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Today it was announced Four Lakes Task Force will receive a $750,000 grant for booms on Secord and Smallwood dams.
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. We believe the counties to have the dams restored, and according to the public survey conducted by PSC, 74% of property owners believe the costs should be shared with people outside of the Special Assessment District. The counties, by law, may determine to contribute to a portion of maintaining the normal legal lake levels by paying out of their general funds. If the counties approve the at-large assessment, it will be because they agree that there is an economic and tax benefit to their county. There will NOT be assessments to property owners outside of the Four Lakes Special Assessment District.
FLTF previously documented in its Restoration Plan that an additional $10 million of funding in 2022 would be needed to stay on our plan. While we anticipate the state legislation will pass and provide significant funding to restore the lakes, FLTF is pursuing $10 million in a Grant Anticipation Note to bridge until we get state funds so we can stay on our current timelines for the stabilization of the dams.
While we hope the note is not needed, we will continue to pursue this interim path until the state funding is passed by the Michigan House and signed by the Governor. The multi-billion-dollar water infrastructure bill (Senate Supplemental Bill 565) was unanimously reported Wednesday, December 1, to the Senate Appropriations Committee, and included an allocation of $250 million to be used to restore the Four Lakes Task Force dams and Secord, Smallwood, Wixom and Sanford lakes.
Since the release of the interim Independent Forensic Team (IFT) report, Four Lakes Task Force and its consulting engineers have conducted their review of the report to get a better understanding of how the team formed its conclusions.
Please see the FLTF Response to the IFT Report for more details, and watch this video to learn more about why Edenville Dam failed. Key Takeaways for the Restoration of the Dams: Below is an excerpt from an article in the Detroit News written by Beth LeBlanc. Subscribers to The Detroit News may read the full article.
"... The task force, whose authority is rooted in state law and a state court order, has stressed its transparency and accountability to the people of Midland and Gladwin counties. The group also is essentially the last one left to carry the load. A packet of letters of support for the House and Senate dam repair and safety bills, signed by key public and private entities in the Four Lakes region of Gladwin and Midland counties, was sent to Michigan elected officials last week.
The letters expressed gratitude for their leadership and foresight in sponsoring the bills and reiterated the impact of the legislation if the funding is approved. |
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©2025 | Four Lakes Task Force is a US 501 (c)(3) public charity, EIN 27-4698447. This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
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