Union City council approves emergency stormwater repairs after sinkholes on East High Street

Union City Borough Council on July 9 approved emergency repairs to stormwater infrastructure after sinkholes and collapsed pipe were found near 98 East High Street.

Streets Supervisor Bob Phillips told the council a sinkhole approximately 3 feet wide and 8 feet deep opened in a backyard at 98 East High. A camera inspection showed the first 50 feet of pipe were cement and in good condition but the next roughly 90–100 feet were galvanized pipe with the bottom missing; the camera fell into that section and could not be retrieved. Mansfield quoted $14,500 to replace the degraded galvanized pipe with plastic pipe and about $6,000 to cut concrete and investigate a separate sinkhole in Municipal Lot #1.

Councilor Steadman moved to approve Mansfield replacing the galvanized pipe at 98 East High Street for $14,500; Councilor Kerns seconded and the motion carried unanimously. Councilor Steadman then moved, and Councilor Osborn seconded, to authorize Mansfield to open and clean the hole in Municipal Lot #1 spending up to $6,000 after contacting McLallen Construction for a price and availability; that motion also carried unanimously.

Council members and staff said repairs were time-sensitive because the pipe failure and sinkholes pose a near-term public-works risk. The borough did not state a specific funding source during the meeting and did not provide a target completion date at the time of the vote.

The borough will proceed with the work and contact the alternate contractor named for pricing based on availability. Further updates were not provided at the July 9 meeting.