Warren Township resident Byron Shutt, left, standing next to wall, addresses members of the Trumbull County MetroParks board of his concerns with the removal of the Leavittsburg Dam. More than 50 residents, along with township and county officials, attended Thursday’s nearly two-hour meeting at Kent State University at Trumbull in Champion. Seated at right is park board member Steve Maas.

CHAMPION — The Trumbull County MetroParks Board will review alternatives as well as costs regarding the removal of the Leavittsburg Dam after hearing from several residents and county and township officials who want the dam to remain.

More than 50 people, along with Warren Township trustees, county commissioners and county engineer officials, gathered Thursday at the MetroParks board meeting, which was moved to Kent State University at Trumbull.

A segment of Leavittsburg and township residents want the dam to remain intact while residents from Braceville want it removed to alleviate flooding problems.

The MetroParks, which owns the dam, is scheduled to have it removed in 2025, but trustees previously presented an alternative study by DLZ that gives other options. DLZ is an engineering, architectural, surveying and construction firm based in Columbus.

The study was paid for by the county commissioners and the county engineer’s office.

The MetroParks board voted in April 2021 to proceed with the removal of the dam.

Park board member Steve Maas, who said he has researched low-head dams, said he learned they are known as “drowning machines” and gave an example of a woman in a canoe who went underwater after she went over the Summit Street dam in 2020.

That dam has since been removed.

Maas said the age of the Leavittsburg Dam, built in 1909, is a concern.

He said according to the American Society of Civil Engineers, there have been 1,400 fatalities at low-head dams in the last 20 years.

“This is a dangerous area where there is the potential for serious injury or death is very problematic. We have received funding to alleviate this issue,” Maas said.

Commissioner Denny Malloy said 76 people have drowned at Mosquito Lake, but “we are not going to drain Mosquito Lake.”

MEET WITH DLZ OFFICIALS

Park board member Kurt Sauer said while the DLZ study did offer alternatives. He said the park board has a contract in place for services related to the planning for the demolition of the dam.

“The question is can the board consider or undertake any of the alternatives to the dam removal without putting the board and potentially the county at financial risk because of the contracts we have in place,” Sauer said. “There are ramifications for delaying or terminating the contract.”

Sauer said $589,000 has been expended for design work as well as more than $500,000 in damages to the contract, along with grant monies for the project being terminated and returned to the Environmental Protection Agency and any penalties.

“We are concerned if the EPA grant will meet the scoring criteria on a new proposed solution allowing the funds to be used for any alternative construction,” Sauer said.

Sauer asked if DLZ representatives could meet with the park board to provide ideas on the cost of any alternatives.

Park board member John Brown said his decision in April 2021 was to do what is best for all county residents.

“There has been nothing that I have seen or read in the DLZ study to change my mind or thinking on this,” Brown said.

Park board President Randy Fabrizio said the board was willing to hear concerns from residents but has discussed the dam at 14 park board meetings starting in 2019.

He said the Ohio EPA and Eastgate held a public meeting on the dam in October 2019.

Trumbull Engineer Randy Smith said if the dam is removed there is concern of safety of the roads by the dam.

Residents said they are concerned about the mess if the dam comes out just as the Summit Street dam removal has left a muddy mess.

“You have already decided what you are going to do. You don’t care about Leavittsburg,” resident Victoria Romack said.

Sauer said the board is listening to residents’ views and then will discuss what the next step will be.

Warren Trustee Ed Anthony said the residents are not getting answers from the park board.

“I can tell you if you go look at Summit Street with the dam coming out we all know where the water has gone. You might as well not call it Mahoning River but Mahoning Creek,” Anthony said.

Trustee Kay Anderson said that in 2019 at a public meeting with the EPA and Eastgate, residents and township officials were opposed to the dam’s removal.

“We have been listening to our residents for more than four years who do not want this dam removed,” she said.

Attorney Tom Wilson, who represents the commissioners, said if the dam project is modified the modifications would need to be provided to the EPA so the grant for the project can be modified.

Fabrizio said if the dam is removed the EPA would provide funds to help with cleanup.