Residents implore Grafton officials to fix dam

Grafton residents on Monday beseeched trustees to fix the Grafton dam, with one man telling officials he would “hypothetically” pay to repair the structure.

“Hypothetically speaking, I’ll fix the dam, pay for it,” Reiss Hansen, 1971 Mary Glade Dr., told the Village Board.

But, he said, the issue must be dealt with transparently.

“I know there’s a move, a lot of people want the dams out. This is not an appropriate time for that,” Hansen said. “Really, it’s not. We’ve got dump trucks ... cement mixers ripping up our town and now we want to gut the dam, the best part of this town. I don’t think so.
“I made an offer, hypothetically, and I want to see how it’s received.”

Curtiss Peck, 1234 Water Ter., told the board that the issue should be viewed as a matter of stewardship, saying the current discussion is “not constructive and is contributing to divisiveness within Grafton and adjacent communities.”

He recommended that the village establish a long-term Milwaukee River Stewardship Taskforce that would represent multiple views to create a long-term plan.

“In the short term, realize the dam and flood gate are one aspect of genuine stewardship. To sustain responsible stewardship of the Milwaukee River and its associated uses, the flood gate should be repaired so its intended purpose can be restored,” Peck said.

“Repairing the flood gate now is an investment toward the stewardship of the Milwaukee River and the quality of life for all current and future Grafton residents.”

A hydraulic cylinder on the dam failed during the night of May 1, sending a surge of water downstream and substantially draining the millpond.

A village crew unsuccessfully tried to move the gate from its lowest setting, and a study by dam consultant J.F. Brennan Co. of La Crosse then revealed the cause of the failure was a faulty hydraulic cylinder.

The cost of repairing the cylinder is estimated to be $154,000 if a refurbished cylinder is used or $180,000 if a new one is used, and the village staff recommended buying a new one to repair the dam.

In June, the Grafton Village Board voted unanimously not to immediately repair the Bridge Street dam but instead postponed a decision about the future of the dam until Aug. 3 while officials research whether it makes long-term sense to fix the dam or remove it.

While they acknowledged that residents voted in  2010 to preserve the dam, officials said times have changed and the matter deserves another look.

But Bill Hass, 1226 Water Ter., noted that a July 9 report by Roth Professional Solutions, which inspected the dam on June 23, said that while the concrete gravity and ogee components remain generally stable, “immediate priority must be given to evaluating and repairing the hydraulic crest gate mechanism to restore full operational control over the impoundment.”

Hass told the board it’s important to repair the dam, adding, “We all know this isn’t about dollars. It’s a priority issue.”

When the historic lime kilns in Lime Kiln Park needed work last year, he said, the village found the money and the same can be done with the dam.

At last week’s Board of Public Works meeting, several residents questioned why the dam issue wasn’t part of its discussion.

“This committee’s in charge of the technical work,” Sue Hass, 1226 Water Ter., said, adding that the board should be making a recommendation to the Village Board. “That’s the process. It’s backwards right now.”

Former Village Trustee Lisa Harbeck, 907 17th Ave., noted that the village shouldn’t depend on one bid, saying many people are interested in the project and village policy requires three bids.

Village Administrator Tim Wellnitz said Monday that  options for the dam — repairing or razing it, the costs and the implications — will be presented to the Village Board during its 6 p.m. Monday, Aug. 3, meeting.

The board, he noted, asked to have the information forwarded directly to it, not to the Board of Public Works, and trustees will determine what happens after hearing the options.