The problem: A Cub Hill sidewalk remains unrepaired after a storm drain is fixed.

The back story: Sometimes a simple problem has a simple solution.

And sometimes, two arms of the same agency experience communication problems.

About a year ago, a crew from Baltimore County's Department of Public Works repaired a storm drain near Diane Hopple's Cub Hill home. They had to tear up a sidewalk on Montreal Avenue near Erie Avenue to do the work. Members of the crew told Hopple that the other storm drains in the area were also made with inferior pipe and workers would return to fix them.

But since then, no one has returned to the block to do additional repairs, or even to finish the work that they had started.

Hopple wasn't sure what had happened.

"With the economy and everybody running out of money, I thought maybe that's why they haven't come back," she said.

But staring at the gravel on the side of her house had started to grate on nerves. Hopple's husband, who put a cone on it to warn pedestrians of the uneven surface, had been complaining about it, she said.

"I am getting kind of tired at looking at it like that," she said.

So, she e-mailed Watchdog, and Watchdog in turn contacted the Baltimore County Department of Public Works to find out what was happening.

Apparently a crew from DPW's Bureau of Utilities completed the storm drain repair but did not send a message to the Bureau of Highways, also part of Public Works, to request restoration of the sidewalk, said DPW spokesman David Fidler.

"Occasionally, these things slip through the cracks," Fidler said.

However, he had good news for the Hopples: the sidewalk will be fixed within 30 days, he said.

Who can fix this: Robert "Tim" Burgess, chief of Bureau of Highways, Baltimore County Department of Public Works. 410-877-3560.

— Liz F. Kay

Need help?

Is there something in your neighborhood that's not getting fixed? Tell us where the problem is and how long it's been there by e-mailing watchdog@baltsun.com or calling 410-332-6735.