GAFCWA grants easement request

A water line laid where it shouldn't be 20 years ago has caused problems for a borough couple today. Jeremy and Cherish Eby spoke to the Greencastle Area, Franklin County, Water Authority Monday night about a water main found 90 feet from where it was drawn on a 1990 map of Moss Spring Estates. The error was discovered when Pennsylvania One Call was contacted before construction began for their new home at 528 Brookview Drive. Because of the pipe's location, the Eby's shifted the placement of the house and ran into rock, which cost them money to clear. Meanwhile, the other side of their lot, arbitrarily an easement for the borough, contained good soil. And because the water pipe was set at an angle, the corner of the house still sat on the line.

Authority members Gregory Rock, Robert Miller and Jason Gerhart accepted responsibility to abandon the water main and install a new one five feet closer to the property line, and to allow a five foot easement on the interior side, rather than 10.

"We apologize for the inconvenience," said Miller. He assured them such mistakes couldn't happen again as the borough was more stringent with engineering.

"Thank you for listening and thank you for the apology," said Jeremy Eby.

The couple and their contractor, Corey Green, agreed there was no point to excavate the old line. They were disappointed to know that the authority would always have access to the easement, and therefore they were limited to what could be done with the east side of the property.

Other business

GAFCWA manager Kenneth Womack announced that he had sent an offer to Antrim Township Municipal Authority approximately three weeks ago. Greencastle is proposing to purchase the township's water system and had been performing due diligence the past year. The merge would combine Greencastle's 1,700 borough customers, 455 township customers, and Antrim's 340 customers into one system.

Womack was authorized to purchase a Ford Explorer, not to exceed $23,625, for the water department. He said the crew had been requesting another vehicle for two years, and it was included in the 2010 budget. It was necessary for increased monitoring duties, especially at Ebbert's Spring, and would be useful when several employees needed to attend the same event.