by Tom Vargo
Dear Loveland Magazine Reader,
Let me start by saying my family and I have been residents of Loveland for over 25 years. Our children have gone through and graduated from the Loveland School System. Of all the areas we looked at when we moved here from Columbus, we felt at home in Loveland. Until recently.
There is a storm sewer line that runs between mine and my neighbor’s house. The line sits equally on both of our properties. This storm sewer takes the rainwater from a great many homes around us and runs it out to the main sewer in the street.
Over the years, the storm sewer has come apart and has started to cause a large sinkhole between the 2 houses.
Not only is this an eyesore but it is extremely dangerous.
Now we have 2 additional sinkholes starting on the sewer line. We have had a company come out and run a camera through the line and we can see where the pipe has come apart and water is leaking through.
My neighbor has reached out to the City of Loveland and had some communications with City Manager Dave Kennedy about this issue. During a phone call, Mr. Kennedy agreed with my neighbor that we have a problem and the city should look into the issue. In fact, Mr. Kennedy suggested we meet and discuss the problem in person.
Under a prior City Administration when my neighbor called and complained about the other sinkholes appearing in his yard, the City sent out a crew to fill in the holes. So you see, this is not our first time reaching out to them on this matter.
My neighbor did receive an email back from Mr. Kennedy stating that since the storm sewer is on a “Private Easement” the repair is not the responsibility of the City of Loveland.
This property was surveyed way before we moved in. So we had no input into the private vs public easement classification. Nor would we know the difference. We are not surveyors or lawyers.
There are seven other storm sewers in our subdivision and only two are private. The other five are public and the city takes care of them.
This is my opinion is an outrage. How can some surveyor 30-40 years ago arbitrarily pick a description and the City let it stand? Do not the City’s past repairs indicate that they felt the problem belonged to them in the first place?
When we have reached out to Mr. Kennedy to meet and discuss, we have not received a response back. Again this is an outrage.
To anyone living currently in Loveland and anyone planning on moving to Loveland, I say take a good hard look at your decision. The city government has no problem taking your tax dollars but when you need their help, they are nowhere to be found.
It makes you wonder why anyone would want to live here in the first place.
