Common Council scheduled to make final decision on fate of dam and lake Feb. 16
By Jason Arndt
Staff Writer
The City of Burlington Park Board on Thursday recommended removing the Echo Lake Dam on a 6-1 vote.
The recommendation will go before the Common Council for final consideration next month.
The Common Council, which plans to discuss the matter at a Feb. 1 meeting, could opt to move forward with the Park Board recommendation and effectively drain Echo Lake or vote against the recommendation in a resolution scheduled for consideration on Feb. 16.
A decision by city officials next month assures Burlington can apply for Municipal Dam Grant funding, which has a deadline of March 4, and could bring in up to $1 million in financial assistance for whichever project the Common Council decides.
As for potential dam removal, the pending decision could create additional recreational opportunities for the Echo Lake area and come at an estimated minimal cost of $1.5 million and up to $6.5 million with enhancements.
Park Board member Clay Brandt, the lone opponent of demolishing the Echo Lake Dam on the Park Board, said in a memo his decision hinged on the dam’s assets and popularity among residents and visitors.
Park Board members voting for removal were President Patricia Hoffman, Secretary Marilee Hoffman along with commissioners Sara Spencer, Cassie Quist, Annie Roebke and aldermanic representative Steve Rauch.
Patricia Hoffman recognized the decision did not come easy, however, she told people in attendance the city did its due diligence in promoting transparency in the matter.
The decision, however, comes after supporters of Echo Lake issued another compassionate plea to the Park Board.
Michael Lawrence, of Burlington, said he believes most Burlington residents seek to salvage the Echo Lake Dam through proposed modifications of the structure deemed non-compliant by the state Department of Natural Resources.
“The vast majority of the citizens of Burlington want to see the dam replaced instead of removed. Many are not even aware of what’s going on with everything,” he said. “And there are many more that are not citizens, but live in a township that this affects.”
Additionally, Wallace pointed out the city’s investment in the Burlington Community Aquatic Center, which saw comparable pricing.
“If you could manage to spend the millions of dollars on a new pool that is only open for a few months in the summer, you can spend the same amount on one of our best resources in the city to make it viable,” he added.
Investing in replacing the Echo Lake Dam, according to estimates from engineering consultant Ayres Associates, could cost between $1.5 to $2.6 million and does not include the anticipated cost of dredging Echo Lake for $2.4 million.
Lake drained regardless
Regardless of option, even with dam modifications, city officials said residents should expect Echo Lake to be drained to accommodate constructing a replacement or removing the structure.
Patricia Hoffman, at a Jan. 13 special Park Board meeting, asked what the timeline would look like if the city decides to remove the dam.
Director of Public Works Peter Riggs said regardless of the option chosen, there would be a period of time where Echo Lake would lose its eye appeal, and present unpleasant smells from the thousands of pounds of sediment in the lakebed.
Riggs on Thursday estimates it could take about a year before Echo Lake returns to its current state after dredging occurs.
Echo Lake currently has an estimated average depth of two feet and has about 500,000 pounds of phosphorous sediment.
However, under the dredging project, the city could increase the lake depth to four feet.
For full coverage of the Park Board’s recommendation, see the Jan. 27 edition of the Burlington Standard Press.
-
-
-
-
-