(Milford)– After years of controversy, the way has been cleared for alterations to be made to the Lower Gar Outlet.
Meeting in a special joint session Thursday evening, the Milford City Council and Dickinson county board of supervisors both approved an agreement that will allow work to proceed to install two additional culverts at the outlet that are six inches higher than the nearby weir.
The vote by both entities was unanimous, with one member of the city council, Todd Schillinger, absent due to a family emergency.
The agreement followed a full day of negotiations by Milford City Attorney David Stein, Junior and Assistant Dickinson County Attorney Lonnie Saunders. Stein told the council he was confident it fulfills concerns the city be indemnified in the event any litigation should arise as a result of the project. Stein says the fact the county and city are both represented by the same insurance carrier, the Iowa Community Assurance Pool or ICAP, addresses that issue.
It was reported Thursday evening’s meeting the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has already approved plans for the Lower Gar project. Now that both the city and county have signed off on the agreement, county officials can proceed with the next step: applying for necessary permits through the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
County Engineer Dan Eckert says construction on the project more than likely wouldn’t be done until sometime this coming fall or perhaps even during the upcoming winter so as to have a minimal impact on residents living in that area.
The project has an estimated cost of roughly 325-thousand dollars which will be paid by the county.
