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Residents, experts urge council to rethink Lake Mitchell drawdown and dredge plan
Summary
Public commenters and technical experts told the Mitchell City Council that draining Lake Mitchell and manual dredging carry high costs and risks, including uncertain drying of sediment, lost fish habitat and disposal issues; a local group has raised nearly $1.1 million toward cleanup.
Public comment at the Aug. 6 Mitchell City Council meeting focused on the city’s Lake Mitchell improvement plan, where residents and technical witnesses urged caution about a proposed lake drawdown and manual dredging.
Tom Ferg (mentioned by a commenter) and other speakers told the council the plan “is not a permanent fix,” warning that drawing down the lake before securing bids could leave waterfront owners with failing retaining walls and create opportunities for contractors to raise prices. Julie McManus, a resident who said she consulted civil engineers and soil specialists, said hydraulic dredging is “less costly than manual dredging” and that voters may have misunderstood the proposal; she added that a crust can form on sediment and “it could take years to dry up.”
Neil Reff, a retired district conservationist representing a group opposed to the drawdown, described past projects where equipment could not access dried sediment and predicted long refilling timelines and disposal problems. “The soil involved coming out of there is absolutely sterile. It will not support anything but weeds,” Reff said, urging the council to consider chemical treatments used at other sites.
Council members and staff did not vote to change the plan at the meeting, but Mayor and staff clarified procedural limits: the vote authorizing funds for design placed the project into the city’s 10% debt capacity for a loan; any costs above that authorization would require further council approval. Friends of the Firesteel, a local fundraising group, reported “just under $1,100,000 of commitments to date” toward a roughly $3 million goal and said donors would not be asked for funds until bids are approved.
The council previously authorized design and initial work for the dredge phase; at the meeting, a councilor noted roughly $207,000 in remaining design fees with Barr Engineering that must be paid to proceed. Speakers asked the council to delay irreversible steps—such as draining the lake—until there was clear certainty on method, cost and disposal.
Next steps: council confirmed the consent-agenda approval and did not take additional action on the dredge method at this meeting; several speakers asked staff to return with more analysis and alternatives before any contract awards or lake drawdown schedules are finalized.
