MAYOR GAHAN AND DNR HOLD MEDIATION REGARDING HISTORIC DAM

MAYOR GAHAN AND DNR HOLD MEDIATION REGARDING HISTORIC DAM

Last Thursday, Mayor Gahan and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources had a productive mediation conference regarding the historic Glenwood Park Dam. The historic dam has been the topic of multiple lawsuits regarding the future of the structure.

“This was a big step forward for the city of New Albany,” stated Mayor Jeff Gahan. “We have been asking for mediation for multiple years, so it is a huge win to get everybody in the room to discuss these important issues for our River City.”

Full details of mediations discussions held on Thursday are confidential, but the Mayor left the meeting hopeful that a resolution was close.

“We had a very productive conversation with members of DNR, and I think we are close to a settlement,” stated Mayor Jeff Gahan.

DNR WORKS TO SET MEETING BETWEEN CITY OF NEW ALBANY, ORIGIN PARK OFFICIALS

As part of the next steps, DNR has agreed to set up a meeting between the City of New Albany, DNR, River Heritage (the creators of Origin Park), and ECI for later this week.

In 2022, the City Council unanimously (9-0) voted in favor of a meeting between Origin Park/River Heritage officials and the City of New Albany to discuss alternatives to removing the historic Glenwood Park Dam. The City of New Albany has tried multiple times to have discussions with Origin Park officials, yet they have refused to meet until now.

“We want to thank DNR for the positive discussions in our mediation, as well as for their efforts in setting up a meeting between all parties. We look forward to continuing this process and having discussions with the folks at River Heritage and ECI,” stated Mayor Jeff Gahan. “We are eager to share our proposals for the future of the site at Silver Creek Landing, and hope that River Heritage is willing to work with us on improving Silver Creek for everyone.”

Conditions at Silver Creek Landing have drastically changed since the collapse of the Blackiston Mill Dam. The failure of that dam has severely reduced the summer pool to a trickle. Now that only the Glenwood Park Dam exists, an alternative feature needs to be considered to support fish, wildlife, and recreation in Silver Creek, as well as support the nearly $4.5 million in infrastructure and additions at the Landing.

Alternatives to the full removal of the dam could be a conversion to a rock-arch rapids style structure, a proven alternative to low-head dams that significantly increase waterway safety while still offering attractive, naturalized water environment suited for swimming, wading, kayaking, and fishing. Options include converting the dam to a rock-arch style rapids structure, or removing the dam and then replacing with a new rock-arch style feature somewhere near the landing.