Helderberg Lake Community Association seeks funding for dam repairs

Wednesday, September 8, 2021 - 19:01

Enterprise File Photo -- Noah Zweifel
The wall of the Helderberg Lake Dam, with the spillway barely visible.

BERNE — The Helderberg Lake Community Association is attempting to repair the dam at Helderberg Lake, in Berne, but first it must obtain necessary funding — approximately $500,000 — which it’s attempting to do through the Berne Town Board.

The Helderberg Lake Dam is a “high-hazard” dam which, according to state law, means that failure of the dam “may result in widespread or serious damage to home(s); damage to main highways, industrial or commercial buildings, railroads and/or other important utilities, including water supply, sewage treatment, fuel, power, cable, or telephone infrastructures; or substantial environmental damage; such that the loss of human life or widespread economic loss is likely.”

An Associated Press report published in 2019 on more than 1,500 dams across the country that are in need of repair, including the Helderberg Lake Dam, which had cracks in its concrete and an uneven spillway crest. 

Attorney Dave Brennan, who is representing the Helderberg Lake Community Association, told the Berne Town Board last month that the association wants to increase the length of the dam’s core wall, seal cracks, and address deteriorated spillway features, among other things, to bring the dam under Department of Environmental Conservation guidelines. 

“They’ve been patient with this, but they do want it to be addressed,” Brennan said of the DEC.

Brennan said that the repair costs are estimated around $500,000, and that the lake association is hoping the town will take out a loan to front the cost. He said that the approximately 74 households with lake access would reimburse the town through the creation of a special tax district over an undetermined period of time, but which Brennan said would likely be about 20 or 30 years.

The taxes on those residents would be based on property values, Brennan said. 

The Berne Town Board had intended to schedule a public hearing on the matter at its Aug. 25 meeting, but town attorney Javid Afzali said that not all details were in place in time for the board to be able to set the hearing. The board’s next meeting, on Sept. 8, was canceled and rescheduled for Sept. 15.

The Helderberg Lake Association Board of Directors could not be reached for comment. 

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