Dam reconstruction plans under way at Austin Lake
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Thursday, February 12, 2006 ** you do not have permission to see this link ** 388-8575
Reconstruction of the dam at Austin Lake in Portage could begin next month, Kalamazoo County Drain Commissioner Bill French said.
Last April, the lake's levy began to leak and threatened to burst. It could have resulted in catastrophic flooding in Vicksburg, officials said. Two to three feet of water from Austin Lake and two others linked to it could have rushed into Gourdneck Creek then into Sunset Lake and the village of Vicksburg, they said.
The dam, built in 1958, underwent temporary repairs to repair the immediate leak. Construction on a new dam is expected to start in late March or early April, officials say. It could be finished by the end of April, though adverse weather could push completion back, said Larry Stehouwer, an engineer with Prein & Newhof, the firm working with the county on the dam.
The project will involve three contracts, the largest of which will be for the construction of the new dam. A second contract will be for the replacement of a drain culvert and clearing trees and brush from Sugarloaf Lake to West Lake.
A third will be for construction of a filtration basin.
The task of redrawing a drainage district and determining special assessments on properties to benefit from the dam have been the primary hurdles delaying the start of the project, French said. Extensive planning, however, has been going on for months, he said.
Lake residents have been waiting for tangible signs of progress.
Sid Helmus was one of more than 250 people who attended a meeting at Portage City Hall when the drain and dam work was approved in September.
More than four months after the meeting, Helmus said he was surprised to see no changes on the dam. “Why has it taken this long to even get to this point, if you're talking about life endangerment and a catastrophic flood?'' Helmus, a resident of Long Lake, said of the construction timetable on the dam.
The waters of Austin and Long lakes are connected. Helmus said he worries that problems with the Austin Lake dam could affect water levels on Long Lake.
French said, however, that the damaged levy at Austin Lake has not reduced water levels on Long Lake and that fluctuations being seen are a natural part of the seasonal cycle.
The drain commissioner said he has received 50 to 100 phone calls from concerned property owners. Some have inquired about the status of the dam. Others have said they don't think they'll benefit from a new dam and don't think they should have to pay for it.
The special assessment district will consist of about 1,450 parcels. Amounts owed by individual property owners have not been determined, French said. Assessments will depend on a variety of factors, such as the feet of lake frontage a piece of property has and the lake on which a parcel is located.
Those assessed for the new dam would see their first bills this summer. A date for a public hearing on the special assessments has not been set.
About 80 percent of properties subject to assessments are in Portage. Still undetermined is what portion of the project will be financed by assessments and what will be split among governments of Portage, Schoolcraft and Pavilion townships and Kalamazoo County.
Like Helmus, Austin Lake resident Barry Roelofs said he is also concerned about the delay in the project. Roelofs said that while he isn't opposed to paying a special assessment, he thinks the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and city of Portage should pay a significant share of the costs because thousands of people who don't own property on the lake use it.
“My biggest concern is (just) let's get it done,'' Roelofs said of the dam project. He said he fears property values and the city's tax base could be affected if the dam isn't fixed and the lake level recedes.
Trying to keep up with dams, public access, weed treatments, local zoning, ect is a real challenge, but it is important to MMA. I can post what I pick up with all my news contacts, but after that I and the MMA need to depend on the members that are local to the lake to attend the meetings, speak up as needed, and then report back to us. This is what makes MMA networking valuable to the fishery and helps the DNR.
County board presses drain commissioner on Austin dam
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Wednesday, May 17, 2006 By Sarita Chourey
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Kalamazoo County commissioners pressed Drain Commissioner Bill French on Tuesday to tell them when Austin Lake in Portage will have its new dam and how much it will cost.
They didn't get a firm answer to either question.
“If I pick a date, I tend to get myself beat up down the line,'' French said at Tuesday's county board meeting. The new dam will be in place in the southern portion of the 1,090-acre lake before November, he said.
Observers say the project has languished since the four-foot dam nearly burst in April 2005. At that time, work crews made emergency repairs to prevent what French said could have been “catastrophic'' flooding of downtown Vicksburg.
“I'll assume responsibility,'' French said of the delay in rebuilding the dam. “I thought the project would go a lot quicker.''
French said drain projects normally take about three years to complete, and he pointed to a series of legal and bureaucratic steps that have taken longer than anticipated.
Special assessments will be paid by owners of about 1,450 parcels on Austin, Long, and West lakes.
But details, such as how much those owners will pay, have not been disclosed. The municipalities of Portage, Schoolcraft, Pavilion, and Kalamazoo County will also undergo special assessment for the project, which will be split into three contracts. One contract is to replace the dam, another to construct a filtration basin and a third to remove trees from and replace a culvert.
Board Chairman Bob Brink on Tuesday echoed concerns of some lake residents.
“If it were a temporary repair made a year ago, and it was vital to repair it permanently, I feel somewhat appalled that it's taken this long to do it,'' he said. “In an emergency matter, I think things really could have been done differently.''
And Commissioner Jeff Heppler questioned the absence of even a cost estimate for the project, which lake residents are also eagerly awaiting.
“I don't see any numbers here to give us any clear numbers on what we're looking at,'' Heppler said. “Are you going to go to Hastings Bank and ask them for a blank check?''
French said attorneys have advised him not to disclose a cost. Making a total cost estimate public at this stage is, he said, “a very good way to generate a lawsuit'' from someone claiming to have been misled if the final cost changes.
“I was educated very early on not to discuss any cost at any time,'' said French, who became drain commissioner in 2005. “That's what I've been advised, and that's what I've stuck with.''
Commissioner Joseph Van Bruggen said, however, that keeping cost estimates secret for such a project is not typical. “I have a hard time understanding why a legal counsel would give you that advice,'' Van Bruggen told French.
Lake associations hear assessment plan for Austin dam
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Wednesday, May 24, 2006 By Lynn Turner ** you do not have permission to see this link ** 388-8564
Property owners around Austin, West and Long lakes in Portage will split the estimated $500,000 cost of a new dam, filtration basin and wetland areas with the city and Kalamazoo County, the drain commissioner told members of two lake associations Tuesday night.
“It's a very rough estimate, because we don't know what the cost is, because we have not (yet) put it out for bid,'' Kalamazoo County Drain Commissioner William French told members of the West Lake Improvement Association during the group's annual meeting at the Portage District Library.
French repeated the figure to members of the Austin Lake Riparians during their meeting a short distance away at Lake Center Elementary School.
The new dam will replace the crumbling one in the southeastern section of Austin Lake. Built in 1958, the dam required emergency repairs in April 2005 to keep water from potentially flooding downtown Vicksburg and residential areas.
A formula will be devised to split the cost among 1,450 land parcels within the assessment district, French said. Thirty percent of the cost will be shouldered by the city of Portage and Kalamazoo County. Costs for owners of commercial and industrial properties will be higher than for homeowners.
“This is probably one of the largest assessments (in terms of parcels involved) the county has ever had to do,'' he said.
The assessment formula will take into account legal and engineering costs already incurred for the project, the inclusion of a contingency fund and the assessment portions to be paid by the municipalities, French said. Residential rates will be based in part on proximity to the project, land use, acreage and lake frontage.
Now to be done are soliciting bids for the project, preparing legal notices and setting a date when residents, after receiving their assessment notices, can appeal.
The dam work should be done by the end of July, French told the estimated 70 residents who attended either of the two meetings.
“This shouldn't take that long at all,'' he said of replacing the four-foot dam with a 3/8-inch steel interlocking barrier that will curve into the lake to reduce ice buildup. “I'm thinking two or three weeks. It should be August at the latest.''
Some residents doubted French's timeline.
“I would bet it won't even start in July,'' Austin Lake resident Judy Pool said after the meeting.
Patrick Duggan, president of the West Lake Improvement Association, praised French for his work with the groups.
“Why rush to do something haphazard and have problems down the road?'' Duggan said of the lake project. “Why not do it like Bill said, do it right, cross the t's and dot the i's?''
Property owners ask about dam costs Assessments for Austin Lake dam still not known
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Wednesday, June 7, 2006 By Sarita Chourey
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Property owners expecting to pay for a new dam on Austin Lake questioned Tuesday how they would benefit from the dam and how much they will owe.
They'll have to wait until at least the end of July for an answer.
“The time to ask those questions is when the computations have been done,'' Board of Determination Chairman Jeff Sorensen told about 50 people who attended a meeting at Portage City Hall.
Owners of about 1,450 parcels on Austin, Long, and West lakes will pay special assessments over a three-year period to replace the Austin Lake Dam, which threatened to burst in April of 2005 and cause what Kalamazoo County Drain Commissioner Bill French said could have been “catastrophic'' flooding of downtown Vicksburg.
Neighbors Clarence Annen and Oliver Pollard questioned at Tuesday's meeting why Vicksburg residents are not required to share in the expense. “They probably receive more of a benefit from the dam than the residents of Long Lake,'' Annen said.
Residents also wanted to know how many property owners would be sharing the bill for the project, which is expected to cost $500,000 to $600,000 and be completed this summer. French did not provide the number of property owners who would share the cost.
Portage, Kalamazoo County and Pavilion and Schoolcraft townships will be assessed 40 percent of the cost, with the rest divided among private-property owners and the municipal governments on a per-parcel basis. Assessments will vary depending on which lake a property borders, how far it is from the project site, front footage, acreage and land use.
Tony Kaufman, a representative of the Lake Village Homestead, said he went to Tuesday's meeting to remind officials of an agreement he said the farming cooperative made with state and local governments five years ago to shield it from assessments on non-farm drains. The group has property along Long Lake, abutted by 160 acres it has promised not to develop.
“We're willing to contribute something to it to be a good lake neighbor,'' Kaufman said of the portions of two of the group's four parcels that could be subject to special assessments.
Austin Lake could have dam by December
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Wednesday, October 04, 2006 By Sarita Chourey
** you do not have permission to see this link ** 388-8575
Austin Lake could have a new dam in December, Kalamazoo County Drain Commissioner Bill French said Tuesday.
The project is expected to cost about $600,000.
“That's just a very, very rough estimate,'' French said during a meeting with county commissioners Tuesday. “We don't know specifically until we get cost estimates back from contractors.''
The project will be broken into four contracts. Bids from contractors should be in by late October or early November, and construction on the dam project, including cleaning the drain and building a culvert and filtration basin, should take about six weeks to complete, according to French.
Owners of about 1,100 parcels on Austin, Long, and West lakes will pay special assessments for the dam, to be installed at the south end of the 1,090-acre Austin Lake. The current dam nearly burst in April 2005, according to French.
In September 2005, a three-member board headed by Cooper Township Supervisor Jeff Sorensen approved the necessity of replacing the dam. Timetables for reconstruction have since been repeatedly extended.
“I am just waiting to see really what happens,'' said Austin Lake Riparians president John Crago, who has been frustrated by the delays. “Right now, I wouldn't hold my breath.''
“Any time you get a promise from the drain commissioner, take it with a grain of salt,'' Crago said.
Patrick Duggan, president of the West Lake Improvement Association, which has worked with French on the Austin Lake dam project, praised the drain commissioner during Tuesday's county board meeting.
“I wish the true story would get out, and people would realize he's an asset,'' Duggan said of French, after the meeting. “I support him 100 percent. I think he's been railroaded by the media.''
Documents in French's personnel file, reported in the Kalamazoo Gazette, chronicle accusations of sexual harassment against him by county employees. Also, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality is considering fining the drain commissioner's office for failing to submit several environmental reports to the state.
Separate misdemeanor criminal charges against French alleging he stole a railroad marker and alleging he committed extortion in his dealings with a builder on a drain permit are pending in court.
“I really feel a lot of that has been unfair publicity,'' French said after Tuesday's meeting with the county board.
Of the reports that state officials say are missing, French said Tueday that “reports have been submitted to MDEQ. Beyond that, I have no comment.''
Rick Rusz, enforcement specialist for MDEQ's water bureau, confirmed this morning that the state received the required reports from French on Tuesday. He said state officials are still reviewing French's earlier responses concerning filing delays.
Dam project More money, more problems
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Tuesday, October 17, 2006 By Sarita Chourey
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Finishing the Austin Lake Dam project is going to take about eight months longer and cost about $175,000 more than expected, according to the engineering firm that's consulting with the Kalamazoo County drain commissioner.
During a meeting with the county Board of Commissioners on Oct. 4, Drain Commissioner Bill French said the new dam and other improvements at the Portage lake would take six weeks to complete after bids were received in late October or early November. The cost was estimated at $600,000.
The new timeline, pushing the project's completion to mid-2007, is needed to accommodate contractors' schedules and coordinate some work with suitable seasonal conditions, Larry Stehouwer, an engineer with Prein & Newhof, based in Grand Rapids, said Monday.
The $775,000 project is expected to consist of four contracts: tree removal, construction of a filtration basin on the west side of West Lake, culvert replacement and installation of a new dam on the south end of 1,090-acre Austin Lake. Bids for the projects will be received Nov. 7, he said.
“The critical element — the dam — we'll request that be done with an earlier completion date,'' Stehouwer said.
“Everybody wants to pin (the completion date) down precisely. But you hire the contractor, and you have to live with his schedule, too. You have to give more latitude than that.''
French, who took office Jan. 1, 2005, could not be reached for comment.
French and engineers worked to repair the dam through the night of April 21, 2005, to prevent what French said could have become “a catastrophic flood of downtown Vicksburg and residential areas.''
In May, lake residents petitioned the drain commissioner to reconstruct the dam, clean debris from the 2.7-mile Austin Lake drain-extension outlet from Austin and West lakes to Sugarloaf Lake and improve the site to prevent future flooding and stabilize lake levels.
Prein & Newhof assisted French with the emergency repairs in April 2005, conducted public meetings, designed the plans and specifications for the four aspects of the project and re-established the historic drainage district, Stehouwer said. The Kalamazoo County Drain Office has paid the firm $89,447, according to invoices from May 2005 to July 2006.
Property owners will be able to review their assessments and make comment to the drain commissioner during an all-day meeting at Portage City Hall, tentatively scheduled for Nov. 14. Of about 1,401 parcels in the special- assessment district, about 1,100 are in Portage, Stehouwer said. The remaining parcels are in Pavilion Township, Schoolcraft and elsewhere in Kalamazoo County.
Stehouwer declined to say what the average assessment would total.
Dam delays, accusations put drain commissioner in spotlight this year
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12/29/06 ** you do not have permission to see this link ** 388-8557
Kalamazoo County Drain Commissioner William French considers the Austin Lake Dam project one of his office's success stories, despite construction delays and public criticism.
“While it's taken longer than anybody wanted it to, it was done correctly, and we are starting construction on what will be a very good project,'' French said.
French, 56, is completing his second year in office.
The Austin Lake Dam project is among a number of issues that have thrust French into the public spotlight this year. Others include allegations of sexual harassment, pending criminal charges of theft of a railroad mile marker and extortion, and criticism of his job performance.
French this year also agreed to pay $8,000 in fines to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality because of failure to submit paperwork on time.
“I have done the job that I was elected to do under some very challenging circumstances,'' said French, who said he believes the drain office functions better now than under his predecessor.
“The office is much better organized, the filing system has been turned around,'' he said. “I think the most significant thing is the Austin Lake project.''
Problems with the dam surfaced in April 2005 when French, after meeting with engineers, determined emergency repairs were needed.
A temporary fix solved the immediate threat and the drain commissioner said a potentially catastrophic flood of Vicksburg had been averted.
Since then, deadlines have been missed to start the work, which includes construction of a new dam and filtration basin, culvert replacement and tree removal.
He said the project will cost around $643,000. He declined to say when the project will be completed.
Outgoing county board Chairman Bob Brink urged the board this month to take a closer look at the drain-commission operations, including the office's failure to pay bills on time and projects that have not been completed.
County leaders have also gotten complaints from residents who say French is not available enough. The county board sets French's salary, but it has no power to remove him from office, since he is elected.
French said he has gotten better in communicating with the public because he now has a county-approved cell phone. He said he returns messages within two to three days. He also said he tries to keep office hours in the evenings.
“I do have a tremendous amount of support out there in the community,'' French said. “There are a number of people that understand what the job consists of and appreciate what I have done, and recognize I'm doing a good job.''
In the pending extortion case, French allegedly told a developer who was putting a housing plat in Ross Township that he needed a $1,000 permit to continue, and that he would be fined for not getting the permit earlier, according to prosecutors.
French allegedly told the developer he could resolve the problem by donating $1,000 to a fund for the Goff Drain in Ross Township, prosecutors said.
The sexual-harassment complaints by some county employees include allegations that he grabbed the leg of a female employee in 2004 while French served on the county parks commission, but before he was elected drain commissioner.
A former county human resources director, Rick Kinas, also wrote French a memo warning him against sexual harassment and documenting complaints from several female county employees who said French had difficulty making eye contact when speaking to them and would stare at their breasts.
“I feel those allegations have absolutely no basis, and I don't feel the county handled it properly,'' said French, who said he plans to seek re-election in 2008, when his four-year term ends.
French blamed many of his problems on the Kalamazoo Gazette. He accused the newspaper of writing negative stories about him.
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