Bolles Hill Road Culvert clean out - Thanks for maintaining the culvert. Pictures taken Oct. 30, 2011

Bolles Hill Road Bridge photos - Oct 16, 2011 - culvert

Videos of the Sept flood -

Videos that capture the Sept flood in Binghamton, Owego, other photos in Apalachin.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qid2Y18rzHM&feature=share

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfuUhe2zhKo

http://owegopennysaver.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Day1-Photo5.jpg

2011 Flood pix..this batch tops them all

Over 150 pics..click below:

https://picasaweb.google.com/108769912864173754411/Flooding982011#5655550886385459218

Clearing the stream of gravel and debris.

FYI – UPDATE – 9-28-2011– 100%

Pledges are now completely collected.

Thanks for the contributions.

Total collected Update - $10,000 or 100%

Wow - We made it!

FYI – UPDATE - 9-17-2011– 83%

Pledges are now being collected.

2011 Flood had interrupted the mail.

I have all but 4 pledges..

If your contribution is in the mail – thanks.

If you haven’t sent it yet, please send right away.

Thanks for the contributions.

Total collected Update - $8,300 or 83%

Sept 19^th is dead line for collecting the pledges.

FYI – UPDATE - 9-14-2011– 43%

Pledges are now being collected.

2011 Flood had interrupted the mail for 5 days and I just got the internet back.

If your contribution is in the mail – thanks.

If you haven’t sent it yet, please send right away.

Thanks for the contributions.

Total collected Update - $4,300 or 43%

Sept 19^th is dead line for collecting the pledges.

Penn Ave bridge between Long Creek Rd. and Rhodes Rd. - washed out

Bolles Hill Road Sept 7th flood pictures

More pictures
http://unclebob.smugmug.com/Events/2011/Sept-7th-flooding/18924205_t3p6sP#1468243874_jNcpGvx

Bob

Flood - Video - shot just before noon Sept 7th 2011

Flood - Video - shot just before noon Sept 7th 2011

http://unclebob.smugmug.com/Events/2011/Sept-7th-flooding/18924205_t3p6sP#1468146430_BJQczFG

Please pray for these neighbors.

Bob

FYI – UPDATE - 9-5-2011

FYI – UPDATE - 9-5-2011– 21%

Pledges are now being collected.

Thanks for the contributions.

Total collected  Update - $2.100 or 21%

Sept 19^th is dead line for collecting the pledges.

FYI – UPDATE - 8-28-2011- Hurricane IRENE 6 PM

Hurricane IRENE update 6 PM

Go here for pictures:

http://unclebob.smugmug.com/Events/BHBR-IRENE-2/18763284_QhsSjR#1452298814_cDcKBRt

Situation:

Rain has stopped.

Stream back to normal.

No debris.

Town of Owego on standby with backhoe on-site - by if debris washes downstream.

I’ll post again if situation changes.

FYI – UPDATE - 8-28-2011- Hurricane IRENE

Hurricane IRENE update

Hurricane IRENE update pictures. around 9:30 AM - last 3 photos with water down a little was taken around 11:30.

Go here for pictures:

http://unclebob.smugmug.com/Events/BHRB-Hurricane-IRENE/18756798_xBXzbg#1451733377_x8rL6Vm

Situation:

Water high.  Maybe declining. (From 9:30 AM till 11:30 AM)

No debris.

Contractor on stand by with backhoe on-site -by if debris washes downstream.

Latest photo shows stream has lessened a little bit.

I’ll post again if situation changes.

Little Meadows Council Meeting Summary

Bob Gemmel made offer of $10,000 to Little Meadows Borough on behalf of the donors, to ensure the Bolles Hill Road Bridge replacement project continues without delay.  

Council made a motion to accept the commitment pledge, seconded, and passed.

This will allow the Borough  to ensure the bridge will continue as planned. 

The Council will continue to pursue the Pennsylvania  Infrastructure Bank (PIB) Loan and other necessary paperwork required for the bridge project. 

 They will also contact Pennsylvania DEP to extent the permit to keep the existing culvert until permanent bridge construction begins.

Bridge schedule per Penn DOT – (NOTE: this is current plan – can be delays )

August – September – complete temporary easements – payment to the 3 landowners surrounding the bridge for construction easements and trees for construction.

September – council completes necessary paperwork required for loan, DEP and other required documents, Penn DOT bid process to award contract

October –Construction begins; Pledge payment to Little Meadows

Nov-Dec - Construction completed and bridge opened for traffic  (Contractor to complete after Winter -  seeding and blacktop)

Thanks again to all the donors and volunteers for their efforts.

Another step closer to our goal.  We look forward to the continuation of the replacement bridge.onors and volunteers for their efforts.

closer to our goal.  We look forward to the continuation of the replacement bridge.

Bob Gemmel

34 News video clip

34 News video clip

http://www.newschannel34.com/news/local/story/Bridge-Concerns/qdgEMMQzAU2HtQTPYrPbfg.cspx

Bob

Update - 8-18-2011

Next Little Meadows Borough meeting is Monday, 22nd at 7 PM. 

I’ll be presenting the Bolles Hill Road Bridge “Save the Bridge” pledge to the council.   The full pledge amount of $10,000.00

I have a 22” X 44” replica pledge check to present to the council as a gesture of the big effort the volunteers and donors made to meet the goal. Come and get your picture taken with the Big Check.

I met with the Little Meadows Council today.

We agreed on the final mechanics of the pledge and payment.  Also, that Charlie Fahringer will request DEP extension allowing existing temporary bridge to stay until permanent bridge construction begins.

Pledge ground rules –

Pledge Money Usage – Pledge money will be used only for the permanent bridge replacement project.

CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION - personal information is kept confidential; both donor name and donation amount will not be disclosed (based on donor pledge form).

Ownership & Liability - The donation does not imply any ownership of the Bolles Hill Road Bridge and therefore no liability is assumed.  The donation is a simple contribution with no rights of ownership.

Pledges payment date

I’ll begin collecting the pledges September 1, 2011

I’ll make full payment to Little Meadows:  Oct 1, 2011

Open item

Exact wording of Payee – I have CPA available to assist with closing this item.  I’ll send out pledge payment details Tues Aug 23, 2011.

Bob

UPDATE - 8-13-2011– 100% We achieved the goal!

We made it!

One more pledge today.

Campaign volunteers were the best.

Thanks for the pledges.

Thanks for the unending effort of the volunteers.

We had hoped that we could do it; we did it.

Total Update - $10.000 or 100%

This is incredible only 14 days ago we started.  What wonderful neighbors.

UPDATE - 8-12-2011– 8th Amount raised Total Update - $9.830 or 98.3% Only $170 to go

One more pledge today.

Campaign volunteers continue in high spirits.

Thanks for the pledges – thanks for the unending effort of the volunteers.

We had hope that we could do it; we’re very close let’s close this out this weekend.

7th Amount raised Total Update - $9.830 or 98.3%

This is incredible only 13 days ago we started.  What wonderful neighbors.

 UPDATE - 8-11-2011– 7th Amount raised Total Update - $9.330 or 93.3%

Only $670 to go!

One more pledge today.

Campaign volunteers continue in high spirits.

Thanks for the pledges – thanks for the unending effort of the volunteers.

We had hope that we could do it; we’re very close let’s close this out this week.

7th Amount raised Total Update - $9.330 or 93.3% 

UPDATE - 8-10-2011– 6th Amount raised Total Update - $9.230 or 92.3%

FYI – UPDATE - 8-10-2011– 6th Amount raised Total Update - $9.230 or 92.3%

Two more pledges today.

Campaign volunteers continue in high spirits.

Thanks for the pledges – thanks for the unending effort of the volunteers.

We had hope that we could do it; we’re very close let’s close this out this week.

6th Amount raised Total Update - $9.230 or 92.3%

ALERT 8-09-2011– BOLLES HILL ROAD BRIDGE MAKES TV CHANNEL 34 6 PM TONIGHT

ALERT - 8-09-2011– BOLLES HILL ROAD BRIDGE MAKES TV  CHANNEL 34 NEWS INTERVIEWS RESIDENTS AT THE BRIDGE

DAVE DIEHL AND TONY TURANO

CHECK IT OUT CHANNEL 34 6 PM TONIGHT

Mass Mailing 8/8/2011 - to every boxholder in Little Meadow

I wrote the letter and printed the letter Dave Hellman did the rest.
The intent of the letter is to help educate Little Meadows about Bolles Hill Road bridge status and to promote community support for its replacement.
Here's what it looked like.

FYI – UPDATE - 8-08-2011– 6th Amount raised Total Update - $8,730 or 87.3%

 

180 letters sent out today to every Boxholder in Little Meadows – Thanks to Dave Hellman and I wrote the letter.

 I’ll post on the blog if you want to see it.

One more pledge today.

Campaign volunteers continue in high spirits.

Thanks for the pledges – thanks for the unending effort of the volunteers.

We had hope that we could do it, we’re very close let’s close this out this week.

6th  Amount raised Total Update - $8,730 or 87.3%

UPDATE - 8-07-2011– 5th Amount raised Total Update - $8,230 or 82.3%

FYI –

 

Just one week ago we hit the streets handing our pledge packets, emailing our friends and neighbors, to  raise $10,000 to save the bridge.

Mass snail mail mailing to go out Monday.

One more pledge today.

Campaign volunteers continue in high spirits.

Thanks for the pledges – thanks for the unending effort of the volunteers.

We had hope that we could do it,  let’s close this out this week.

Bob

5th  Amount raised Total Update - $8,230 or 82.3%

FYI – UPDATE - 8-06-2011– 4th Amount raised Total Update - $7,530 or 75.3%

We have a tight very short timeframe for raising the $10,000 to save the bridge.

Mass snail mail mailing to go out Monday.

Two more pledges today.

Campaign volunteers continue in high spirits.

4th Amount raised Total Update - $7,530 or 75.3%

65.2% completed $6,520 to-date

FYI – UPDATE - 8-05-2011– 3rd Amount raised Total Update - $6,520 or 65.2%

We have a tight very short timeframe for raising the $10,000 to save the bridge.

Volunteers continued to hit the streets today two more pledges today.

Campaign volunteers continue in high spirits.

3rd  Amount raised Total Update - $6,520 or 65.2%

Thanks for all your support we’re making tremendous progress.

FYI – UPDATE - 8-04-2011– 2nd Amount raised Total Update - $6,020 or 60.2%

We have a tight very short timeframe for raising the $10,000 to save the bridge.

Volunteers continued to hit the streets today to educate the neighbors of the Bolles Hill Road Bridge. Campaign volunteers continue in high spirits.

2^nd Amount raised Total Update - $6,020 or 60.2%

Thanks for all your support we’re making tremendous progress.

Copy of email response to Dave Diehl from Tom Libous - Request for support.

Do we need any more evidence that we're on our own -

Thanks for the email, Dave.

I’m very familiar with the Bolles Hill Road Bridge situation.  Your neighbor David Infantine has hit me on it a few times.

I wish I could give you better news, but the State is broke and has its hands full with State roads that need to be fixed.  And I don’t have any member item grants to dole out to municipalities this year. 

I hope you and your neighbors can raise enough money locally to save the Bridge. 

Good luck.

Tom

Sent from my iPad

New sign at the Bridge

Thanks Dave Hellman and his daughter for making this awesome sign. Just beautiful.

Bolles Hill Road (BHR)Bridge – Town of Owego meeting report Tuesday 8-2-2011

I went to the Owego meeting Tuesday 8-2-2011

Summary

Town of Owego meeting - 6 Bolles Hill Residents there to request Town of Owego support for the construction of the permanent Bolles Hill Road Bridge. 

Bob Gemmel discussed the status of the Bolles Hill Road Bridge and the unofficial response received from Don Castellucci, stating in his email that –

 The executive meeting did not go well.  Bolles Hill Residents have some valid points but the bottom line is the bridge is in Pa and Board members can’t get past that.  Don was sorry for the disappointing news.

The BHR residents together reviewed the alternative plans and  have chosen Plan C as the best option.  Plan A – was to try to defer removing the existing temporary bridge till Little Meadows could afford it – NOT VIABLE – PA DEP will order bridge out 9/2011 – residents cannot be without the bridge 2-3 years or forever.

Plan B – Seek Town of Owego Funding for the $10K – Official request from LM. – Unofficial answer NO

Plan C – Residents setup Fund raising Campaign and collect the $10K

Bolles Hill Road residents worked hard all weekend - they set up the process,  created a fund raising letter, strategy, and fund raising packets.  Then they hit the streets distributing the fund raising packets and emailing our contact list. 

The plan is to by 8/15/2011 raise the $10,000 required in the form of pledges from private individuals/business donations.

Steve Czarnecki expressed appreciation to the board for their support in the past and asked where Bolles Hill Road repairs are on the list of Town of Owego 22 critical projects.  Mark Clark said we would provide Steve the list.  Ann Hoffman asked that the Town Highway Department make safety corrections and road repairs on Harnick road for the safety of the School Buses and the children.

Residents agreed after the meeting to peruse their fund raising efforts “full speed ahead” and to  press on Plan C to raise the funds without any Government support.

There were also several Harnick Road Residents at the meeting to request help for fixing Harnick road and rework of an earlier fix that has since gone bad.  They also discussed the many other drainage problems and consequences of storm drainage running off the road and ditches into neighbor properties leaving sand, gravel and debris.  Many speakers provided lots of drama and heated debate on the Harnick Road condition, history of storm damage and excessive speed of some cars and pickup trucks that could endanger the safety of children.  At one point things got so heated that Wayne Moulton spoke up to admonished the speakers to calm down, tone down the voices and stop using Highway Superintendent Mark Clark as a punching bag.

I’ll post updates to the Bolles Hill Bridge blog: http://bolleshillbridge.blogspot.com/ 

Regards,

Bob Gemmel

FYI – UPDATE - 8-01-2011– 1st Amount raised Total Update - $4,420 or 44.2%

Amount raised Total Update - $4,420 or 44.2%

We have a tight very short timeframe for raising the $10,000 to save the bridge.

Volunteers continued to hit the streets today to educate the neighbors of the Bolles Hill Road Bridge. Campaign volunteers continue in high spirits.

1^st Amount raised Total Update - $4,420 or 44.2%

Thanks for all your support  we’re making tremendous progress.

PS. Town of Owego meeting - Tuesday at 7:00 PM at the Owego Town Hall. 

Preview - Official statement from Town of Owego Board on our request.

FYI – UPDATE – 8-1-2011 more Pledge packets distributed & more pledges collected

We have a tight very short timeframe for raising the $10,000 to save the bridge.

Volunteers continued to hit the streets today to educate the neighbors of the Bolles Hill Road Bridge. Campaign volunteers continue in high spirits.

Dave Hellman stopped by to pick up 25 more packets.

Dave Diehl made neighborhood visits to people who were away this weekend.

Pat Brown notified additional Little Meadows residents that are bridge users and provided additional ideas to spread the word.

Many thanks to the volunteers computers, paper & envelops, gas, personal time, brain power and leg power to get it done.  

The pledges and phone calls started are coming in.

Special thanks to Paul & Vivian Novak, Sue & Dave Diehl, Bob & Donna Gemmel, Dave Hellman, Pat Brown and Ann Hoffman.

I’ll have our first pledge total amount received so far -- Tuesday.

PS. Town of Owego meeting - Tuesday at 7:00 PM at the Owego Town Hall. 

Preview - Official statement from Town of Owego Board on our request.

FYI – UPDATE – Pledge form created, published and distributed - pledges start to flow in

FYI – UPDATE – Pledge form created, published and distributed

Working all day and late into the night Saturday  and Sunday volunteers kicked off  of the Bolles Hill Road (BHR) – Save the Bridge Campaign  this weekend.

Many thanks to the volunteers  computers, paper & envelops, gas, personal time, brain power and leg power to get it done.   Here’s what we accomplished:

·         Created the fund raising campaign strategy

·         Developed a  schedule with check point and completion dates

·         Created a 2 page fund raising letter with schedule

·         Created a pledge form

·         Coordinated the entire effort over the internet and telephone

·         Printed 70 copies and stuffed 70 envelops

·         Leg work – hit the road and distributed to the residents of Bolles Hill Road, Mead Road, Pleasant View Drive, Apalachin, Little Meadows, and local business.

·         Published the fund raising letter and pledge form via email and BHR blog

·         Developed pledge tracking system

The success of the day was when the pledges and phone calls started coming in.

We have a tight very short timeframe for raising the $10,000 to save the bridge.

Special thanks to Paul & Vivian Novak, Sue & Dave Diehl, Bob & Donna Gemmel, Dave Hellman, Pat Brown and Ann Hoffman.