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Commission recommends up to $6,000 for Podunk Lake dam repairs; commissioners weigh special-assessment options
Summary
The Committee of the Whole recommended spending up to $6,000 to repair the Podunk Lake dam and discussed creating a special assessment district to recover costs from benefitted property owners.
The Barry County Board of Commissioners Committee of the Whole on Sept. 2 voted to recommend the Board of Commissioners approve up to $6,000 for repairs to the Podunk Lake dam structure and directed staff to return with details on special-assessment options.
Jim Dull brought the request and said consultant Ron Ford estimated roughly $5,000 in repair work; Dull asked the commission to set aside $6,000 to cover contingencies. He said the county has absorbed expenses each year and currently has about $7,235.81 outstanding on the project.
"Typically, the lake level statute says we spend up to $10,000 doing repairs or whatever on any structure," Dull said, noting uncertainty about recovery of prior-year costs and past commissions' choices.
Commissioners discussed whether the matter should be handled by a special assessment district for the lake properties. Dull and commissioners noted that several other county dams are supported by special-assessment districts and that the county often pays if a structure fails.
"If this ever blows out, then you're gonna fix the dam and you're gonna do a special ... district at the same time," Dull said, stressing the county's liability in an emergency.
A resident from Podunk Lake, Rick Moore, said new property owners have recently moved into the watershed and urged maintenance of the dam while cautioning against retroactively taxing recent buyers for long-ago costs. "It's important to maintain that dam," Moore said.
The committee approved a motion to recommend spending up to $6,000 for repairs to the Podunk Lake dam and asked staff to look into the process and implications of establishing a special-assessment district and to report back with more information.
