MOUNT VERNON — With engineering consultants close to completing a report on the costs to repair and maintain the Knox Cattle Company Dam, it is time to present their findings to the community.
Common Pleas Judge Richard Wetzel scheduled two public meetings in July, both to be held in the Woodward Opera House:
•Wednesday, July 6 at 4 pm
•Thursday, July 7 at 6 pm
At issue is who is responsible for operating and maintaining the dam. The issue first arose in 2019 during the city’s discussions about creating a stormwater utility.
In June 2020, the State of Ohio, at the request of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, filed a civil suit in Knox County Common Pleas Court asking the court to declare the legal owner(s) of the dam.
In October 2020, the state asked the court to order the City of Mount Vernon, acting on behalf of ODNR, to take interim risk reduction measures until the owners are determined and the dam is brought into compliance with ODNR regulations. The city lowered the water level in the lake and completed the interim repairs last year.
There are three options for the dam:
•Repair and maintain the dam to conform with ODNR requirements
•Reduce the height of the dam and/or the volume of the reservoir such that it is no longer subject to ODNR requirements
•Breach and remove the dam
The Knox County commissioners have set aside $1 million in ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) money for dam repairs.
“The cost of maintaining the existing dam would probably exceed $1 million, so we have been focusing on the other two alternatives,” Stephen Samuels, co-counsel for the city, said in a June 10 conference call among counsel for parties involved in the suit. “You will still have a lot of stormwater, and how are you going to manage that? That becomes very significant.”
State’s attorney Brett Kravitz said the report will have estimated capital costs within 20% plus or minus. It will also include ongoing operations and maintenance costs.
“The intent of the meetings is to inform, but we will not reach a conclusion that night,” he said. “We are not going to get into who will be assessed, and we will not discuss whether the city will take over maintenance.”
Judge Wetzel previously said that because the watershed area involves a larger area than The Landings development, additional parties could potentially be added to the suit to spread out the cost of future maintenance.
At Wetzel’s direction, Samuels filed a map showing the drainage areas above and below the dam. On the south, the area extends to Ohio Eastern Star Home property. It also includes properties north of Yauger Road and east and west of The Landings.
Samuels also filed a list of properties that fall into the watershed area. About 262 properties are within The Landings development; another 114 are outside The Landings.
Wetzel said that if additional parties are to be added, it will be after the July meetings.
