Posted on October 10, 2017
By John Kline, Goshen News
Members of the Goshen Dam Pond Dredging Advisory Board Friday approved an amended $1.1 million contract with Grand Rapids, Michigan-based dredging company Grow America to begin work on Phase II of the long-awaited Goshen Dam Pond dredging project.
Earlier this week, the Goshen Board of Public Works and Safety gave its nod of approval to the same contract, though at a slightly higher price of $1.37 million. The contract was then forwarded on to the dredging advisory board, which needed to sign off on the contract in order for the dredging project to officially begin.
However, when the contract arrived before the advisory board Friday, it was discovered that the project price listed on the contract — $1,368,218 — was slightly higher than the $1,361,018 in funding available for the project. Given the discrepancy, Goshen Director of Public Works Dustin Sailor, who has been helping to manage the project, informed the advisory board that the contract would need to be amended to reflect the smaller figure and sent back to the board of works for a final vote.
Given the need to amend the contract, advisory board member Adam Scharf suggested that the contract be further amended to reflect what he felt was an overestimation of the total available funds for the project.
In explaining his suggestion, Scharf noted that the funding currently listed as available for the project includes $300,000 in Lake and River Enhancement (LARE) grants through the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
Funded through the LARE fee paid annually by boat owners when they register their boats with the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, a single project may received a total of $300,000 in LARE grant funding over three years — $100,000 each year. The dam pond dredging project was officially awarded its first $100,000 grant in April of this year, and while it has not yet received the two additional $100,000 grants, project proponents included that funding in the project total, anticipating that the funding would be forthcoming.
However, Scharf on Friday said recent conversations with DNR officials have left him skeptical that the additional $200,000 in LARE funding will be forthcoming. So, in the spirit of accuracy, Scharf suggested that the contract be amended to reflect the removal of that $200,000, to which the board agreed.
In keeping with that train of thought, Advisory Board President David Troup suggested that the contract be further amended to remove an additional $25,000 from the final total, as a $25,000 land lease agreement with Kercher’s Orchards needed for the project’s silt dewatering pads will be finalized shortly, and thus that funding will no longer be available either. The board again agreed.
With the suggested amendments approved, a motion was put forward and passed in a vote of 2-1 to approve the dredging contract as amended at a final cost of $1.1 million. Voting for the motion were advisory board members Troup and Chris Martin. Scharf voted against the measure.
With its approval by the advisory board, the contract as amended will now be forwarded back to the Goshen Board of Public Works for a final vote, likely at the board’s upcoming Oct. 16 meeting.
The project
In the works for nearly half a decade, the idea for the dam pond dredging project was first brought to the public back in early 2013 by members of the Elkhart River Restoration Association, a local nonprofit founded in 1983 with the goal of studying the needs of the Elkhart River and its watershed.
According to the ERRA, the 140-acre pond behind the Goshen dam has become filled with sediment over the course of its more than 150-year existence. The silting has resulted in a reduction in the pond’s depth, the group says, and has also created significant aquatic vegetation growth. The shallow water also limits the recreational use of the pond and has resulted in degradation of fish and wildlife habitat, according to the group.
Faced with such a predicament, the city, Elkhart County and pond property owners formed a partnership several years ago aimed at securing enough funding to implement a large-scale dredging project for the pond.
The Goshen Dam Pond Dredging Advisory Board serves as the guiding force behind the project. Created last fall as part of an interlocal agreement between the project’s major players, the three-member board includes Troup, a dam pond property owner and president of the ERRA, Scharf, a Goshen city councilman appointed by the city, and Martin, a dam pond property owner appointed by the county. Troup was appointed to the board by members of the Goshen Dam Pond Economic Improvement District.
Established in October 2014, the Goshen Dam Pond EID is a 10-year agreement approved by the Elkhart County Board of Commissioners with the goal of raising funds to support the dredging of the pond. Under the EID, properties surrounding the pond are assessed an annual fee ranging from between $200 to $500 depending on the amount of frontage owned.
Rounding out the project’s current leadership is Sailor, who as head of the Goshen Engineering Department has been managing the project on behalf of the other players.
The plan
As originally proposed, the partnership had hoped to have approximately 34 acres of the pond dredged to an average depth of 6 to 8 feet. The plan involved dividing the pond into six sections that would be dredged according to priority and as funding allowed. The dredged silt would then be transported to farmland along Kercher Road where it would be spread out to dry.
City officials put the project out for bid in early 2015, and Grow America was eventually selected as the contractor of choice with a low bid of $2.6 million.
Phase I of the project, which included development of the overall dredging plan, all necessary permitting, and design of the confined sediment placement site, access road, and staging area, was approved by the Board of Works in January 2016 at a cost of $143,500.
At the time, it was anticipated that a contract for Phase II of the project, which includes the actual dredging work, would be finalized with Grow America later that year once all permitting had been completed and additional project funding secured. However, fundraising issues would eventually force the group to take a step back and reevaluate the overall scope and design of the proposed dredging.
Not counting the funding already spent on Phase I of the project, the group has secured just over $1 million to date for the actual dredging of the pond — roughly half of the original goal. Making up a majority of that funding are pledges from the Goshen and Elkhart County stormwater boards, grants from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and the Community Foundation of Elkhart County, and funds raised through the Goshen Dam Pond EID.
Given the funding shortfall, the advisory board eventually decided to scale back the project, at least temporarily.
After a number of community meetings and brainstorming sessions, the advisory board in January settled on its current plan, which calls for the dredging of about 17 of the originally targeted 34 acres, and dividing that dredging between five of the six primary areas of focus identified in the original plan.
Source: Goshen News
