By AUBRIE GEORGE
Six years after a 1,000-year storm wreaked havoc on Burlington County’s dams and lakes, the Marlton Lakes Civic Association will finally see its Upper dam restored.
The township agreed to co-sign a $1.2 million loan with the association in order to fund the repair of Upper, or Flamingo Lake, Dam. A bond ordinance authorizing the loan was passed last week.
The dam was damaged in a 2004 storm that flooded the north and south branches of the Rancocas Creek, causing 21 dams to fail and damage to 30. All told, an estimated $25 million in property damage remained after the storm brought 13 inches of rain in the form of a torrential downpour to the area.
The storm caused the Upper Lake Dam to fail, which subsequently caused the emptying of the lake.
The Marlton Lakes Civic Association approached the township late this summer, asking for help in co-signing a $1.2 million loan to restore the dam from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Dam Restoration and Inland Water Projects Loan program.
The loan program, which is funded by the Dam Restoration and Clean Water Trust Fund, provides low-interest loans for the funding of dam restorations, flood control projects, water pollution control projects, and water-related recreation and conservation projects.
Private lake associations can apply for the loan as co-applicants with a local government unit, according to the DEP’s Web site.
At a previous Council meeting, representatives from the association said it is fully funded for the project. The township is not providing funding by co-signing the loan. In the event that the association defaults on the loan, property owners in Marlton Lakes would be assessed and pay it back, officials said at the Oct. 5 Council meeting.
Even though the lakes are privately owned, officials said the obligation to co-sign the loan was due to a public safety issue that could occur should the dams break.
The township authorized application to the loan program as a co-signer with the association in August. The bond ordinance authorizing the loan was passed at an Oct. 5 Council meeting and was given final approval last week.
According to the bond ordinance, the loan will allow for replacing the existing primary spillway at the dam, installing a new concrete slab auxiliary spillway, regarding embankments, installing a new low-level outlet, installing erosion protection, and other miscellaneous repairs to the structure.
In other news:
Council has scheduled the township’s reorganization meeting for Jan. 3.
Mayor Randy Brown will be sworn into another four-year term as mayor. Current Councilwoman Deb Hackman and newcomer Steve Zeuli will be sworn in to two, four-year seats on Council.
Council is scheduled to meet for their next regular action meeting on Dec. 7 at 6:30 p.m.
