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(EMAILWIRE.COM, July 09, 2010 ) White Lake, MI – The Oakland County Road Commission has done nothing to repair a damaged storm drain wreaking havoc on White Lake Residents. After spending over 3 months looking at homes for sale, Susan Downey finally settled on a 3 bedroom ranch on Lindholm Street. “Susan was looking for a small, one-story home,” said Ralph Maupin, close friend and real estate agent. “Her main concern was that the crawl space be dry. I’ve seen first hand how sensitive she is to mold and moisture.”
The home was inspected and the crawl space appeared to be dry with no sign of mold. The previous owner claimed that he never had a problem with water in the crawl space. Neighbors also say they have not had moisture problems since the road was paved, years ago. So, Susan purchased the home in June of 2008.
There is a ditch with a catch basin that serves as a storm drain in front of several of the homes on Lindholm Street. At first there was no problem; the ditch stayed dry and Susan was able to cut the grass; even in the lowest spots. In the Fall of 2008 the ditch started holding water; it did not drain away. Concerned about the health hazards associated with standing water, Susan called the Oakland County Road Commission. They said they would file a report and send someone out to inspect.
On Memorial Day Weekend, 2009, the front yard and crawl space were flooded. “I’ve known Susan for over 20 years; she was my full-time bookkeeper for 16 years and she never took even one sick day, said Ralph Maupin. “She assumed she had outgrown her allergy and asthma problems until this happened.”
The Oakland County Road Commission gave up on the problem and put a hideous looking plastic orange fence around the center of the ditch where the water level was over 3 feet deep. Susan thought this meant that they would be back soon to fix the problem. “I gave them the benefit of the doubt, thinking they were going “back to the drawing board” to have a meeting and make a plan,” said Susan. “When I called them again in the middle of June, I was shocked at their answer. The person who answered the phone said, “The fence is a safety precaution and we just have to hope for a dry summer so the water goes away. What kind of answer is this? My crawl space is full of water. I’ve had waterproofing contractors out to inspect and give me an estimate on putting in a drain system and sump pump, but they said there is no place for the water to go unless the Oakland County Road Commission fixes the storm drain. The pump will run continuously and I’ll be replacing it every year as it burns up. I’m sure it would also run up my electric bills too.”
The next step was to call Jim Runestad, the County Commissioner assigned to the White Lake area. “I came over to Susan’s house on June 22, 2009 and we called him together,” said Ralph. “He was nice; he listened to our concerns and he really seemed to care. He said he would call the Oakland County Road Commission to see what was going on.”
The next day, Susan received a call form the Oakland County Road Commission. “They gave me the same (scripted) answer that they gave me the first couple times I called them,” said Susan. “The girl who called said ‘I will put in a report and someone will call you in a couple days.’” “No one from the Oakland County Road Commission has called me back yet,” said Susan.
By early July, the only answers Susan has received are to “hope for dryer days,” and “sorry, we cannot help.” Jim Runestad explained that the Oakland County Road Commission is under staffed and overwhelmed with roads to maintain and they lack the funds to hire maintenance people.
ItÂ’s been nearly two years since Susan began calling the Oakland County Road Commission and the County Commissioner, Jim Runestad. No one has done a thing in over a year. Susan is hoping someone will read this or visit her blog to post comments and suggestions as to a cure for the problem. Visit SusanÂ’s blog at http://www.theoaklandcountyroadcommission.com/
Contact:
Susan Downey
Lindholm Street
White Lake, MI 48383
248-762-0800
Susan.downey97@gmail.com
This press release was submitted by Right Now Marketing Group, LLC
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