Silver Lake Dam rally seeks more answers

Apr. 22—ROCHESTER — Residents living near Silver Lake Park, as well as frequent visitors, voiced a variety of concerns to the Rochester City Council following a rally Monday.

"I want to make sure this is all thought out," Tim Schmitt said, voicing lifelong ties to Silver Lake and flooding concerns as a downstream resident.

Others among the 13 people asking the council to save the dam also cited concerns about potential flood impacts, pointing to flooding that happened in 1978, before a variety of flood-control measures were taken throughout the city.

Park neighbor Steve Borchardt recalled dangers related to the 1978 flood as he spoke during the rally that started at 5 p.m. in the city-county Government Center rotunda with approximately 75 people. He also addressed the council during its open-comment period.

"The No. 1 obligation needs to be saving lives," the former Olmsted County sheriff said, pointing to the deaths during the past flood.

"No one component should be modified without studying the impact on the entire system," he added.

The proposed dam replacement project

seeks to remove the existing dam and replace it with an alternative structure to the west, with the goal of holding back the majority of Silver Lake at its existing level. The change would potentially provide added recreational opportunities, fish passage and access for potential future trails under the North Broadway Avenue bridge.

While the trails are not part of the dam proposal, Gage Elementary School fourth-grader Lucia Miller said she supports the proposed modifications as a way toward a future path under the nearby bridge.

"I could bike myself to school, but my mom and dad won't let me because it's too dangerous on the bridge by Silver Lake," she told the City Council as one of two speakers asking for the potential dam changes to move forward.

Recreation was also on Aaron Richard's mind. The former owner of Silver Lake Boat and Bike Rentals said he believes the proposal has flaws that could affect water activities on the lake.

He said he wants to see more study by engineers regarding how a dam modification could change the lake, which would help make informed decisions.

"I've seen people use lies, fears and money to persuade people on both sides of this issue, and all those things create bias, and bias creates flawed decision making," he said.

The potential change is currently in the concept phase, with the Rochester City Council approving 30% planning of the project in 2020, which Rochester Deputy Public Works Director Aaron Luckstein said has been paused as city staff works to obtain funding options for the estimated $5.5 million cost.

The city is being recommended for a nearly $2.4 million state grant, which could be used in conjunction with $2 million from Rochester Public Utilities funds saved by avoiding dam repairs and maintenance and $1.1 million in flood-control reserves.

Once the 30% design work is complete, Luckstein said some of the concerns and questions voiced Monday will be addressed and others will likely need to wait until more work is done on the proposal. Either way, he said the project will need to avoid adding to flood risks upstream and downstream.

Greg Munson, a park neighbor who led Monday's rally, said he's hoping to get some answers earlier, inviting Luckstein to a tentative two-hour meeting of Friends of Silver Lake, starting at 6:30 p.m. May 9 at Peace Church, 1503 Second Ave. NE.

"There needs to be more information provided to citizens, as well as council members," he said, adding that he and fellow Friends member Dave Morrill plan to present the group's view on the proposed project and take questions during the proposed public meeting.

The meeting would occur less than two weeks before the anticipated Minnesota Legislature's decision on the proposed state funding, which would spur a future council decision on whether to accept the funds and move forward with added engineering for the project.

Munson said he hopes the proposed meeting, which appears to mirror a 2022 forum to discuss a larger $23.3 million concept that included Public Works proposals alongside Park and Recreation projects, will be attended by City Council members and encourage them to take a more in-depth look at the proposal.

"We feel if we get to this point, the council might decide they need to talk about this a little bit more," he told rally participants Monday.