Costly repairs eyed at Jaycee Park dam

A family of beavers and Father Time have taken their toll on the dam at Greencastle's former Jaycee Park, which is now owned by the city.

At Wednesday night's meeting of the city park board, members were told that the overflow pipe, which keeps the lake from overflowing, is beginning to show wear and tear and needs to be repaired.

Garth Hughes, with Civil Engineering Consultants, told the board that it would cost approximately $15,000 to reline the overflow pipe which begins on the lake side of the dam and runs through the dam where it outlets into the creek below.

He said workers would be able to insert a flexible pipe inside the current 18-inch pipe, keeping the current pipe in place but making it water tight once again.

Testing with a sewer camera showed the pipe is showing signs of rust, which could eventually lead to leaks in the pipe.

Hughes told the board that the dam is in no way in danger of collapsing because of the rusty pipe, however, if and when the pipe begins to rust through, it would cost thousands of dollars more to replace.

Parks Director Rod Weinschenk and the board members seemed to agree Wednesday night that the park board doesn't have the $15,000 on hand right now to replace the pipe.

Earlier in the meeting, the board voted to temporarily borrow $150,000 from the city's Rainy Day Fund to boost the parks department's budget until property tax revenues come in.

Hughes told the board that the repairs to the pipe could be delayed for several months. Weinschenk suggested the board defer the repairs until the 2009 budget, however, a minor amount of work on the dam appears to be more likely to take place this summer.

It appears the work of a family of beavers since last year has taken its toll on the overflow pipe located near the dam.

The animals have repeatedly piled tree limbs and debris inside the pipe to try and stop the flow of water through the dam. Workers with the parks department have fought an unending battle with the beavers in attempt to keep the overflow pipe open.

On Wednesday, board members were told the beaver problem is not been as bad since the parks department paid to have a large number of the animals removed last year.

But all the work by the beavers has left the pipe damaged.

Hughes told the park board it would cost about $2,000 to replace the end of the pipe and have bars placed over it to lessen the beavers' ability to fill it with debris.

Board members consented to have that repair made, possibly later this summer. Hughes said the lake level would have to be dropped about a month while repairs to the pipe are made.