[ back ]
Briar Hill Lake dam deal called 'unprecedented'
(by Sue Reid - January 29, 2009)
Briar Hill Lake dam deal called 'unprecedented'
By SUE REID
An ordinance authorizing a storm-water-management lease agreement with the Briar Hill Lake Homeowners Association led to debate last week between Solon City Council members and members of the association.
The private dam in the Briar Hill Lake subdivision, which is north of the Route 422 freeway, has been discussed in the city for over a decade. The issue surrounding the dam arose about eight years ago, when the Ohio Department of Natural Resources mandated that it be upgraded or removed. At that time, the homeowners association began to seek the city's participatation in rebuilding the dam, which had cost estimates of over $1 million.
According to the proposal, the city would pay two-thirds of the cost up front for the estimated $1.2 million project, while the homeowners would be assessed for one-third the cost, with a cap of $500,000.
The lease agreement before council is "unprecedented," Councilman Edward H. Kraus said. It's the result of a tremendous amount of time and effort from all parties involved, he said, and will result in benefits to both the city and the homeowners association.
However, Councilman Edward K. Suit said he's not that optimistic. His objections are not about anything discussed historically on the issue, he said. "My objection is to the lease agreement only." It would be "irresponsible" for council to pass the agreement that night, he said.
Mr. Suit introduced a motion that was unanimously approved by council to refer the lease to the city's law director and set a chronology explaining what changes have been made in the agreement.
"There were several revisions and each revision obviously had something changed. There are things that bother me in the lease," Mr. Suit said. "I want to make sure the City of Solon is protected under this lease."
He said he also is concerned that there is an "alternative plan." He said one of the communications by the homeowners association refers to an alternative plan that has already been engineered by the URS engineering firm at minimal cost to the homeowners association if the dam method were discontinued. "I would like to know what that is," Mr. Suit said.
"We are here with one plan, and there is no other plan," Mr. Kraus said. "This is a safety concern for the community." He agreed that he does not want to rush the lease through. "It's a huge document with a lot in it," he said of the lease. "It's a critical document for the city."
"This is a fair lease to anyone concerned," said Adam Fair, a homeowners association board member. He said there are no alternative plans but rather discussions on the issue.
Solon Public Works Director James S. Stanek explained that "it all boils down to an issue of safety and economics.
"The ODNR has mandated the removal or reconstruction of the dam based on the potential for catastrophic damage and or loss of life should the old dam fail."
Mr. Stanek said a model log of the dam showed that it was providing significant storage for the city's storm-water system. "We need to replace that storage somewhere." He said the model showed that the city would spend at least $1 million to reacquire the storage that would be lost if the dam were breached.
Mr. Stanek said the city came up with the concept of leasing the storage area. Solon "does not want to be in the dam business, because we assume the ODNR responsibilities," he said.
"The benefit of the lease premise is that Briar Hill land stays Briar Hill land, and all we're leasing is the air space above the water level," Mr. Stanek said. "Most days, it's nothing but air space, but, when we need it, we have it. That allows us to contribute to the project."
[ back ]
