Loss of a $1.1 million grant puts Girard under the gun

Girard lawmakers are to blame for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers withdrawing a $1.1 million grant awarded to the city several years ago to help pay for the breaching of the dilapidated Lower Girard Lake dam. Mayor James Melfi had warned city council on many occasions that the delay in taking action would be costly. Melfi has been vindicated.
"Years of indecisiveness has caused the city to gamble $1.1 million," the mayor said last week after the corps of engineers informed him the money has been re-appropriated. "As of today, the city has lost the gamble. The day of reckoning is here."
It's a day that did not have come. As we argued in an editorial in March -- The Vindicator has consistenly supported the mayor in his push to have the dam breached -- the only responsible thing for lawmakers to do was join Melfi in declaring the dam beyond repair so the process of tearing it down could begin. But council failed to act, and now the city of Girard is under the gun.
The city faces an Aug. 1 deadline to submit partial plans to either breach or repair the dam -- the deadline is contained in consent agreement Girard reached with the Ohio Attorney General's Office -- the loss of the $1.1 million is significant. Completed plans must be ready by the end of the year, and work must be completed by Oct. 31, 2008.
The AG's office has gone to court to ensure that the deadlines in the consent decree are met. Given the state's uncompromising stance, we have urged lawmakers to disabuse themselves of the idea that the city can secure the $10 million to $15 million it would take to repair the dam to its current height. Between $4.5 million and $5 million is needed to reduce the dam's height by about 15 feet. Such a reduction would create a lake of 74 acres, instead of the former 99.
A lot cheaper
The cost of breaching the dam would be much less, which is why the $1.1 million from the corps of engineers was so important. But inaction by council now means that the city will have to come up with the money on its own. And that won't be easy, given its ongoing fiscal crisis.
So while Mayor Melfi and other city officials scramble to find other sources of money so the breaching plans can be completed by the deadlines established by the consent decree, residents of the city would be justified in asking these questions: Why would members of city council be so obstinate in dealing with the Lower Girard Lake dam crisis? Was any pressure put on the lawmakers by an individual or special interest group to block action on the breaching? Why was the mayor's warnings about failing to act expeditiously ignored by the representatives of the people?
The failure to act has cost the city of Girard dearly. When public officials fail to act in the best interest of the public, questions must be asked and answered.
Melfi has been proven right. Council can make amends by helping him come up with the necessary funds to do what should have been done years ago -- the breaching of Lower Girard Lake dam.