LETTER: As Grafton board dithers, the joys of millpond drain away

To Ozaukee Press:

  If you’re following local news and social media posts, you’ve seen that in

June the Grafton Village Board tabled the request from Public Works Director Julie Esch to authorize the repair of the Bridge Street Dam hydraulic gate. On May 2, the gate fell open into a hyper-extended position and we have been told it cannot be raised to stop the emptying of the millpond.

What we see of the millpond since the failure of the hydraulic system is a more than five foot drop in the elevation of the river, exposing dead trees and sediment that has come downstream from the northern communities on the Milwaukee River.

In 2014, the Bridge Street Dam was upgraded. The river walk was added, lights were added to the underside of the bridge with special effects for different holidays.

The beautiful overlook of the dam has been in many family and wedding photos.

Families spend winter weekends on the millpond ice skating and ice fishing with their kids. Summer brings kayaking and canoeing, fishing, music in the park, pavilion rentals, Tuesday night food trucks on 13th Avenue and other special events. Grafton’s Chamber of Commerce recently installed a kayak rental system in Veterans Park.

Recent social media chatter and some discussion at the Village Board about the dam suggested “just taking it out” and allowing “nature to take over.”

Removing a dam is a complex, multi-year process that goes far beyond simply dismantling the structure. It involves extensive planning, engineering, environmental assessment and post-removal restoration and remediation. The exact scope depends on dam size, location, sediment load and ecological sensitivities, but it always requires a multidisciplinary team and years of work. For Grafton, this means dismantling the original timber crib dam, as well as the upgraded current dam.

Costs are easily in the millions of dollars.

With this knowledge, it just makes sense to repair the hydraulic arm of the gate. The one and only bid the village presented is between $150,000 and $180,000. Citizens have spoken at recent village meetings noting that there are companies that manufacture the cylinder for much less than the quoted price and have requested to make a bid on the project, but to no avail.

This is falling on deaf ears and we are left hanging with the promise that “more information will be presented” on Aug. 3 at the next Village Board meeting. Meanwhile after three months, the millpond continues to empty, fish are dying on the mud flats, weeds are growing, geese are becoming stuck in the sediment and the gathering point and jewel of Grafton is dying a slow death.

Please join me in telling the Village Board to immediately authorize the repair of the hydraulic system after obtaining two more competitive bids. Come to the Aug. 3 meeting and voice your support for this necessary repair of the gate. Remind our trustees that they represent us and that is why we elected them—for our voices to be heard.

Lisa Uribe Harbeck

Grafton