Author Topic: Is Hyde School being a *bad* neighbor?  (Read 5011 times)

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Offline Ursus

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Is Hyde School being a *bad* neighbor?
« on: March 08, 2011, 11:26:30 AM »
    People who live at Pine Hill say they've had yearly flooding issues for the past seven years or so, and they blame The Hyde School, which is just up the hill, for doing construction that causes more water to filter onto their property.

    The Hyde School's facilities manager says the school has made only minor improvements, and that there may be a drainage issue at pine hill.
    [/list]

    Ya think?  :D
    I guess Hyde believes that construction of a few buildings is "minor."

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    WLBZ2.com
    Condo complex blames water problems on neighboring school

    Caroline Cornish, Reporter · March 8, 2011



    Video news coverage (2:13): Flooding causes problems in Bath

    BATH, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- The heavy rain that fell Sunday night and Monday didn't cause any major flooding, but there were some localized issues.

    At the Pine Hill Townhouses in Bath, thigh-high water filled the parking lot, partially submerging some cars. People who live at Pine Hill say they've had yearly flooding issues for the past seven years or so, and they blame The Hyde School, which is just up the hill, for doing construction that causes more water to filter onto their property.

    The Hyde School's facilities manager says the school has made only minor improvements, and that there may be a drainage issue at pine hill. The city of Bath is looking into whether its storm drain near Pine Hill has any problems or blockages. The assistant city manager also thinks that we have just had more severe storms in the past few years, and that may be why Pine Hill continues to get hit so hard.


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    Offline Ursus

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    Comments: "Condo complex blames water problems on..."
    « Reply #1 on: May 24, 2011, 10:25:13 AM »
    WCSH·6 is a sister station to WLBZ·2, noted source of the above article, and ran the same piece, with the same title, on the same day. However, WCSH·6's version is the only one that got the comments.

    Comments left for the article, "Condo complex blames water problems on neighboring school" (by Around Town Web Staff; March 8th, 2011; WCSH6.com):


    mainerfromaway wrote: 3/8/2011 2:36 PM EST on wcsh6.com
      Build your house in a swamp, deal with the water.
    Bagman1820 wrote: 3/8/2011 3:19 PM EST on wcsh6.com
      Well, Hyde school was there long before your precious condo, deal with it!
    Pinehillresident wrote: 3/8/2011 5:17 PM EST on wcsh6.com
      Yeah but you don't have to pay 7,000 out of your pocket for carpet and flooring and other other things. This is the 2nd time this has happen to me and it has almost flooded my house 10+ times. So when you want to pay that and what not be my guest then YOU deal with the water.


    WCSH6.com    WLBZ2.com One Congress Square, Portland, ME, 04101
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    Offline Ursus

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    Bath condo complex, Hyde School at odds over flooding
    « Reply #2 on: June 23, 2011, 10:16:43 AM »
    Here's another article with a bit more detail:

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    The Forecaster
    Bath condo complex, Hyde School at odds over flooding

    By Alex Lear
    Mar 10, 2011 12:00 am


    BATH — Three units and at least two vehicles were damaged by water this week at Pine Hill Condominiums, the latest victims of chronic flooding problems at the complex.

    Edie Lewis of Dirigo Management, who manages Pine Hill Condominiums, said on Tuesday that a snow bank, located by the property line of the condos and the Hyde School, had been holding back water from recent rainfall. That snow bank collapsed around 6 a.m. Monday morning, sending the water down toward the Pine Hill complex and resulting in flooding that was waist-deep in some areas.

    The condos are located on Pine Hill Drive, off Richardson Street.

    Lewis said flooding has occurred since 2005, ironically right after the condo association had paid $30,000 to have their drains cleaned and repaired.

    "As far as I know, the flooding started because of new fields (and) new construction at Hyde," she said.

    Despite the work being done in compliance with Department of Environmental Protection rules, Lewis said "there is obviously some deficiency in the (drainage) system."

    The flooding occurs about three times a year, a malady Pine Hill is trying to resolve with Hyde School and the city, Lewis said.

    "We've had our own engineers up there," she said. "Pine Hill has paid tons of money, and they're not a rich association, but they're trying to just fix the situation."

    Lewis noted that the pumps required to alleviate the flooding are expensive – Pine Hill spent about $4,000 to deal with Monday's situation – and that "we can't even get flood insurance."

    Despite three pumps dealing with 4,000 gallons per minute, the water removal effort took all day, Lewis said. This most recent flooding caused the greatest damage yet, she said.

    "It's really just so frustrating and unnerving for ... all the residents there," Lewis said.

    George Paton, facilities manager for Hyde and a civil engineer, on Tuesday said that there is a natural drainage basin that starts south of the campus, off the school's property, and then runs across the campus. The flow runs past an athletic field and then toward the condos, he said.

    "This drainage swale has been here for thousands of years," Paton explained. "It's a natural drainage course."

    He added that "(on) the part of the campus that contributes to that, there've been very minor changes since the campus was built. ... We haven't changed much in terms of the drainage flow."

    Paton argued that the condos were built in a low area, directly in the path of the drainage swale, and "right in harm's way."

    He said he observed Monday's flooding, and "it's awful over there. It's a terrible problem. But the water gets to their property, and then it can't get off of their property, or it's coming in faster than it can get off."

    Bath Public Works Director Peter Owen said that other than the issues at Pine Hill, there have been no flooding problems on Richardson Street. He said a pipeline from Pine Hill connects into the Richardson Street storm drain, and that the amount of water going into the system from Hyde School and Pine Hill has been an issue.

    "This isn't anything new," he said.

    One solution would be to build a larger pipeline on Richardson Street, to better handle the flow coming from the condos and school, Owen said. But it's one of a long list of expensive projects for the city to address, he noted.

    Alex Lear can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 113 or [email protected].


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    Offline Wh??ter

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    Re: Is Hyde School being a *bad* neighbor?
    « Reply #3 on: June 23, 2011, 12:12:03 PM »
    This is too funny, Ursus!  What won't you blame on Hyde?



    ...
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    Offline Ursus

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    City Council slogs through more tales of water woes
    « Reply #4 on: November 04, 2011, 06:30:45 PM »
    More soggy misery for the folks downstream from the self-styled "character experts!"

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    The Times Record

    City Council slogs through more tales of water woes

    Bath residents seek recourse for chronic flooding and sewage overflow damage

    By Seth Koenig, Times Record Staff
    Published: Thursday, May 19, 2011 2:08 PM EDT


    BATH — On the fifth straight day of wet weather, the Bath City Council found itself in familiar soggy territory Wednesday, grappling once again with neighborhood flooding problems.

    This time the council heard from residents of Pine Hill condominiums and those from Willow Street, whose neighborhoods have regularly become ponds of stormwater and sewage in recent years after heavy rains rolled through the Mid-coast region.

    After a short public hearing on the city's proposed 2011-12 municipal budget Wednesday night, the council held back-to-back workshops to talk about the flooding problems plaguing the two areas.

    City officials are all too familiar with sewage and stormwater backups that drown vehicles and lower floors of homes, as the city has spent more than $2 million since 2008 on various infrastructure improvements intended, in part, to alleviate chronic flooding in the Park Street neighborhood.

    Now the focus shifts to two other areas where residents say their yards — and sometimes even their homes — are rendered useless to them because of water pooling several feet deep as a result of storms.

    "This is happening every year and it's getting worse and worse and worse," said Willow Street resident Gina Hamilton, one of a number of residents of both neighborhoods to turn out Wednesday night.

    Included in a proposed $13.39 million city budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1 is $70,000 to pay for engineering studies in the two neighborhoods to devise plans to combat the flooding problems.

    The Pine Hill condominium complex is off Richardson Street, downhill from the private Hyde School campus. During heavy rains, stormwater streams down a channel near a school athletic field and pours into the condominium complex, where the parking lot storm drains quickly become overwhelmed.

    Ward 2 City Councilor Sean Paulhus said Wednesday night that the city's proposed engineering study would focus on replacing the pipe from the storm drains to the faster flowing Richardson Street line with one at least three times the capacity of the current pipe.

    That change would allow the drains to accommodate significantly more stormwater before backups occur there, Paulhus said.

    "This remains my No. 1 priority," Paulhus, whose ward includes Pine Hill, told attendees Wednesday. "This engineering is a good step forward, but it's just a first step, and we've got a long way to go."

    City Manager Bill Giroux acknowledged that the Pine Hill homeowners' association sought an engineer's estimate for how much the work would cost, but said city officials "think it's more than" the $500,000 the association's engineer suggested.

    Still, the Pine Hill pipe replacement would likely prove cheaper than what the city's consultant believes might need to be done to reduce the Willow Street flooding.

    Stephen Dyer of Ransom Environmental Consultants Inc. said city officials might have to consider a $1.5 million stormwater pump station project near the Willow Street neighborhood, which would force rainwater currently flowing to the area from uphill drains to defy the laws of gravity and flow elsewhere instead.

    In the short term, the city will consider a roughly $220,000 project in which a deteriorating nearby sewer line — traveling alongside railroad tracks parallel to Willow Street — would be sealed to prevent sewage from leaking into the water that regularly pools in the area.

    Giroux told city councilors he will likely discuss with them during a closed-door executive session at an upcoming meeting the possibility of purchasing one Willow Street home that has been particularly susceptible to the flooding.

    Hamilton urged city officials to seek reimbursements from the Maine Department of Transportation, because she said the buildup of the nearby state-owned railroad tracks about five years ago corresponded to when the flooding problems started becoming more severe.

    Giroux said once the budgeted engineering work is done to cement the best course of action in both neighborhoods, the Pine Hill stormwater pipe replacement and Willow Street sewer pipe repairs would likely be paid for with bond money during the summer of 2012.

    More expensive work, he said, would likely need to be funded by a larger bond subsequently put before the city's voters at the polls.

    "It's a little heartbreaking," City Councilor Mari Eosco said of the residents' flooding troubles. "I wish we could say, 'Oh, this is the problem and let's fix it,' but it doesn't sound like that's the case."

    [email protected]


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    Offline Ursus

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    CONDO FOR SALE: 4 Pine Hill Drive, Bath ME 04530
    « Reply #5 on: November 04, 2011, 07:25:57 PM »
    Looks like someone from this complex has put their condo up for sale.

    Coincidence, purrrrchance? :eek:
    If I'm reading the descrip correctly, the timing would suggest that possibility...

    Here are the stats:


      4 Pine Hill Drive, Bath ME 04530
        Status:   Unknown
        Bedrooms:   3
        Bathrooms:   1 full, 1 partial
        Property type:   Condo
        Size:   1,170 sqft
        Lot:   —
        Year built:   1989
        Added on Trulia:   180+ days ago
        Nearby School:   Hyde School
        Zip:   04530[/list]
        Description provided by Trulia
        This Condo is located at 4 Pine Hill Drive, Bath ME. 4 Pine Hill Dr is in the 04530 ZIP code in Bath, ME. The average listing price for ZIP code 04530 is $252,734. 4 Pine Hill Dr has 3 beds, 1 ½ bath, approximately 1,170 square feet, and was built in 1989

        Listing Info for 4 Pine Hill Dr
        Most recent information provided by CHR Realty/GMAC Real Estate:
          Price: $89,995
          Status: Unknown
          3 Bedrooms
          1 full, 1 partial Bathroom
          1,170 sqft
          Condo
          Built In 1989
        Property Taxes for 4 Pine Hill Dr
          Year 2009
          Value Assessed
          Land $30,000
          Improvements $56,200
          Total $86,200
          Tax $1,483
          Source: Public Records[/list][/list]
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          Offline Xelebes

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          Re: CONDO FOR SALE: 4 Pine Hill Drive, Bath ME 04530
          « Reply #6 on: November 04, 2011, 09:22:08 PM »
          Quote from: "Ursus"
          Looks like someone from this complex has put their condo up for sale.

          Coincidence, purrrrchance? :eek:
          If I'm reading the descrip correctly, the timing would suggest that possibility...

          What are you suggesting?
          « Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »

          Offline Ursus

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          Re: CONDO FOR SALE: 4 Pine Hill Drive, Bath ME 04530
          « Reply #7 on: November 09, 2011, 10:42:17 PM »
          Quote from: "Xelebes"
          Quote from: "Ursus"
          Looks like someone from this complex has put their condo up for sale.

          Coincidence, purrrrchance? :eek:
          If I'm reading the descrip correctly, the timing would suggest that possibility...
          What are you suggesting?
          Oooooh, I was just being a lil snarky. Nevertheless, said circumstances do suggest some rumination on contextual elements.

          That is, what would *YOU* think of realities like this:

            People who live at Pine Hill say they've had yearly flooding issues for the past seven years or so, and they blame The Hyde School, which is just up the hill, for doing construction that causes more water to filter onto their property.[/list][/size]
            ...and this:

              residents say their yards — and sometimes even their homes — are rendered useless to them because of water pooling several feet deep as a result of storms.

              "This is happening every year and it's getting worse and worse and worse," said Willow Street resident Gina Hamilton...
              [/list][/size]
              ...resulting in reactions/sentiments like this:

                Pinehillresident wrote: 3/8/2011 5:17 PM EST on wcsh6.com
                  Yeah but
                you don't have to pay 7,000 out of your pocket for carpet and flooring and other other things. This is the 2nd time this has happen to me and it has almost flooded my house 10+ times. So when you want to pay that and what not be my guest then YOU deal with the water.[/list][/list][/size]
                ...and running up against a stone wall like this:

                  The Hyde School's facilities manager says the school has made only minor improvements, and that there may be a drainage issue at pine hill.[/list][/size]
                  ...reiterated in more detail like this:

                    George Paton, facilities manager for Hyde and a civil engineer, on Tuesday said... "This drainage swale has been here for thousands of years," Paton explained. "It's a natural drainage course."

                    He added that "(on) the part of the campus that contributes to that, there've been very minor changes since the campus was built. ... We haven't changed much in terms of the drainage flow."
                    [/list][/size]
                    ...when The Truth of the matter is that Hyde School has erected a number of entire buildings during this time span, including one quite close to the Pine Hill condominium complex.
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                    Offline Ursus

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                    Re: CONDO FOR SALE: 4 Pine Hill Drive, Bath ME 04530
                    « Reply #8 on: November 22, 2011, 10:50:32 PM »
                    This condo for sale looks like it'll be an excellent opportunity for a recently hired junior faculty member, who is chafing at the bit to get fully SUBMERGED in 'The Process.' . . . :D

                    When you check out the accompanying Satellite Map for the above noted residence, you can see that the condominium complex is separated from Hyde's gym (large long building with the modified barrel roof) by barely more than a hedgerow's worth of trees. What is not so easily discernible from the Satellite Map is the difference in number of feet above sea level. The Hyde School property is more elevated.

                    Judging from the above news footage stills, I imagine that you will feel as though you are not much, if at all, above sea level during a heavy rainfall.
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                    Offline Ursus

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                    MORE construction should do it!
                    « Reply #9 on: November 23, 2011, 05:23:10 PM »
                    Interestingly enough, Hyde School seems to believe that yet more construction might alleviate the problem! From another thread on this forum, here's an excerpt from the article, "Hyde School in Bath plans to build new dorm" (by Beth Brogan; October 19, 2011; The Times Record):


                      Flooding issues

                      MacMillan said school representatives met with residents of the Pine Hill neighborhood, near the campus, to discuss previous flooding issues in their homes. More meetings are scheduled.

                      "Engineers tell me building the dorm would actually help resolve the current problem," he said.

                      According to Whipple's memo, ledge behind the building would be blasted to direct drainage away from the new dormitory.

                      A stormwater management report prepared by Pinkham and Greer Consulting Engineers of Falmouth concluded that the project "is not expected to generate any changes to the peak flows, due to large watershed areas and small increase in impervious areas, and should have no adverse effect on adjacent properties, downstream drainage or receiving waters."

                      That report is undergoing peer review by Topsham engineering firm Wright-Pierce.

                      The Bath Planning Board will consider a request for site plan approval at a meeting scheduled for 5 p.m. Nov. 1 at City Hall.[/list][/size]
                      At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if the Pine Hill residents were apt to interpret Hyde's enthusiasm ... with a bit of reserve.
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