Residents complain about backyard water woes
Revised drainage plan in the works for Howell homes
BY TOYNETT HALL
Staff Writer

MIGUEL JUAREZ staff Kim Newsholme walks gingerly through her backyard in The Reserve at Manasquan River development in Howell. Residents of the new homes are asking the builder to address their water woes.

Everything you want, everything you need is what the Lennar development cor-poration promises its homeowners. However, residents at the Reserve at Manasquan River, Route 524, Howell, a Lennar development, are claiming the firm has fallen short of its promise.

Scott Newsholme, a father of four, said he has never been able to play with his children in the backyard of his 1-acre property.

Newsholme moved to the Reserve from another development in Howell with his wife, Kim, to improve the quality of life for their children, who range in age from 2 to 7.

According to Newsholme, who said he pays $13,000 a year in property taxes, his family cannot use their backyard because of the flooding that occurs when it rains.

"When it rains there's about 2 feet of standing water that comes up almost to your knee caps. It stays there for about a week. I have lived here since last August and have yet to use my backyard," he said this week.

The Newsholmes said they have contacted Lennar for assistance, but have not made any progress because each liaison made by a company representative is severed by the employee's termination.

"Nothing is getting done with Lennar; their customer service is horrible," Newsholme said.

Samuel Young, another resident of the Reserve, who recently moved to Howell from South Orange, shares the same sentiment. Young, who has lived in his home for about a year, said he knew his home needed some minor repairs, but he said he never expected his new residence to have so many problems.

According to Young, water inundated the sunroom and basement during the ice storms that occurred earlier this year.

Due to the upcoming expiration of his homeowner's warranty, Young is "anxious for Lennar to honor their commitments."

"There's been an extreme lack of communication from Lennar and the people who were responsible for coordinating the repairs," he said.

Young said he is planning to file a complaint with the state Department of Environmental Protection. He said he just wants the work to be done in a correct and efficient manner.

"I'm reliant on Lennar to be my quarterback in this," he said.

"We have an engineering plan that we will physically install in April that will address those concerns. We will implement a rear yard drain that ties into the storm drainage of the entire community," Patrick Golden, president of Lennar's Home Building Division, told Greater Media Newspapers prior to a March 21 meeting with residents.

The residents are taking a wait-and-see approach.

"We think they are just trying to sell the rest of those houses so they can get out of the neighborhood and we're never going to hear from them again," Newsholme said.

Township Engineer William Nunziato said municipal officials are working with Lennar representatives to come up with a solution to the water problems the residents have experienced.

According to Nunziato, Lennar representatives came in with a conceptual plan on March 21. The plan basically calls for a supplemental drainage system to be installed in the township's buffer area. The drainage system would store the water and then allow it to be connected to the existing drainage system, which will pipe it along and away from the properties.

"We asked [Lennar] to change the design slightly to increase the storage volume, to add additional pipes and make the trenches wider to provide more capacity for the system to take in water. We are trying to adjust the design so that it alleviates the drainage problem, but allows the plantings to be planted as were required by the town," Nunziato said.

Some of the residents who are dealing with the water problem in their back yard are also waiting for Lennar to address an ongoing situation regarding the homes' water meters. Residents are still without a second water meter and are being jointly charged four-figure quarterly bills for water and sewer use.

Kim Newsholme said, "There has never been any money sent out to any homeowners yet to install a second meter. Lennar asked residents to take down (yard) signs (bringing public attention to the issue) in good faith that they would give us the money. No one has tried to contact us, no one has received any money and residents are being sent to collections for not paying their bills."

Golden told Greater Media Newspapers that Lennar representatives are working to finalize a solution regarding the water meters.