Clare City Commissioners discuss Shamrock Lake Dam repairs

By ETHAN WALLACE 

CMU Journalism Intern

CLARE – At its June 15 meeting, the Clare City Commission discussed the Shamrock Lake Dam and setting up a contingency if they could not get the fund; the estimated cost for the project is $7,155,141.

The commissioners support the project as they work with the lowest bid with Fisher Contracting and engineers at GEI. The city has already made several changes since the original design, such as placing a coffer dam over the old dam to lower the cost.

The city has about $4.9 million from state allocation and $1.3 million from the EGLE (Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy). The commissioners said the city will have to find alternative options to cover dam costs if the city does not get their estimated $1 million FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) grant.

Jeremy Howard, city manager, said the state allocation is from the original dredging and will expire if they not used by Sept. 1. Since EGLE will likely make the city repair the dam in the future, they should do it while they have the funds from the original dredging.

“It’s hard to put your name on something like this,” Bob Bonham said.

The dam is considered high risk and there are concerns that it needs to be done, Howard said. The project will be split into two phases with the first phase costing about $6 million, and the second phase the remaining $1 million (if it does end up costing that much).

“We're putting a million dollar gamble up anyway you look at it, because we don't have that money,” Kim Russell said. “However, the project is already far in.”

Howard said that if the city does get the FEMA grant and there are excess funds for the dam, the city can have automated gates installed.

During his city manager report, Howard said he has reached out to seven companies for lake treatment options, including getting rid of the weeds, at Shamrock Lake. He said  the city has a broad cost range from $30,000 to $50,000. However, this cost could change once the companies get back.

The city did not decide at the meeting whether they were going through with lake treatment. Bonham said that they should do the treatment, but still need more information. Bids are expected to be put in place for lake treatment and have it done sometime in July.

In other news, Margie Dill was awarded at the meeting for her time on the Parks and Recreation Board from 2016 to 2026. 

“We recognize Margie for her service to our community,” Mayor Pat Humphrey said. “And was always willing to help out with other programs and events when available.”

Dill thanked the commissioners and said she had enjoyed working with the other board members.

During public comment, Carol Santini, president of the Clare County Arts Council, also thanked the city as she announced that all of the sculptures had been installed across this city.

At the end of the meeting, Howard reminded that the summer concert series is still happening every Thursday at 6 p.m. until Aug. 13 at Shamrock Park.