Antrim official: dam, culvert and dredging work could cost millions; testing will determine final scope

Antrim County drain commissioner Leslie Myers told Charlevoix commissioners that preliminary studies and partial designs are in place for the Bel Air Dam and related dredging but that the final price tag depends on laboratory results for sediment contamination.

Myers summarized prior hydrologic and hydraulic studies and said the Bel Air Dam design was intended to be low‑maintenance and to hold a 500‑year storm. She cited an estimated $6.7 million construction figure for the dam and said the Ellsworth culvert is estimated at about $1.15 million, with engineering and soils testing costs for other sites still outstanding. "If contamination is found in any of that sedimentation in soils, the cost will rise," Myers said, noting the county had budgeted study funds and that sample collection was scheduled. Commissioners asked whether dredging cost estimates (presented as $1.5 million to $4 million for a lower stretch) assumed contamination removal and where dredged material could be placed; Myers said non‑contaminated spoils could be placed on Antrim County property to reduce hauling costs.

Commissioners requested clearer cost breakdowns and legal clarifications about how assessments would be calculated and challenged in court; Antrim staff emphasized that the SAD formation requires court approval of district boundaries and repeated board review stages.