Resident urges action on decades-old drainage and maintenance problems at Delaware Park

Joseph Fitch, a resident of 346 Wyoming Avenue in the Oakleyhurst section, used the public-comment period at the Middletown Township reorganization meeting to describe long-standing drainage and maintenance issues at an area referred to in the meeting as Delaware Park.

"We've had an ongoing problem since the late sixties, early seventies with the water issue," Fitch said, describing a history of erosion, unmaintained retention basins and sinkholes on or adjacent to private property. He told the board that beavers have cut down trees, fences have been damaged (creating access to nearby Wawa), people have been seen hunting on township land with a crossbow, and encampments and trash have been common enough that neighbors have repeatedly reported incidents to police.

Fitch said earlier efforts to resolve the problem included plans from the 1990s and a previous grant application to retrofit a basin; that grant application was not successful. He described repeated attempts to get maintenance work done and said some neighbors are clearing drains themselves rather than waiting for township crews.

Township staff responded during the meeting that they would "look into the matters that are all maintenance related" and encouraged Fitch to leave his contact information so staff could follow up. A staff representative also acknowledged the beaver issue and said the township would investigate maintenance needs and scheduling; staff noted the basin retrofit grant had been unsuccessful but that they continue to pursue remedies.

Why it matters: Fitch described public-safety and property impacts (flooding, sinkholes, access issues) and pointed to possible maintenance and access gaps on township-owned land. The resident asked for township action; staff committed to follow-up and an engineer review.

What the transcript shows: Fitch provided specific examples (cut fence, hunting with a crossbow, debris blocking waterways, sinkholes on private property) and placed the problem in a decades-long context. Staff responses were procedural: offer to investigate, verify township-owned fence holes, and set a follow-up call if Fitch leaves contact details.

Next steps: Township staff said they would review maintenance items and coordinate with the township engineer; staff offered to make a follow-up phone call to the resident to discuss details and potential remediation.