City can seek state grant now and still change course of Echo Lake dam project in future, officials say
The members of the Burlington Common Council are scheduled Tuesday to discuss a proposal that could buy officials some time to refine or even change their decision regarding the future of the Echo Lake dam while a funding request is under consideration by the state.
The city faces a March 4 deadline to apply for up to $1 million in funding for modification or removal of the dam through the state Department of Natural Resources Dam Grant program.
“The grant application requires that we specify a project type modification or removal. Luckily, this is just one step along the path towards spillway compliance and WDNR has stated that this choice can be changed in the future should the council have a compelling reason to do so,” city staff wrote in a memo to council members.
Staff members recommend the council approve a resolution at its Feb. 16 meeting seeking funding for modifications to the dam rather than removal.
“This is simply a starting point for the council discussion and reflects a project that is closest to maintaining the status quo,” the city’s memo states. “Staff’s recommendation is to approve a grant application, and is impartial on which type of project should be pursued.”
What such a move would do, according to city staff, is give elected officials additional time to study the benefits and drawbacks of the two options – removal of the dam and draining of the lake or modification of the dam and retention of the lake.
It could also accommodate an advisory or binding referendum that would give city voters the opportunity to express their preferences at the ballot box. The council would have until late August to decide whether to pursue a referendum on the Nov. 8 ballot, according to city staff.
On Monday, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, sent a letter to Mayor Jeannie Hefty and the Common Council urging them to schedule a referendum on the dam’s future. Vos said he believes the recent recommendation from the Park Board to remove the dam “goes against the viewpoint of a vast majority of citizens in Burlington.”
For full coverage of Tuesday’s discussion see the Feb. 3 edition of the Burlington Standard Press.
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