Dispute over York County pump station sparks chain on road, threat of lawsuit

“Critical” work on a new York County pump station was stalled for a week after a property owner blocked access to construction workers by placing a chain across the roadway.

Crews were unable to complete work on the project during a brief warm spell, and the York County Council threatened a lawsuit over the issue before developer Earl Coulston agreed Monday to take down the chain on Convention Drive.

The dispute flared over who was responsible for maintaining the roadway through a residential portion of the Heritage Lake development, and access rights to county property on a private drive.

Coulston said he has expressed his dissatisfaction with the county many times since work began two months ago on the site along Sugar Creek, where York County is in the process of installing a “wet well” for a new water pumping station. Coulston said the heavy trucks heading down Convention Drive each day are “demolishing” the road.

“They tore it all to pieces,” he said, adding that he put up the chain to get the county to take responsibility for any damage done to Convention Drive. “I’ve been talking to them for over two months, and I’ve still got no answer.”

Around 11:30 a.m. on Dec. 21, workers heading out to the site found a chain stretched across the road just past the Crown Hollow apartments. On Monday morning, the chain had been re-enforced with a trash bin placed in the middle of the road, while at the intersection with Star Light Drive, a handwritten wooden sign proclaimed “No Construction Traffic Allowed.”

Convention Drive extends into a wooded area that connects to an RV park and the parking lot for Antioch International Church, where another chain Monday blocked access from the other side. Tractors and construction equipment could be seen parked on the site near the chain, cut off from the road and their operators.

The same day the chain went up, the York County Council consulted with the county attorney in a closed executive session, then voted to take legal action against Coulston if the chain was not removed.

The shutdown came at a bad time for the project. In an email, County Manager Bill Shanahan said this portion of the project’s schedule is “critical ... due to urgency to complete prior to winter setting in.”

“If delays continue, other parts of the project’s schedule will be pushed out,” Shanahan said.

The delay also caused concerns about the equipment rented by Layne Heavy Civil of Georgia that was needed for the work. “The crane and machinery used to drive the piles is rented specifically for this job and should it be de-mobilized and moved, we are not certain when it can return,” Shanahan said.

The two sides disagreed over whether the county has the right to access the pump site. Assistant County Manager David Harmon said York County has a legal easement across Coulston’s property to access the construction area, which is county owned. Coulston disputed the county had any right to use the privately-maintained road if the owner won’t allow it.

Harmon said this is the first time the county has ever faced this kind of obstruction on a utility construction project.

Coulston removed the chain Monday without his concerns being addressed, but said he would continue to ask the county to take responsibility for either paying for any damage to maintain the road – which he estimates could cost many thousands of dollars – or take Convention Drive out of his hands entirely.

“They want me to get it up to county standards,” he said. “But I’m not going to fix it up so they can take it.”

This story was originally published December 28, 2015 at 4:20 PM with the headline "Dispute over York County pump station sparks chain on road, threat of lawsuit."