Sewer causing stink in Burnside neighborhood

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October 21, 2009

Cumberland Heights residents demand a hard-to-find solution

By CHRIS HARRIS, CJ Staff Writer The Commonwealth Journal Wed Oct 21, 2009, 08:58 PM EDT

Something smells bad in the City of Burnside — and no sure-fire solution is readily available.

The Cumberland Heights area of the “only town on Lake Cumberland,” a neighborhood of homes located just off Ky. 90, has been dealing with a foul odor emanating from the city’s main sewer pump located nearby — only about a hundred or so yards away from residences.

The issue was raised at last week’s Burnside City Council meeting. Councilor Dean Lovins noted that “people can’t sit out on their porches” and that the smell hit one’s nostrils even driving down Ky. 90.

Of course, solutions cost money — and Burnside is running a tight budget as it is. Those affected by the stench insist that money should be no object, however.

After Mayor Chuck Fourman mentioned that the city might have difficulty coming up with immediate funds for a fix, Oris Stanton, speaking on behalf of Cumberland Heights’ homeowners association, fired back, “It’s not a money situation. It has to get done.

“I don’t care if the city has to go into hock up to its necks,” continued Stanton. “Don’t tell us it’s a money situation. That’s not an acceptable answer.”

Added Lovins, “We need to get grant money (to correct the problem), even if we have to hold our hats out.”

Solutions to the Smell

Fourman suggested to the Commonwealth Jour-nal that the sewery smell may be less of a problem in the coming months. “We’re kind of learning as we go that the smell may not be so bad in cooler temperatures,” said Fourman.

This observation was confirmed by a Com-monwealth Journal photographer who snap-ped a shot of the offending sewer pump on Tuesday and reported a failure to notice a strong odor.

Nevertheless, it’s definitely posed a problem to Cumberland Heights residents, particularly earlier this summer. Stanton addressed the council last week, bringing serious grievances from his neighbors to the table and calling for an immediate remedy.

“Some (residents) are seriously considering putting their houses on the market,” said Stanton. “The stench is bad. ... Yes, we are concerned.”

Fourman said he’s “taking the problem seriously,” but that there’s not one definite solution — even though there seem to be plenty of ideas.

Stanton suggested aeration — or pumping fresh air into the septic system, resulting in a cleaner product. He said he had used a similar system in New York to success.

Councilor Craig Rich-ardson suggested that perhaps representatives from GRW, the engineering firm behind Burnside’s sewer system, could come to the next meeting and address the problem.

“They do realize it’s an issue,” said councilor Brian Watson. “We’ve stressed it enough.”

Other possible solutions Fourman suggested to the Commonwealth Journal include washing down the pump with more regularity (currently, such cleaning is more or less done at random), keeping the pump set as low as it will go to keep wastewater moving and prevent it from sitting in the lines, and injecting chemicals to help neutralize the smell.

Another factor will be the hiring of a new sewer manager who can keep a closer eye on things. The city had been operating without one since letting Charles Bryant go earlier this summer. Richard Troxtell, who has experience running his own construction company and working at Oakwood, is the new man in charge of Burnside’s wastewater treatment.

How It Works

Fourman explained to the Commonwealth Journal that the pump in question is the city’s main unit. There are smaller pumps elsewhere in Burnside, but all direct sewage to the primary pump near Cumberland Heights, which collects the town’s wastewater and then pumps it to Somerset.

So why build that pump there, so close to Cumberland Heights? “It was probably chosen by the engineers according to the way the lines ran, and how they had to run them,” said Fourman. “We were dealing with a lot of issues, with the new interchange coming in and a railroad in that area, and that surplus property seemed like the best scenario.”

Fourman notes that while “everyone who has a sewer system does the best with the cards their dealt,” he definitely sympathizes with the plight of Cumberland Heights homeowners.

“Those houses were there before the pump station was there,” said Fourman. “It wasn’t like they chose to build around it.”

The Burnside sewer system, decades in the making and worth millions in grant money, finally came to fruition in 2006. Some were complaining of a smell as far back as the November 2008 council meeting.

Two other items related to the subjects above were dealt with at last week’s council meeting. K. Carrender construction was awarded the bid to finish up the wastewater project, which will grant sewer access to the last remaining neighborhoods along Ky. 90 without it. This is after the city secured a $950,000 grant to complete the project. K. Carrender’s bid was for just over $700,000. Fourman thanked Pulaski County State Repres-entative Tommy Turner for helping Burnside obtain the grant money.

Also, the council discussed getting a new sign indicating the Cumberland Heights subdivision, because when the road was being transformed to put the new interchange in place, the state removed the signage. Fourman said they may be able to use the city property on which the pump station sits to place the sign.

Fourman hopes Cumberland Heights residents can hold on until the problems in their part of town can be fixed — even if it seems like the process is moving slower than sewage sludge.

“We’re doing all we can, we’re coming up with new ideas to better quality of the smell around the pump station,” he said. “It’s just taken time to put these things in place.”

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Pulaski carries Girdler to win

In the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s primary election, it was impossible to miss the colorful signs dotting nearly every Pulaski roadway. The names in the race for the 15th State Senatorial District seat popped out: A.C. Donahue. Chris Girdler. Mark Polston.

Once citizens hit the ballots, however, the results mirrored the dimensions of the signs themselves: Chris Girdler stood the tallest.

Girdler, deputy district director for Congressman Harold “Hal” Rogers, ran away with the votes inside Pulaski County’s borders, earning 3,926 votes for 62.05 percent of the total number cast.

That number more than doubled the next highest vote-getter, businessman Mark Polston, who raked in 1,624 votes for 25.67 percent.

However, Polston — who owns Classic Carpet, a home-flooring business located just off the southern 914 bypass — can claim a moral victory ... three of them, in fact. In all three counties in the district other than Pulaski — those being Adair, Casey, and Russell Counties — Polston actually edged out Girdler.

In Adair, Polston beat Girdler 629 to 394. In Casey County, it was 538 to 417, and in Russell, it was 1,862 to 1,038.

Polston said he just “couldn’t pull it out with the numbers” and that “the machine worked for” Girdler in Pulaski County.

“I think that was their strategy — I think they had a Pulaski County strategy all along,” said Polston. “They played the political game well.”

Polston said the difference between his and Girdler’s campaigns was that “mine was a very, very grass roots campaign,” he said. “I did not have a political machine behind me. I understand how this process works, and in this instance, he prevailed.”

As for why Girdler didn’t take three of four counties, the winning candidate — since there are no Democrats in the race, winning the Republican primary was effectively a final victory for Girdler — said he didn’t have an answer for that.

However, “I believe things happen for a reason and I hope the long and strenuous campaign will only heighten my desire to move beyond the bitterness and partisanship of the recent past,” said Girdler.

“Regionalism is a goal of mine, and I look forward to helping all four counties,” he added, noting that he campaigned heavily in each of them.

Sen. Vernie McGaha, the long-time state senator whose seat the candidates were vying for, actually supported Polston after Liberty’s Todd Hoskins dropped out of the race earlier this month.

Donahue, a local attorney, got 556 votes in Pulaski County, 8.79 percent of the vote. He only received 145 votes in Russell County, 74 in Adair County, and 75 in Casey County, where hometown candidate Hoskins almost matched him with 71 votes despite no longer being officially in the race.

Polston said he’s “still digesting” what happened, and though “the process has been a very good experience for me,” he wouldn’t commit to running again in the future. “I wouldn’t shut the door to anything, but I’m not opening any doors either.”

Still, “I think I got a lot of people involved in the process that had not been involved before and would not have been otherwise,” he said. “A lot of people got out and worked really hard, got motivated to talk to friends and neighbors. I think a lot of people became involved through this campaign that are going to be involved for a long time.”

Girdler stressed his “positive message” and said that Rogers is a “mentor and good friend” that he would turn to for advice in dealing with a frequently combative legislative body in Frankfort, one for which Girdler hopes to help change the culture.

Girdler said that he was “confident and optimistic” during the day Tuesday because he’d “worked extremely hard.” Nevertheless, the realization that he’d won gave him “chill bumps,” he said.

“I’m absolutely honored,” said Girdler. “The position of state senator is more than an honor, more than an office. It’s a charge to keep, and I will give it my all.

“I pledge to be the people’s state senator,” he added. “I look forward to working with everyone to move this region forward.”

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