Dredging Advisory Committee

By: Dawn Longo

For several years, there has been discussion around dredging the lake at Roaming Shores. Even though we have been removing sediment for the last three years to ensure the health of the largest privately owned lake in the state of Ohio  residents were interested in improving the efficiency of the endeavor and speeding up the process. Dan Mullins and  his team have done a great job but dredging is only part time for them – they still open the pools, cut the grass, make repairs, etc.  

In order to capitalize on the ideas and suggestion of the membership at the monthly association meetings and the annual Board meeting, the RRA board organized a working “Dredging Advisory Sub-Committee” to hold active, meaningful discussions to plan and help improve our dredging activities. A major portion of these discussions will deal with existing practices, potentially new practices, current funding limitations, and future funding potentials.

The public was invited to a meeting on Saturday, November 24, 2018 at the clubhouse as an informational session and members were asked to sign up for the committee.

The following association members signed up:

Jim Fell, Dawn Longo, Mike Petersen, Theresa Ankuda, Denny Crandall, Gerry Dixon, Terri Freeland, Fred Jenkin, Rick Brothers, Dan Mullins, Jack McMillin, Jim Swartz, Louise Lisac and Howard Tuttle.

The committee had their first meeting January 12, 2019 and split into four separate sub-committees as follows.

Committee #1 is Jack McMillin, Jim Swartz and Louise Lisac with Dan Mullins. They will investigate expanding the current operations.

Committee #2 is Jim Fell, Gerry Dixon, Dawn Longo and Chris Lisac. They will investigate creating a parallel operation.

Committee #3 is Denny Crandall, Ankudas, Terri Freeland and the Jenkins. They will investigate dredging by an outside contractor. Their scope was expanded to include inquiring as to whether any of these contractors are available for hire by individual property owners.

Committee #4 is a Water Flow Control Group which will be an ongoing committee to ensure proper maintenance of the lake. These members will not remain on it indefinitely. They were tasked with documenting processes and procedures that are vital to proper maintenance of the lake so dredging does not become a major issue again. Members are Louise Lisac, Rick Brothers, Mike Petersen and Howard Tuttle.

Each team was asked to present their findings at the next meeting scheduled for February 9, 2019.

The committee met on February 9^th and each team came back with valuable information as summarized below:

Team # 1 Update: They haven’t gotten as far as they would like with their plan but they did note that 2 temporary workers have already notified them that they will not be coming back this summer. We typically hire 7 seasonal employees. Jobs will be posted but if you know people looking for summer employment send them Dan’s way.

Team #2 Update: Presentation was given for a parallel operation with costs associated for removing 12,000 cubic yards of additional sediment. Since 6,000 cubic yards are taken out each season the number 12,000 was used to gather quotes. See Team #3 updates as quotes may be firmer with that information. Will send an electronic copy of their presentation to board members.

Team # 3Update: A company was found that can provide us with a bathymetric survey which could help us determine how many cubic yards need to be removed from the lake. This number will be extremely helpful for all teams. The cost for this work is $5,300 but we don’t need Survey Area #1 (across the bridge) so the total would be $630 less. If we were to obtain any additional services from them, this fee would be deducted from the fees for that  additional work. Any expenditure of this type would need to be approved by the board who meets again on February 21. This committee is going to contact others who may provide the same type of service as well.

Team #4 Update: One of the options that has been brought up in the past is siphoning. This committee determined that siphoning is not an option. They also investigated the possibility of increasing the size of the current valve at the dam. A 2010 study done by CT Consultants out of Mentor found it impractical and that is still the case.  One thing the committee suggested was to consider an earlier drawdown. This would have to be communicated early and we would have to be sure that equipment and manpower are available to utilize a lowered lake for aggressive dredging.

Also, just a reminder to association members the association owns the lake while the village owns the dam.

These are all still a work in process so don’t assume that the lake will be lowered earlier this year or anything that you’ve seen above.

The committee is moving forward and some of the next steps are:

Begin a communications campaign to keep citizens abreast of progress. It is important that everyone in the association be aware of the work being done and the progress being made. If anyone has any constructive comments to bring to light please feel free to share them with anyone on the committees. You can send these comments to the e-mail address of it@roamingshores.org

 The association will post a public notice in the newspaper requesting anyone interested in submitting a quote/proposal for dredging to do so by February 28^th so the committee can review on March 2^nd.  Companies will then be contacted to come in to present and answer any questions regarding their quotes.

Of course, there will be dollars involved with any project of this magnitude. The quotes will allow the committees  to provide members a feel for what those dollars might be and how those funds will be obtained. It is important that every member of the association pay their annual dues and suggest the same to their neighbors. Unpaid dues are an entirely different topic but will be addressed more aggressively in 2019.

The committee hopes to be able to give an update at the annual meeting on April 27, 2019.