May 14, 2015 By Terry Kish 3 min read

Scott Township commissioners recently learned that what should have been routine test borings in preparation for a new pool at Scott Park weren’t all that routine.

At the board’s May 12 agenda meeting, Joe Boward of Garvin Boward Beitko Engineering, Inc. reported that they conducted eight test borings for pool sub-surface conditions. While most of the borings were what the engineers expected, one was not.

Boward explained that the area under Scott’s existing pool was deep mined, with the floor of the mine about 90 feet below the surface and the roof of the mine about 80 feet below the surface. Usually, there is 60 to 70 feet of bedrock that protects structures from mine subsidence. During the test boring in question, when they were drilling through bedrock at about 13.5 feet, the tools dropped two feet, indicating a void in the bedrock. Boward said that it was not uncommon to have a drop of two to three inches, but the two-foot drop was significant.

Boward had two theories about the void. He said it could be subsidence working its way up from the mine, or since the current pool has been leaking for some time, water could have found a clay seam and washed it away. In either case, Boward said the result of the test boring indicates that further investigation is needed.

Boward recommended one deep boring in the area of the void to the mine and a series of borings around the area to delineate the void. The estimated cost for the additional borings is $18,200.

Corrective action would depend on what is found after the additional test borings are completed. Boward said if the void is not that large, the area could be filled with grout, or possibly excavated to eliminate the void. If the void is being caused by mine subsidence, corrective action could necessitate expensive pressure grouting.

Commissioner Tom Castello said the additional borings need done to discover the extent of the problem. The board instructed Boward to make arrangements for the additional test borings and plans to ratify the action at the May 26 regular meeting.

Since the area where the test borings will be done is about 50 feet from the pool, it is unclear how pool operations will be affected. Boward said that conducting the test borings will take about a week, but it may take a week or two to get the drillers on site.

In other business, Commissioner Bill Wells asked if the township’s proposed zoning ordinance could be put online for public review. Code enforcement officer Bob Fischer said he has a copy available, and township manager Denise Fitzgerald said she would upload it to the township’s website. A public hearing on the proposed ordinance is scheduled for 7 p.m. May 26. The board is expected to vote on the ordinance at its regular meeting that night.

The board also discussed that they still are looking for summer help for the public works department, since only three people applied for the nine open positions. The jobs are open to Scott residents who are graduating from high school this year or attending college.