Cost of Meander Dam repairs to figure into possible rebate to Y'town, Niles

Staff report

MINERAL RIDGE

The cost of repairs for the Meander Dam will determine whether Youngstown and Niles will receive sizable rebates from the Mahoning Valley Sanitary District.

Atty. Matt Blair, a member of the MVSD board of directors, said the water provider is in a favorable cash position to offer a rebate totaling $5 million, but not if repairs to the dam prove to be extensive and costly.

The results of an engineering study are expected in July, and its findings will determine whether rebates can be allocated.

“We have a situation at Meander Dam and we’re looking at what could be major repairs,” Blair said. “If the repairs have to be done [immediately], there will be no rebates.”

Blair said there is no danger of a dam breach or anything catastrophic despite the necessity of repair work.

“The engineers have not reported anything that would indicate we have an immediate problem out there we have to handle,” Blair said.

The board member said the only way the MVSD will be able to offer rebates is if repairs can be completed in phases over several years.

The rebate possibility became public last week when Niles Mayor Thomas Scarnecchia revealed that the MVSD was considering offering a $1 million rebate to the city, a figure he admitted he had yet to confirm.

Read the full story Monday in The Vindicator and on Vindy.com.