Mitchell council hears updated Lake Mitchell dredge plan as state trims loan term

Mitchell city officials received a detailed update on the Lake Mitchell dredge project and related jetty improvements during the council meeting. City staff said the total project budget remains $25 million but the state will only approve a 20‑year loan at about 3.5 percent rather than the 30‑year financing the city had hoped for, increasing debt service by roughly $200,000.

Melissa, a city staff member leading the presentation, said, “they have said … they will only approve us at a 20 year loan at a 3.5% interest rate.” She told the council the shift shortens the repayment period and increases total interest costs; staff estimated the change would translate to roughly $5,000,000 more in interest over the life of the loan compared with the longer term scenario.

Why it matters: the change affects the city’s annual debt obligations and timing for construction phases. Staff said the application will be heard by DANR at a January meeting and, if approved, bidding is expected next fall. Mr. Schrader, city staff overseeing construction coordination, said permitting remains a key uncertainty and that core drilling and site investigation will precede major excavation. “On a project of this scale, there’s always curve balls,” he said.

Game, Fish & Parks and city staff also proposed shoreline and jetty access improvements intended to increase safe public access and fishing opportunities. One low‑impact option is block steps at three jetty locations; staff estimated those steps at about $9,950 per location. A possible aluminum U‑shaped fishing pier was shown in preliminary plans with a rough cost estimate near $75,000; other shore‑access concepts for Windy Point and the substation area were each preliminarily estimated at about $40,000.

Council members raised safety and operational questions. One councilor asked about proximity to boat traffic and whether steps near boat slips could create conflicts; staff responded the steps would be placed to avoid boat channels and estimated the steps would sit roughly 100 feet from boat activity. The city and Game, Fish & Parks also discussed stock enhancement after refilling; staff said the agency is prepared to assist with stocking and expects improved fish habitat in the years after dredging.

Technical next steps outlined to the council included additional core sampling of the spillway face, finalizing bid documents after drawdown sampling, and coordinating whether the drawdown gate work and dredging are contracted together or separately. Staff noted that final bidding documents for the dredge will be refined once the lake is lowered and testing of the lakebed is complete.

Council action and outlook: no formal vote was required; council expressed general support for continuing with design and exploring a change order to add the block steps to the jetty contract if members want to proceed. The DANR loan decision and final scope for drawdown and dredge contracting are the next procedural milestones.