Allensworth Drive residents urge village to address worsening road conditions

Several residents attended the Nov. 12 council meeting with photographs and a petition containing 83 signatures to draw attention to the poor conditions on Allensworth Drive. Resident Joan McIntyre told council she could have collected even more signatures, noting there are more than 40 apartments on the roadway.

“I don’t think we’re going to have answers for you tonight,” Mayor James Clark told the group. “But we know Allensworth is bad.”

McIntyre described the first stretch of the road as “speed bumps” and said farther up “it’s nothing but holes.” She said she has lived there for 26 years and the road has never been maintained as it should have been.

“And the longer it goes the worse it gets, which means it costs more,” she said.

Clark asked whether the village had filled any potholes. Village employee Ron Thompson said he did not have the needed material and added that the village’s machine is broken. McIntyre said hot patch material does not last, and Clark acknowledged it often gets torn up during winter plowing.

“Yes, and that’s another issue,” McIntyre said. “I will say you all keep our road very clean in the wintertime with snow. I appreciate it too, we all do.”

Clark repeated that he could not give the group any firm answers until he had spoken with Village Solicitor Jason Tubaugh, who was on vacation.

“I apologize for that, but that’s all I can give you today,” Clark said. “And we’ll make sure those pictures and the petition get put into public record.”

In other business, Income Tax Administrator Janeen Scott reported that October water and sewer revenue was about $46,513. She said there were 65 delinquent accounts and five shutoffs, all of which were later restored except for one at the customer’s request due to a death. Total water usage for the month was 909,038 gallons.