Leechburg Council approves high school field improvements

Dozens of Leechburg High School students and parents, decked out in Blue Devils gear, crowded outside a borough council meeting Tuesday. They huddled on the steps and crammed into the doorway of the overflowing gallery, there to support a proposal by the school district to upgrade stormwater management at Veterans Field Sports Complex.

“I don’t want to go out there, ready to play a game, worried I’m going to get hurt or my teammates are going to get hurt,” said Thomas Burke, a Leechburg junior, who went to the meeting to advocate for the field improvements. “Every kid out there loves to play sports. They love to go out and do what they do.

“But we’re embarrassed to go out there and see that field. This field needs to get done, and we need to have a safe place to play.”

After more than 40 minutes of discussion, council ultimately approved the project, with all members voting ‘yes’ except Councilman Chuck Pascal, who abstained.

Leechburg Area School District began discussing upgrades to the field more than a year ago, including replacing the existing grass with synthetic turf, installing a track as well as a series of drainage pipes to reduce stormwater runoff.

Proponents of the project say the changes will reduce maintenance costs and prevent the field from closing because of rain.

The school district in February voted to obtain the necessary easements through eminent domain because the project would affect six properties — one owned by the borough and five private residences.

But last month, Leechburg Council held off approving the project after a small group of Gilpin property owners raised concerns that the new system would cause flooding and damage their land.

The affected property owners said they have nothing against the project but they wanted the school district to find a solution that works for everyone.

“It seems like they’re turning this into an emotional situation,” said Ron Feeney, a Gilpin homeowner who first raised the concerns to Leechburg Council last month.

At Tuesday’s meeting, Feeney and his brother, Rob, claimed the borough was violating its own ordinance by approving a project that would they said, increase erosion, sedimentation and flooding at a property. Water damage already occurs at the Feeney’s Gilpin property, and he said redirecting more water from the field down Veterans Avenue would only increase the damage.

The Feeneys said the district’s plan directs 20% of stormwater flow toward Wesley Avenue, “where there are no other properties affected.”

But 80% is directed toward Veterans Avenue, where properties are affected. An attorney, on behalf of the Feeneys, has filed an objection to the use of eminent domain in Armstrong County Court.

But Shane Michael, the borough engineer, said projections show the project would actually reduce the stormwater runoff from the field because of the installation of retention basins underground. Others at the meeting pointed out much of the water affecting the Gilpin property comes from drainage at nearby tennis and basketball courts, which are not part of the project.

Randy Walters, Leechburg’s head football coach, delivered an impassioned speech asking for the project’s approval. Walters said soccer players haven’t been able to play a single home game, and the baseball team must regularly practice inside instead of on the practice field because of the poor stormwater drainage.

“The field is not safe,” Walters said. “It’s mud. It’s holey. You could downhill ski from the 30-yard line in to the other side. I’m not going to lie to you: I’m surprised that our solicitor and (Superintendent Tiffany Nix) have not had a lawsuit filed against them from someone that doesn’t want to come there and play.”

Walters continued, saying the field improvements would benefit the town as a whole — not just the school district.

“These kids — all of them — this town, this community ‘voted’ on it. They deserve to have this,” he said. “I don’t know the ins and outs. I don’t know the water runoff. I don’t know all of that. But I know who’s getting hurt.”

Borough Solicitor James Favero said the district had fulfilled its legal obligations. The only easement in contention is the Feeneys’, Favero said, and progress has been made to reach an agreement with their attorney.

On Tuesday, council approved the easement agreement for its own property — the Leechburg Recycling Center.

“The council can only rely on their expert, and their expert is the borough engineer,” Favero said. “And the borough engineer has indicated numerous times that the district has complied with the stormwater management (ordinance).”

Further, Favero said the school district had filed a writ of mandamus to pressure council into taking some action. A mandamus is essentially a command by the court to perform a public or statutory duty — in this case, approving or rejecting the district’s proposal.

When council moved to vote on the matter, Pascal said he abstained because he was “disappointed and offended” by the way the district went about getting the project approved.

“The drainage issue in … the Veterans Avenue neighborhood … has been a problem for many years, and it’s been exacerbated in a number of ways, including by the contribution of the school district,” Pascal said. “But it’s a problem of the borough, the school district and Gilpin Township. … I believe that if the district had worked together with us over the last several years, we together could have solved the longstanding problem for the entire area.”

Pascal also criticized the district for filing the mandamus action, saying the majority of delays in the project over the past several years were due to the district not meeting the borough’s criteria.

“The school district has decided to play chess rather than work together,” Pascal said.

After more than 40 minutes of debate over the legitimacy of the engineer’s assessments and the urgency of field improvements, council voted to approve the project.

The crowd of Blue Devils erupted with applause.

“Hopefully, it all comes through,” Neill Brady, Leechburg Area School Board president said after the meeting.

As for the Feeneys, Ron Feeney said he and his brother will be listing the property and moving out of the area. They both already own homes in other municipalities.

“We’re just leaving this all behind us,” he said. “We’ve had it.”