Town plans to address resident's drainage issue BY VINCENT TODARO Staff Writer EAST BRUNSWICK - When Ladislav Hanzes looks at the drainage improvements being made near the municipal building, he only feels a sense of frustration. Hanzes, of Louise Drive, said a lack of what he feels would be appropriate action on the part of the township to resolve drainage conditions at an easement near his house have caused damage to his property. So far, he told Greater Media Newspapers, he has spent at least $20,000 to deal with the problems, which he said include flood damage to his home and driveway erosion. Hanzes appeared before the Township Council for the second time in a month on Monday, making the case that if the township could spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on drainage and other improvements near the municipal building, it could spend a far smaller amount to make the needed improvements near his home. He said Township Business Administrator James White told him that the material costs would be about $7,000. The easement, owned by the township, is designed to guide stormwater to the nearby lake, but overflows onto Hanzes' property, according to Hanzes. He asked the township what progress has been made in the last two weeks on his case, noting that he addressed the governing body at its Oct. 1 meeting. He also went through a list of questions that he didn't have time to ask at the last meeting. Township rules prohibit speakers from taking more than five minutes. White said the township has scheduled improvements to be made to Hanzes' property, and that work is planned for next week. He hopes that the work will be completed in a week. When asked by Councilman David Stahl if the project will resolve Hanzes' issues, White said it will "greatly improve" the situation. Hanzes said the 50 or so homes in his development, off Riva Avenue near Bicentennial Park, generate a substantial amount of tax revenue for the township. And though the township has done some work on the easement, he feels that the problem has basically been ignored for the five years he's complained. At the prior meeting, he presented a series of pictures demonstrating the somewhat fierce flood waters that he said have damaged his property. On Monday, he said he approached the township's engineering department and was told that it would not authorize any plans to improve drainage on the easement. A major problem causing the flooding is that his property is low and sits at the bottom of what is basically a drainage funnel in his neighborhood. The easement's drainage pipes are not enough to contain all the rainwater that flows there, he said. Hanzes said the engineering department told him it was the Public Works Department that had the responsibility to fix the area. He said he had been told for five years that the problem is a budgetary one. In response to the idea that he should be hassling public works instead of engineering, he sarcastically stated that he is waiting for leaf collection season to be over so he can get the improvements done. He asked if public works was doing the improvements at the municipal building, and when it was budgeted and approved. White said the work was anticipated in last year's capital budget, and the township added money to the project this year. The work is needed because the lack of proper drainage causes water to lift the sidewalks up, which could cause injury. The work was designed by the engineering department and is about three-quarters complete. Council President Nancy Pinkin said those improvements have been planned "for a number of years," and White said it includes lighting and landscaping improvements, as well.