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Design for Briar Hill Lake dam takes form
(by Sue Reid - October 29, 2009)
Design for Briar Hill Lake dam takes form
By SUE REID
Everything with regards to the Briar Hill Lake dam reconstruction project, including the permitting and assessment processes, is based on the completion of its design, Solon Public Works Director James S. Stanek said last week.
At this point, Mr. Stanek said, the design of the project is 60 percent complete. It is still early on in the design phase, he said, "but at this point forward, it will start to be more and more detailed." He updated Solon City Council on the outcome of a recent meeting with URS engineers and the Briar Hill Homeowners Association.
"Everything is waiting on the design," Mr. Stanek said. The design of the project is pretty much in line with what the city expected it to be, he said. "There are no real surprises at this point."
The scope of services to be performed by URS engineers includes the detailed design of the Obermeyer dam, the permitting through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. An emergency action plan also is required by Ohio Department of Natural Resources for a Class 1 dam.
The joint project between the city and the Briar Hill subdivision homeowners, will involve reconstructing the dam and modifying it to accommodate storm-water management for the City of Solon as well as to help protect the downstream residents.
Mr. Stanek said that a preliminary schedule based on what may be detailed through the design has the project's start date slated for August 2010, with the completion in November and the restoration taking place in spring 2011.
After the design of the project is complete, the permitting process will begin, Mr. Stanek said. "They (the various agencies) need to have a complete design to review," he said. "That is why we are trying to get the design done." Once the permitting is complete, the project can go out to bid.
Tentative assessments for residents also will be established once the design is complete and an approximate project cost is determined. Something that could affect the time line of the project is whether there is a percentage of people objecting to the assessment, Mr. Stanek said. Those individuals would go through equalization board hearings at the city as part of the process, he said.
The project cost is estimated at between $1 million and $1.5 million, Mr. Stanek said. Briar Hill homeowners would pay one-third and the city would pay two-thirds. The homeowners' contribution is capped at $500,000, Mr. Stanek said.
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