Council gives a second reading to plans for dam

Another meeting is scheduled for Monday.
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
GIRARD -- In an effort to meet court-imposed deadlines on plans to address safety issues at the Lower Girard Lake Dam, officials met in special session Wednesday to give a second reading to a request for plans to breach the dam.
Council could have passed an emergency ordinance at a meeting Monday requesting that the Army Corps of Engineers proceed immediately with preparation of plans to breach the dam, but did not do so. The ordinance must go through three readings before it is passed.
Council has scheduled a special meeting for the third reading of the ordinance for Monday.
Councilman Michael Costarella said council is holding special meetings to pass the ordinance before a court deadline to submit plans to breach or repair the dam.
Consent agreement
The city has a consent agreement with the Ohio attorney general's office that says the city must submit partial plans by Aug. 1 to either breach or repair the dam. Completed plans must be submitted by year's end.
Any breach or dam repair would be completed by Oct. 31, 2008, under the agreement.
Costarella said council would still like to repair the dam but needs to have plans in place to meet the court's deadline. He said safety is the primary concern.
"We cannot afford financially or from a health and safety standpoint to be defiant on this issue," he said.
Mayor James Melfi said he to would like to see the dam repaired, but that does not seem to be a reality.
"If there is money for the rebuilding of the dam, I am all for it, but there isn't and there never has been," he said.
jgoodwin@vindy.com