News Photo by Crystal Nelson The Cedar Lake Dam, located at the north end of the lake, is pictured on Friday on Cedar Lake Drive.

GREENBUSH — The Cedar Lake Dam is scheduled to be replaced in October.

The dam on the north end of Cedar Lake, which maintains a court-ordered water level, needs to be replaced because portions are failing, according to Jesse Campbell, managing director of the Alcona County Road Commission, who also serves as the county’s drain commissioner.

For example, Campbell said, water is passing through culverts “even when it shouldn’t be,” and the structure cannot handle the amount of drainage needed to bring the lake levels down after it rains. Campbell said the dam is inspected every three years and has been rated “very poor” for at least the last 10 to 15 years.

“The new dam structure will help maintain the legal lake level, whether it be in highwater times or in the summertime, when it’s dry,” Campbell said. “It’s also going to eliminate a lot of maintenance cost — debris floating down and plugging up the screen at the dam structure.”

In October, contractor Team Elmer’s will begin work on the estimated $590,000 project.

The county sold nearly $600,000 in bonds through Huron Community Bank, according to Campbell, which will be repaid by homeowners who live in a recently established special assessment district in Alcona and Iosco counties.

Funds levied from the special assessment district are used to maintain the dam.

Alcona County Treasurer Cheryl Franks said the special assessment will cost homeowners living within the special assessment district approximately $128 per year starting this year and over the next seven years.

The project has been riddled with complications and delays.

Alcona County did not have the funds to complete the project and voted to establish a special assessment district in June 2017.

The News previously reported the county Board of Commissioners asked the Cedar Lake Improvement Board to help pay the costs of repairs and maintenance, but was told by the board’s chairman, Rex Vaughn, the board wasn’t created for that purpose.

The Improvement Board was originally formed to work with state and federal environmental agencies to manage the watershed, including nuisance plants, according to the group’s website.

Vaughn refused to comment for this story.

An engineering error in October 2018 pushed the project back further because the lake had to be remeasured and an additional public hearing on the lake level had to be held.

In November 2018, the county had to borrow $105,000 from its tax revolving fund to pay for repairs. That fund is used to pay townships, villages, and cities when they are owed property taxes by their residents. The county collects delinquent taxes to refill that fund.

Bonds were sold to fund the work and repay the delinquent tax fund.

Campbell said the project was ready to move forward last winter when he learned crews could only perform the repairs when the lake levels are at their lowest.

He said the permit from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy requires the lake to be drawn down to the level needed for reconstruction of the dam structure to minimize negative impacts to aquatic wildlife.

The drawdown must be completed by Oct. 1.

Crystal Nelson can be reached at 989-358-5687 or cnelson@thealpenanews.com.