Seniors Fume Over Crumbling Wall

Some residents at Baldwin Station in Milford are very upset over the retaining wall built behind five homes. After personally visiting the site, and talking with those affected, a very upsetting story emerged.

Residents indicated that the city was given plans to construct the wall according to building code as approved by the building department. During and upon completion of the project the city of Milford sent out inspectors who approved the work of the contractor. A few short years later the earth induced tremors by the passing locomotives, whose tracks rest above the retaining wall, caused several landslides. One such landslide cracked the foundation of a home, while another crushed a drainage pipe creating water and flooding issues.

Jim Amann was supposed to have a meeting with AG Blumenthal and the Baldwin Station Association, now cancelled, to assist the residents receive a resolution to what is now a potentially litigious problem. One such resident said "that until this problem is fixed I will never be able to sell this house ever, believe me I know I have been a realtor for 20 years and can tell you no one will want to deal with this serious of a problem."

The problem still remains unresolved and is a hotly debated issue, because the builder, in the opinion of the residents, is culpable as the wall was built wrong. However, others feel the city is culpable because they approved the builders work. In either case neither the city nor the contractor wish to pay the needed one million dollars to rectify this problem and two million remains in an escrow account.

Complicating matters further the seniors at Baldwin Station already strapped for cash and concerned about the cost of living, are not prepared to shell out any more money on attorneys to get a resolution.

While this is clearly not the fault of the five homeowners who live on the edge of a falling rock zone, they continue to suffer at the hands of a sad bureaucratic system that knows no accountability, has no plan, and continues to evade any responsibility to the safety and well being of the elderly persons who live in fear of falling rocks.

Our city and state leaders need to step up to the plate and assist these homeowners in having this problem fixed before its continued erosion impedes the trains ability to travel over the wall safely. Hopefully action will be taken sooner than later.