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Chagrin readies bidding for dam project
(by Barbara Christian - December 15, 2010)
Chagrin readies bidding for dam project
By BARBARA CHRISTIAN
The Chagrin Falls Village administrator was authorized Monday to prepare a bid package for modification of the Spillway dam and stream restoration off Cleveland Street. The project was awarded a $480,000 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency earlier this year.
Village Council unanimously approved the action, which was necessary by the end of the year to satisfy grant requirements. The project will be advertised in early 2011, and the work must be completed by the end of 2011, village Administrator Ben Himes said.
Prior to the vote, Mayor Tom Brick said council should be encouraged with the progress on the Spillway property, which is the site of the former Alcoa-Ivex paper mill.
While the vote was unanimous, Councilman Rick Subel voiced concern with the village's liability if dam owner Spillway Partners LLC is unable to obtain matching funds, cannot pay for possible overruns once the work begins or if environmental issues are discovered.
Council President Steve Patton said the bid process is just the first step in moving the project forward. He said council or its finance committee will meet with Spillway owners as the process continues.
Village Law Director Steve Byron said the Spillway dam work would not be awarded without certain assurances from the owners.
Mr. Brick said the agreements were constructed "so we are not at risk."
Councilwoman Janna Lutz said that preparing bids and specifications does not obligate the village. "This is just the next step, and we will need to see all the numbers" before awarding the work, she said.
Work at the century-old, manmade dam includes lowering the structure to half, or about 10 feet, to remove the risk of downstream flooding in the event of a catastrophe.
The plan has received approvals from both the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the EPA, Mr. Patton said.
A lower height also exempts the dam from inspections and state mandates. In addition, lowering the dam will restore the Chagrin River above it to its natural course and improve water quality, according to environmental officials. The project is central to the Spillway redevelopment project, because the dam is part of an existing main building on the property.
Mitigation of the dam is the first step in the redevelopment of the Spillway property, which village residents voted to rezone two years ago to allow mixed use.
A brewery, restaurants, bar, retail spaces, movie theater, office building and high-end condominiums are planned.
The goal, according to Spillway Partners, is to preserve and reuse as many of the older structures on the property as it could. That includes the original mill building, which dates back to the 1870s.
Spillway Partners are Bob Darden, Darren Wyville and Bill Phillips, while Tim Conway, a Chagrin Falls native, film star and comedian, is an investor.
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