Plan for updating Leechburg Area football field tabled at council meeting

The future of a new stormwater drainage system for Leechburg Area School District is uncertain after council tabled approval for the project until their April meeting.

The district began discussing upgrades to the Veterans’ Field Sports Complex 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 for 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. The project would affect six properties — one owned by the borough and five private residences.

The borough owns the property where the field and adjoining practice field are located between Veterans and Wesley avenues.

The council originally had entertained a motion to approve the district’s plan, conditioned upon the district obtaining the necessary easements to build the pipes and inspection during construction by the borough engineer. After more discussion, the decision ultimately was tabled.

At the council meeting Tuesday, some residents of the surrounding areas brought up concerns that the new system would cause flooding and damage to neighboring properties.

“We are not opposed to the project,” said Ron Feeney, who said he was representing his late father’s property in Gilpin . “We are only objecting to the adverse effects on adjacent properties.”

Feeney showed council a “washout photo” from July 2020 of his family’s property, saying it represented what is typical when it rains at least an inch in the area. The photo gave “obvious, visible evidence that the concentrated discharge (from the proposed project) will cause erosion, sedimentation and flooding,” he said.

Feeney noted 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.

He suggested alternatives including continuing the pipe further underground through the length of the drainage swell, using the municipal stormwater system on both ends of the facility or constructing a catch basin — mentioning an undeveloped area at the corner of Passavant Way and Veterans Avenue, beside the former tennis court.

Councilman Charles Pascal said the school district had failed to come up with a plan that benefited everyone in the area to solve an ongoing problem with stormwater drainage.

“The way the school district has acted here has been completely, completely inappropriate, negligent and heavy-handed,” Pascal said.

Brady, who was present at the council meeting, said he would take the concerns raised back to the school board and see if the engineers for the school district and the borough could work together to find a solution. The district will verify all of the details of its proposed project, he said, including the claim, presented by engineers, that the renovations would reduce stormwater runoff by between 14% to 17%.

“We will review all that and go from there,” he said.

Brady said he was surprised by the response of community members at the meeting — going into it, he said he’d expected the district would gain the council’s approval, given the fact the district’s legal team had gone through “all the formalities,” he said.

He also pushed back on the claim that property owners were never contacted: He and Superintendent Tiffany Nix had made calls and knocked on doors, he said, but only received responses from two people. The district had also given presentations of the plan at meetings for both the school board and municipal officials.

“What we have done, we followed to the law from our legal (department) for what had to be done,” he said.

Feeney said those conversations “consisted of basically delivering the easement request.” He said he and other property owners have spoken with attorneys to try to oppose the eminent domain action. Property owners brought up the issue with Gilpin supervisors this month, as well, before coming to Leechburg Council. Feeney said they are “helping the school district realize they need to work with us, property owners.”

“I think we could come up with an agreement that would be agreeable to everyone,” council President Tom Foster said at the meeting.