LAKE PLACID — The village Board of Trustees didn’t have many answers for Ken and Alan Sawyer, who took the floor during Monday night’s meeting to complain about the draining of Lower Mill Pond.
The pond was reduced to a river during Memorial Day weekend in May as part of a project to replace sewer lines that run underneath it.
“We’re here to try and make sure that the pond is restored,” Alan Sawyer said. “It used to be a beautiful pond ... people used to fish in it and look at it now — it should be something better than a mud pit.”
Sawyer, who lives on Lower Mill Pond, said he had seen minimal work being done to the sewer lines in recent months and questioned why the project started in the first place.
According to Mayor Craig Randall the sewer lines — a 24-inch and a 15-inch — are more than 75 years old and are difficult to access and maintain. The plan is to replace them with one 27-inch line that would run around the pond, instead of through it.
“We’re in the process of inspecting the lines now,” Randall said. “But at this point there are a number of different agencies involved with the project. We won’t be able to restore the level of the pond until a complete study is done.”
Along with the village inspecting sewer lines, draining the pond has given engineers from the New York State Power Authority a chance to look into the prospect of once again generating hydroelectric power at the dam by replacing a $2.5 million electric power turbine.
“One thing that we do know for sure is that replacing the turbine does not appear to be economically feasible,” Randall said. “As it turns out the interest in maintaining the dam as a source of power is gone.”
The state Department of Environmental Conservation is also involved, currently inspecting the structure of the dam for safety issues. Randall said the dam may need some work. “There is also a thought to have the dam removed, but no decision has been made,” he said.
The village received a permit from the DEC to drain the Lower Mill Pond, but according to village Trustee Zay Curtis, it cannot be refilled until a full safety inspection by the state is complete.
“There are no conclusions at the moment,” Curtis said. “Every step we make has be approved by the DEC and it’s a very slow process.”
Randall said the village inspection of the sewer lines is also slow going. The board indicated that engineers are having trouble locating one of two manholes to access the sewer line — which is covered by several feet of silt and mud — and if they can’t find it they will need to build a new one, further delaying the project.
Alan Sawyer said the current condition of the pond — “a mosquito infested swamp” — was a serious problem for residents and visitors to the area and that it has the potential to lower adjacent property values and “create a real eyesore in the village.”
He presented officials with several photographs of the drained pond, depicting piles of debris and garbage including metal barrels, shopping carts and scraps of metal.
Trustee Jason Leon said he felt it was the villages responsibility to clean up some of mess. But officials made no commitment, and said they would likely need a DEC permit to remove anything, or dredge the area.
In the end, the village board said there were too many unknowns to determine when the project would be complete and the pond would be refilled.
“But we’ve been giving this a lot of attention,” Randall said. “Not a week goes by that people, village or otherwise, aren’t working on this project.”
Randall also said he was reluctant to move forward quickly because of the cost, estimated at around $4.2 million. Earlier this summer village officials submitted requests for federal funding through U.S. Rep. Scott Murphy and Se. Kirsten Gillibrand, but to date, nothing has been approved.
“We are still seeking outside funding,” Randall said. “This could put a tax burden on users of the sewer service so we’re trying to exhaust all possibilities.”
He said once the village receives recommendations from all agencies involved the project would move forward and that a hearing may be held to keep the public informed.
“It’s likely that this pond could be down for a long period of time,” Randall said.
