COLERAIN TOWNSHIP, Ohio — From 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Steve Schnebeli watched as dozens of dump truck loads of dirt were pulled from the huge earthen mound built behind his Raeann Drive home by the developers of the new Colerain Township Wawa.
Schnebeli told us in early August about the problems caused to him and his neighbors since the pile was built in December, including flooding, water run-off and more.
Since then, we've covered multiple Colerain Township meetings — including one where a Wawa representative told trustee Cathy Ulrich there was no plan to move the pile or level the dirt — and searched for solutions to the problem pile.
Shnebeli told us Thursday he was surprised to see heavy machinery moving the dirt elsewhere.
"I'm feeling good," he said, standing below a backhoe dropping dirt into a dump truck.
"I don't know who's responsible," he said. "I'll pick two people who I think are responsible. WCPO, you, and the attention of Carrie Davis."
Carrie Davis is now running for trustee in Colerain Township, but long before she filed to run, she was trying to advocate for the people living on Raeann Drive.
The campaign sign taped to her car reads "the most hated person in Colerain" in reference to her constant picking at township administration and elected leadership.
We asked what she felt as a dump truck drove out of the Wawa parking lot and passed us on Colerain Avenue.
"I feel like the residents won," she said.
We asked Wawa what the final plan for the dirt removal was, where the dirt was going and what led to the change at the property. A representative didn't answer those questions and, instead, responded with this statement:
"As we said previously, this is still an active construction site and our work is ongoing at this time. As always, we pride ourselves on being good neighbors and it is our intent to keep those involved updated on our progress and to build a store that is an asset to the community."
We asked the Hamilton County Conservation District, Colerain Township administration and two township trustees whether they were aware of the new developments on the property, and each one told us that they weren't updated on the progress.
Schebeli hopes the pile is leveled completely, even if that doesn't completely satisfy his problems with the development.
"I still don't know who's responsible. I just know I'm happy with this," he said.
The Colerain Township Zoning Board asked the law director at a recent meeting to explore their legal options regarding the pile and the legal authority to ensure something like it isn't built elsewhere. They expect that report at their September meeting.
Watch our previous coverage on the dirt pile here:
