is an interesting blog Mike. If you are right and it is an R blog as you say, then of course the positions would be more from that perspective.
I don't see anything attacking anyone. There are fundemental differences in the way that parties govern. It would make sense that these will be discussed. I have seen nothing personal on any of these posts. Maybe I should look again?
Anyway, if there is a D blog out there, send it our way. I am a registered Independent, but educated voter. I too like Kevin but am not in his ward. I do think that it would have been more productive had some of the other commissioners been involved, then everyone would be aware of the issue that Kevin was bringing to light. Everyone has to work together.
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