Politics & Government

Forks Agrees to Plug Sycamore Sinkhole With Cement

After months of discussion, Forks Township takes responsibility to fill a sinkhole on private property at an initial cost of about $4,000.

Forks resident Jim English gave a thumbs up to the township's board of supervisors' decision Thursday night to fill a sinkhole in the with cement.

The township will also put security fencing around the area today, Feb. 3, according to Mark Roberts, public works director.

The township originally denied responsibility for the hole, and even passed a in January that absolved it from any responsibility for repairing sinkholes on private property.

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However, after meeting property owners affected by the Sycamore sinkhole this week, Roberts learned that the original swale was moved by the township many years ago. As a result, he said, it was now the township's responsibility to fix it.

That was good news to English. English, a resident of Sycamore Hills – off Bushkill Drive and Zucksville Road in – has been on a mission to get the sinkhole repaired for months.

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He even discovered an that supervisors hadn't considered.

“By law – their own law – they are required to notify the owner,” English said in an interview. “And if it’s not repaired, the township can do the work and charge the homeowner.”

In this case, supervisors agreed that the township should repair the entire problem. Roberts estimated the cost to plug the sinkhole, until better weather would allow his crew to fix it completely, at about $4,000.

The board's concern, however, was whether this opens up the township to repairing other sinksholes.

"Now we're in a gray area," said Township Solicitor Karl Kline, "[The sinkhole] is on private property, but the township did have some involvement in repairing it [in the past] ... but that does not mean the township will be responsible for it in the future."

In a 5-0 decision, supervisors agreed to let public works begin the work with written permission from the property owners.


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