May 12, 2017 2 min read

MARIANNA – Marianna Council will reconsider a dam removal project on Ten Mile Creek, giving a councilman two weeks to find information that could lead to grants to fund rehabilitating its crumbling concrete wall.

Council voted 3-2 Wednesday to give Councilman Jeremy Berardinelli a short window to find a grant source to repair the 110-year-old dam that once served as a reservoir for the local public water supply, Council President Wesley Silva said. That vote came after confusion over a first vote.

He said finding money to repair the dam will be challenging because the borough has been told that there is no state funding available to repair a dam that no longer serves a purpose.

Council agreed last month to allow the nonprofit American Rivers conservation group to remove the dam and restore the creek’s floodplain, work that could begin next summer at no cost to local taxpayers. American Rivers supports dam-removal projects, in part, because streams that are not impeded by such structures allow fish to swim upstream to spawn. The dams also pollute the water through the way in which they collect and release silt, the group has said.

About 30 people attended the contentious council meeting, including members of the Marianna Outdoorsmen Association who want to save the dam.

Silva said some people prevented him from saying much at the meeting because they screamed so loud over his words.

He said council also will continue to work with American Rivers toward removal of the dam.

“The ball is still rolling,” he said Thursday.

Councilmen Nick Temas, Jerry Kerr and Berardinelli voted in favor of reconsidering the project. Silva and Councilman Jim Faure opposed the move. Silva said there was confusion because the initial motion failed with a 2-2-1 vote, but the item was quickly brought to the table again when the solicitor said initial votes were not properly recorded. The motion then passed 3-2.