Clarification on the Funding Plan
The $200 million state grant has been a very significant inflection point for how the Four Lakes Special Assessment District will be managed as well as the Four Lakes restoration project going forward. We have received questions related to the new assessment model since the amount of the Capital Assessment is now common for all lake property owners, similar to the Operations Assessment. 

Governor Announced Support for Bill
Today, the Michigan Senate and House of Representatives passed an appropriation that included $200 million to support the rebuilding of the Four Lakes dams which will restore our community's future. We expect the measure to be signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who announced her support of the bill yesterday. We appreciate her empathy for the community's recovery since the dam failures.

Final Step Is Governor's Signature 
The Michigan Senate and House have been in negotiations, along with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's staff, to reconcile state budget supplemental appropriations. 

Members of the House Appropriations Committee convened last night and cleared a nearly $5 billion supplemental which included funding for the Four Lakes. We expect this supplemental will go to the House and Senate today for approval, and we expect the Governor to sign.

The Midland and Gladwin County boards of commissioners both approved the Financing Plan for the Four Lakes restoration, which was discussed in detail at the March 3 FLTF TEFRA hearing. A TEFRA (Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act) hearing is required by the Internal Revenue Service of non-profit organizations that intend to issue tax-exempt debt. 

​Today it was announced Four Lakes Task Force will receive a $750,000 grant for booms on Secord and Smallwood dams. 
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Booms control surface debris, provide for public safety boat barriers and define zones of no-entry around dams. The boom consists of 10-foot HDPE (high-density polyethylene AKA plastic) modular units which link together to form an unlimited length of boom lines. The boom line is anchored to the shore and to the bottom of the lake to provide a secure barrier around the spillway.