The cost of a plan to renovate the Third Street Dam in Huron caught City Commissioners and Mayor Dave McGirr off guard last night. Ron Koth of Barr Engineering of Minneapolis explained to the Commission about retrofitting the low head dam on the James River at Huron…
The project would include better access for the multitude of anglers who fish the area around the damn. Koth urged the Commission to pass a motion allowing his company to go forward with engineering and allowing grant applications to begin. The initial engineering would cost the city 51-thousand dollars with a total engineering bill of 121-thousand dollars and that makes retrofitting the Third Street Dam for safety and fishing even spendier…
[audio:http://prprt.itmwpb.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/688/2012/04/damwork2.mp3|titles=damwork2]Mayor Dave McGirr admitted to sticker shock when the numbers came down..
[audio:http://prprt.itmwpb.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/688/2012/04/damwork3.mp3|titles=damwork3]The Commission has agreed to place the item on next weeks agenda to consider action on the plan. The City would have access to around 30-thousand dollars of a combination of Second Penny funds and Park and Recreation allocations, but would still need approximately 20-thousand dollars for the start-up engineering on the project. McGirr added that the dam has seen a number of drownings over the years and that something needs to be done to prevent fatalities in the future.