Plum’s stormwater task force has a new member and may have its first public meeting soon.

Council appointed resident Bill Chapla on Monday night to fill one of the two vacancies on the committee that was created to address flooding issues.

“I was affected by last year’s flooding on Pine Valley Drive, and I’ve lived here 17 years and never had an issue with the creek,” Chapla said. “There’s things that they need to be aware of and what’s happening.”

Chapla frequently attends borough meetings and has sought to hold elected leaders on both council and the school board accountable over the years. He hopes to add transparency to the task force.

“I didn’t like that the meetings were closed to the public,” Chapla said. “When this became available, I wanted to get on it because I want to know what’s happening in real time at these meetings. Essentially, they’re talking about the safety of the family. They’re talking about our homes and, eventually, home values. Whatever changes are made could possibly affect it all.”

Council approved forming the task force in October. It selected its founding members in December as part of the borough’s response to severe flooding in July 2019.

Council Vice President Dave Vento, a task force member, said stormwater meetings were closed sessions because they had good community representation and needed to establish initial plans.

“We wanted to get set,” Vento said. “We had enough representation from the community. We know where the problem areas were. Now we figure we’re ready to approach the public better with some actual things we’re going to do and not pipe dreams.”

Vento said he supports Chapla’s selection to the task force and knows he’s passionate about the town.

“He’s still a person of Plum Borough and someone who has the right to be critical of what the people of Plum do,” Vento said.

Chapla was selected from two applicants. Council declined to release the name of the other applicant.

Councilman and task force member Paul Dern said he was hesitant to appoint Chapla because his application focused on Pine Valley Drive. He hopes Chapla will focus on the whole borough now that he’s on board.

The two vacancies were created when Rick Vigno and chairman Carlos Escalante resigned earlier this year.

Letters of interest can be sent to the borough office, 4575 New Texas Road, or apply online at link.plumboro.com/stormapp.

Council President Dave Odom announced the first public task force meeting may take place Sept. 12. A time and a location have not been set.

Task force meeting minutes and other related information is posted to the borough’s website under the “stormwater management” tab.

Odom said they’re working on other ways to disseminate task force plans and have more citizens’ input, such as enlisting the support of a public engagement services specialist.

“There’s a lot of movement now going on relative to getting prepared to hold that public meeting,” Odom said. “We certainly appreciate the patience the residents have had just based on the constraints that we’ve had with covid.”

Residents will have to register for the task force meeting once other details are set, and it’s expected to be live streamed.

Many fixes have occurred since last July’s flooding.

That work entailed replacing about 115 feet of a 15-inch pipe along Impala Drive, installing about 68 feet of an 18-inch pipe along Jackson Road, and replacing 80 feet of a 15-inch pipe at Bar Harbor and Arcadia drives.

Public works crews also repaired 12 stormwater inlets in the Rustic Ridge area and installed 80 feet of 6-inch drainage pipes in Woodlawn Estates.

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