Politics & Government
Residents Bring Flooding Complaints to Whitehall Boro Council
'What I saw on Doverdell was incredible.' - council President Glenn Nagy
Whitehall Borough's council members and engineer received an earful on Wednesday night from numerous Whitehall residents whose homes and property were damaged by flooding this past week.
The residents were from Highgrove Road and McKee and Doverdell drives. Complaints ranged from runoff from Cool Springs Golf Center and St. Casimir Cemetery, especially for the Highgrove residents, to sewage backup on McKee.
Mark Blahut of Highgrove said that he is considering not paying his borough taxes this year so as to offset some of the cost associated with repairing or replacing his property.
"You pay $2,000 and not have anything done," Blahut said. "I feel like I should be able to hold it back."
View the video above to hear some of the complaints.
Ruthann L. Omer of The Gateway Engineers responded to residents by saying that borough officials will continue to look at ways to combat serious flooding in Whitehall.
Omer said that the Highgrove area is especially tricky because runoff from another municipality, Bethel Park, is involved and because St. Casimir and Cool Springs are private property.
Council President Glenn Nagy said that residents' concerns are completely with merit and supported Omer's claim that all will be done to prevent such occurrences in the future.
"There's not much worse that could happen to a resident than to get flooding, especially sewage, backed up in their yards, in their house," Nagy said. "What I saw on Doverdell was incredible.
"Rest assured that your comments and concerns do not go unheeded."
But folks like Gemma Voelker-Churik of Doverdell Drive are left to wonder who will help them to replace the property that they lost.
"We had 5 feet of water in our basement last Wednesday," Voelker-Churik said. "Both of our vehicles were totaled. This is my second flood in nine years. I'm still paying the FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) loan from last time.
"My taxes are due, but I need a furnace."
Whitehall police Chief Donald R. Dolfi, who convinced Mayor James F. Nowalk to declare a state of emergency that Wednesday, July 10, said that FEMA must now determine if at least $4.6 million of damage was done in Allegheny County that day in order to declare the county a disaster area and grant federal assistance.
However, Dolfi said, basement damage does not count toward that total.
"They're not gonna make it," Dolfi said. "I was with (Allegheny County's) assistant chief of emergency services Monday, and they can't make the $4.6 (million).
"The federal government will not consider basements. They don't wanna hear about basements. They'll come out, and they'll tell them the majority of the country don't have basements. The federal government will only talk about the first floor or higher."
By declaring a state of emergency on July 10, Whitehall qualified itself for federal assistance should it become available, Nowalk said.
The residents were from Highgrove Road and McKee and Doverdell drives. Complaints ranged from runoff from Cool Springs Golf Center and St. Casimir Cemetery, especially for the Highgrove residents, to sewage backup on McKee.
Mark Blahut of Highgrove said that he is considering not paying his borough taxes this year so as to offset some of the cost associated with repairing or replacing his property.
"You pay $2,000 and not have anything done," Blahut said. "I feel like I should be able to hold it back."
View the video above to hear some of the complaints.
Ruthann L. Omer of The Gateway Engineers responded to residents by saying that borough officials will continue to look at ways to combat serious flooding in Whitehall.
Omer said that the Highgrove area is especially tricky because runoff from another municipality, Bethel Park, is involved and because St. Casimir and Cool Springs are private property.
Council President Glenn Nagy said that residents' concerns are completely with merit and supported Omer's claim that all will be done to prevent such occurrences in the future.
"There's not much worse that could happen to a resident than to get flooding, especially sewage, backed up in their yards, in their house," Nagy said. "What I saw on Doverdell was incredible.
"Rest assured that your comments and concerns do not go unheeded."
But folks like Gemma Voelker-Churik of Doverdell Drive are left to wonder who will help them to replace the property that they lost.
"We had 5 feet of water in our basement last Wednesday," Voelker-Churik said. "Both of our vehicles were totaled. This is my second flood in nine years. I'm still paying the FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) loan from last time.
"My taxes are due, but I need a furnace."
Whitehall police Chief Donald R. Dolfi, who convinced Mayor James F. Nowalk to declare a state of emergency that Wednesday, July 10, said that FEMA must now determine if at least $4.6 million of damage was done in Allegheny County that day in order to declare the county a disaster area and grant federal assistance.
However, Dolfi said, basement damage does not count toward that total.
"They're not gonna make it," Dolfi said. "I was with (Allegheny County's) assistant chief of emergency services Monday, and they can't make the $4.6 (million).
"The federal government will not consider basements. They don't wanna hear about basements. They'll come out, and they'll tell them the majority of the country don't have basements. The federal government will only talk about the first floor or higher."
By declaring a state of emergency on July 10, Whitehall qualified itself for federal assistance should it become available, Nowalk said.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here
