Residents report property damage from groundwater and sinkholes; council adopts sinkhole repair easement

Several Scranton residents described urgent road and property concerns at the May 13 council meeting, and the council adopted a construction-easement measure tied to sinkhole repairs.

Resident Chris Matthews reported extensive damage to his East Mountain property, saying, "I have a substantial amount of damage to my property, at least well over a hundred thousand dollars," and described sinkholes, exposed roots and foundations shifting across multiple nearby properties. Matthews said he contacted the city in February and March and that a 311 reply told him the condition was "naturally occurring hydronic pressure from groundwater," a characterization he disputed. He said he counted "at least 9 properties" with similar damage and asked the city for a water-table study and a clearer engineering response.

Separately, property owner Richard Sabetta described a building collapse in the 400 block of Aswell Court. Sabetta said he had filed repeated complaints and that the structure fell on May 7; city emergency responders, the police and the city engineer responded and the city issued an emergency demolition contract to a contractor. Sabetta told council the emergency clean-up damaged a retaining wall on his adjacent property and that the city engineer had agreed to follow up.

Council action: the council approved construction easement agreements for parcels at 2709 Jackson Street and 8 Funwood Drive as part of a sinkhole repair project (adopted by roll call under item 7 b). The roll call recorded unanimous "yes" votes and the chair declared the item legally adopted. The council’s administrative representatives said city engineering and DPW personnel had visited affected sites and that DPW would be asked to meet with Matthews to inspect his property.

Discussion vs. decision: council members and staff treated resident reports as requests for further engineering and DPW investigation. Adoption of the sinkhole repair easement is a formal action enabling repair work on specified parcels; residents’ calls for broader demolition, emergency removal plans and accountability for contractor use were left as outstanding tasks for administration follow-up.

Clarifying details from the meeting: Matthews said he contacted the city beginning Feb. 20 and March 3 and that he had photographic evidence of damage; he said an HRG storm-water engineering report noted groundwater in the vicinity of the fire station and a culvert from Robinson Park but did not identify a definitive source. Sabetta said the city awarded an emergency demolition contract (three bids were received; the lowest bid was $10,000) after the structure collapsed and that city engineers had taken numerous photographs at the scene.

Next steps: city staff said DPW and supervisors would meet with Matthews and that the city engineer would be asked to provide any written reports to council. The sinkhole easement approval clears right-of-way and contract obstacles to begin repair work at the identified properties; timelines were not specified.

Ending: Council members asked administration to share engineering reports and to coordinate DPW response; residents said they would expect follow-up and remediation steps to begin.