An easement agreement was approved Monday with one of two Hempfield property owners who have been in negotiations with Greensburg officials related to a flood control project in the Northmont neighborhood.
Greensburg council on Monday OK’d the agreement which calls for a $26,000 payment to John Maline, owner of property on New Alexandria Road, said solicitor Zachary Kansler.
Negotiations are continuing with a neighboring Hempfield property owner, he said. Three properties in Greensburg will be subject to eminent domain after negotiations weren’t successful. Those actions could be filed this month in Westmoreland County court.
Greensburg officials have been working with property owners for the past year to secure easements along an unnamed stream that runs parallel to Glenview Avenue in the Northmont neighborhood. It flows mostly through backyards and goes underground before connecting to Jacks Run near Lynch Field.
The work funded through a state grant will involve the construction of culverts and U-channels along the stream.
The majority of property owners OK’d easement agreements. Greensburg council has approved $12,000 in total payments for easements in past months to three property owners. Kansler has said eminent domain is a last resort.
The $26,000 payment to Maline is larger because the property is commercial, compared to residential, and a significant chunk of the land will be part of the easement, Kansler said.
“That section is going to be open and wide,” he said. “It’s a larger permanent easement area.”
If negotiations aren’t successful with the second New Alexandria Road property owner, Hempfield supervisors must pass a measure that would allow Greensburg to use eminent domain before such an action can be filed. So far, supervisors have opted not to vote on the request for the past two months.
Greensburg will handle the entire project, including the work and maintenance on the Hempfield sections.
Flooding has been happening in that neighborhood for decades, according to city officials and Trib archives.