Township told it must cover initial $10,000 for Locke Lake engineering study

Commissioner Vetsch and County Engineer Chad Hausmann briefed the Silver Creek Township Board on steps to seek Town Bridge account funds to address water outflow and improve water control at Locke Lake. The board was told the township would be responsible for the initial $10,000 of engineering costs to commission a hydraulic analysis that will determine whether the issue qualifies as a Town Bridge project and could be credited toward that $10,000 if the project is triggered. County and state approvals would be required before county funds become available, and officials estimated a likely timeline of one to five years before funds could be used.

Resident Johan Massmann urged the board to take an aggressive approach to pursuing the study and subsequent work. The board did not vote on funding at the meeting; next steps are to hire a consultant to perform the hydraulic analysis and to follow up on how long any resulting engineering study would remain valid for future funding applications.