FLOODING SWALES IN ARCADIA FINALLY ADDRESSED
The flooding swales on village property, that were neglected by the previous administrations for decades, have been restored thanks to the 2021 Road Resurfacing and Swale Restoration Project. Kudos to the Stoney Burke Administration on a job well done.
Why are the swales still flooding ?
Wasn't the referendum supposed to fix this ?
Re-Grading Non-flowing Swales on Village Property is NOT the Homeowners Responsibility
Linzey Jones lied in a response to SHARPWATCH when he stated that all the flooding swales were caused by a “build up of rain water into our sanitary sewer system, surcharging in lower lying areas”. This is only true in a few isolated areas. At the (3-31-07) pre-referendum meeting at Rich Central, David Mekarski told residents that the re-grading of swales throughout the village was an issue that would be looked into if the referendum was passed.
Village President Linzey Jones proclaimed in referendum propaganda, that a major portion of the new funds would be used to improve neighborhood flood protection and drainage.
As every homeowner already knows, the most obvious drainage & flood issue is the non flowing swales that run adjacent to the streets on public property.
This is caused by 40-plus years of erosion and settling that has caused the swales to lose their original pitch that allowed them to all flow in unison.
Many residents eagerly voted for the referendum believing that swales in front of their homes would finally be re-graded. We are now approaching the end of the 3 year Mass Drainage & Sewer project and not a single overflowing swale in the village has been re-graded.
Linzey Jones has tried to convince homeowners that a “build up of rain water into our sanitary sewer system, surcharging in lower lying areas”, is the ONLY cause of the swales flooding in the entire village. If this was true, why are the swales still flooding after every heavy storm ?
The village has also successfully manipulated some trusting homeowners into believing that it is their responsibility to maintain the swales on public property. Jones stated on the record at the 6-23-08 village board meeting that “the rules were that the swales were the responsibility of the property owner”
At the 9-22-08 board meeting, President Jones was directly asked whose responsibility it was to re-grade the swales next to the streets. Jones refused to answer the question.
Jones was then asked if he would like to see a copy of Ordinance 8-25. Jones refused.
Ordinance 8-25 section (a) states:
Sec. 8-25. Maintenance of watercourses and drainage facilities.
Except where streams or drainage facilities are located within publicly owned property, it shall be the responsibility of individual property owners to maintain watercourses and other drainage facilities…
On most property plots in Olympia Fields, village property extends 30 feet out from the center line of the street. Check your plot and verify this dimension. Then get a tape measure and see for yourself that the swales parallel to the street clearly fall into a 30 foot wide section of Village owned Property !!!
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