For those of you who do not follow the Somerset Daily American, the following is worth reading:
http://www.dailyamerican.com/da-ot-faced-with-state-mandate-indian-lake-considers-raising-dam-20110427,0,4743342.story
The writer presents a good synopsis of a difficult subject.
I would encourage you to attend the May 14th Service Corp./Town Hall meeting is the Shanksville High School cafetorium.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
Dam Tentative Schedule
For re-installation of the upstream valve-
Divers are tentatively schedule to be here the week of May 9th. At that time they will install a machined flange onto the 'thimble' protruding from the dam wall some 50 feet below the surface. An underwater curing epoxy will be used between the flange and the thimble to take up and seal any imperfections. The machined flat face of the flange will face outward for mating with the valve. This epoxy may take 7 to 10 days to cure depending upon water temperature.
Therefore the actual re-installation of the valve is scheduled for May 24/25th.
For work on the spillway-
Three options are under evaluation:
1. Enlarge the existing spillway
2. Add a second spillway
3. Raise the height of the dam
The goal in each case is to prevent the water from a PMF (Possible Maximum Flood), defined as 38 inches of rain in a 72 hour period from topping the dam. That is a lot of water, but there have been local occurrences of this much rain in the Commonwealth!
At present we are negotiating with the Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Dam Safety, which way would be in everyones best interest to peruse. Once this process is completed, a schedule for the actual work will be developed.
Divers are tentatively schedule to be here the week of May 9th. At that time they will install a machined flange onto the 'thimble' protruding from the dam wall some 50 feet below the surface. An underwater curing epoxy will be used between the flange and the thimble to take up and seal any imperfections. The machined flat face of the flange will face outward for mating with the valve. This epoxy may take 7 to 10 days to cure depending upon water temperature.
Therefore the actual re-installation of the valve is scheduled for May 24/25th.
For work on the spillway-
Three options are under evaluation:
1. Enlarge the existing spillway
2. Add a second spillway
3. Raise the height of the dam
The goal in each case is to prevent the water from a PMF (Possible Maximum Flood), defined as 38 inches of rain in a 72 hour period from topping the dam. That is a lot of water, but there have been local occurrences of this much rain in the Commonwealth!
At present we are negotiating with the Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Dam Safety, which way would be in everyones best interest to peruse. Once this process is completed, a schedule for the actual work will be developed.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Dam Update
For those readers who do not get the Somerset Daily American, following article appears today:
http://www.dailyamerican.com/da-ot-indian-lake-trying-to-meet-state-mandate-with-limited-funds-20110415,0,6757692.story
http://www.dailyamerican.com/da-ot-indian-lake-trying-to-meet-state-mandate-with-limited-funds-20110415,0,6757692.story
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Lawsuit Updates
In my recent Posting I mentioned that there was one open lawsuit, that being by Mrs. Takacs against the Somerset County Planning Commission concerning St. Clair's plans.
Well I am pleased to let you know that the judge affirmed the decision of the Somerset County Planning Commission. The court rejected all of Mrs. Takacs challenges.
Well I am pleased to let you know that the judge affirmed the decision of the Somerset County Planning Commission. The court rejected all of Mrs. Takacs challenges.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Do things change?
I got a comment to my April 1st Blog Posting that I would like to share with you. It is true today as it was four years ago. The biggest changes since Don Corbett wrote his letter four years ago are that the cost of the dam project has risen, we are fighting to keep it below $7.5 million.
And the number of lawsuits increased beyond anyones wildest guess. All by the same people, all financed by the same nameless group, and all aimed at St. Clair Development and anyone else who made a decision is St. Clair's favor; i.e., the Borough, the state Department of Environmental Protection, the Somerset County Planning Commission. Not one lawsuit against another developer or development!
Paul:
I was looking for something else today and ran across this letter I wrote almost 4 years ago. Look how much the attorneys have made, what it has cost the Borough, and we are still the same place we were when we started except for the fact that Terry compromised on the docks within days or at the most a few weeks after that 1st contentious Service Corp meeting.
What a waste, except for the attorneys. They must be laughing all the way to the bank.
Don L. Corbett
ServiceMaster by Corbett
May 16, 2007
To Indian Lake Residents and Property Owners:
We are all concerned about the Lake and what additional traffic might create, and would love to have it as we remember it 40 years ago, but that is never going to be.
I wonder if in all the rancor being displayed over the development at the Lodge, we are not losing sight of the big picture.
It seems to me, the greatest priority we have is to save the dam and get that behind us. Without the dam, our properties are not worth a great deal.
To pay for the dam it is probably going to require a raise in property taxes, or a raise in Service Corp fees or both.
With only 900 Service Corp members and a lot less homes, we do not have a lot of people among which to distribute $4-6million.
It seems to me we need the Lodge taxes and development to help distribute this load.
I don’t want things to go completely out of control, but let’s face it, there is going to be some compromises, either forced by courts; or people are going to have to come to some sort of agreement.
If it goes to court, we are going to drain additional tax dollars away that could be used for the dam. Both sides have been told by their attorneys they have a case, but let’s face it, that’s what attorneys do. They make their living making a case, but if they lose, they still have our money in their pocket.
It seems to me we need to find some way of bringing people together and reach some kind of compromise that people can live with.
Mr. St. Clair may have wanted too much, but some of the counter claims are also way over the top. There has got to be a middle ground that could be worked out. I have had some discussions with Mr. St. Clair and have found some of the things people said he was asking for, was never intended. I don’t really know Mr. St. Clair and there are always two sides, but in my experience, when these types of arguments start, there is also a lot of misinformation that goes out as fact.
We need to get past this shouting and accusations. The people on council are doing a service. They have tough decisions and it is easy for people who don’t have to make the decisions to point out all their mistakes.
In short, I feel raising taxes and Service Corp fees significantly is much worse than allowing some development. Let’s figure out some way of finding out what St. Clair’s “bottom line” is, and try to get closer to it. The Lodge is an asset to us that pays taxes.
I think we could start this process by sitting down with him as individuals and finding out where he is. To this point, he has been made out by some as some sort of villain. I am sure he is not, but at this point I don’t know on either side what is true and what isn’t.
I know this; neither side is going to get everything it wants and we are going to spend a lot of money we sorely need, to find out where the compromise is if we continue with the lawsuits.
I bought my property in 1961 and have seen a lot of ups and downs over that time period. When I bought the property, there was just a stream where the lake is now. There were stakes in the ground where the shore line was supposed to be.
When the Lake was filled, there were still not many homes. They were almost idyllic times. I glad I was there, but those times are gone and we need to accept that change is going to happen.
The government, by itself is going to put more and more burden on us to maintain and improve infrastructure and we need to have some development to distribute this burden.
I live out of town, so I cannot vote in an election. Voicing my opinion as a property owner, is just about all the power I have, so that is the purpose of my letter.
We need to find a way to find that compromise without draining more and more of our limited resources.
Sincerely,
Don L. Corbett
126 Delaware Lane
And the number of lawsuits increased beyond anyones wildest guess. All by the same people, all financed by the same nameless group, and all aimed at St. Clair Development and anyone else who made a decision is St. Clair's favor; i.e., the Borough, the state Department of Environmental Protection, the Somerset County Planning Commission. Not one lawsuit against another developer or development!
Paul:
I was looking for something else today and ran across this letter I wrote almost 4 years ago. Look how much the attorneys have made, what it has cost the Borough, and we are still the same place we were when we started except for the fact that Terry compromised on the docks within days or at the most a few weeks after that 1st contentious Service Corp meeting.
What a waste, except for the attorneys. They must be laughing all the way to the bank.
Don L. Corbett
ServiceMaster by Corbett
May 16, 2007
To Indian Lake Residents and Property Owners:
We are all concerned about the Lake and what additional traffic might create, and would love to have it as we remember it 40 years ago, but that is never going to be.
I wonder if in all the rancor being displayed over the development at the Lodge, we are not losing sight of the big picture.
It seems to me, the greatest priority we have is to save the dam and get that behind us. Without the dam, our properties are not worth a great deal.
To pay for the dam it is probably going to require a raise in property taxes, or a raise in Service Corp fees or both.
With only 900 Service Corp members and a lot less homes, we do not have a lot of people among which to distribute $4-6million.
It seems to me we need the Lodge taxes and development to help distribute this load.
I don’t want things to go completely out of control, but let’s face it, there is going to be some compromises, either forced by courts; or people are going to have to come to some sort of agreement.
If it goes to court, we are going to drain additional tax dollars away that could be used for the dam. Both sides have been told by their attorneys they have a case, but let’s face it, that’s what attorneys do. They make their living making a case, but if they lose, they still have our money in their pocket.
It seems to me we need to find some way of bringing people together and reach some kind of compromise that people can live with.
Mr. St. Clair may have wanted too much, but some of the counter claims are also way over the top. There has got to be a middle ground that could be worked out. I have had some discussions with Mr. St. Clair and have found some of the things people said he was asking for, was never intended. I don’t really know Mr. St. Clair and there are always two sides, but in my experience, when these types of arguments start, there is also a lot of misinformation that goes out as fact.
We need to get past this shouting and accusations. The people on council are doing a service. They have tough decisions and it is easy for people who don’t have to make the decisions to point out all their mistakes.
In short, I feel raising taxes and Service Corp fees significantly is much worse than allowing some development. Let’s figure out some way of finding out what St. Clair’s “bottom line” is, and try to get closer to it. The Lodge is an asset to us that pays taxes.
I think we could start this process by sitting down with him as individuals and finding out where he is. To this point, he has been made out by some as some sort of villain. I am sure he is not, but at this point I don’t know on either side what is true and what isn’t.
I know this; neither side is going to get everything it wants and we are going to spend a lot of money we sorely need, to find out where the compromise is if we continue with the lawsuits.
I bought my property in 1961 and have seen a lot of ups and downs over that time period. When I bought the property, there was just a stream where the lake is now. There were stakes in the ground where the shore line was supposed to be.
When the Lake was filled, there were still not many homes. They were almost idyllic times. I glad I was there, but those times are gone and we need to accept that change is going to happen.
The government, by itself is going to put more and more burden on us to maintain and improve infrastructure and we need to have some development to distribute this burden.
I live out of town, so I cannot vote in an election. Voicing my opinion as a property owner, is just about all the power I have, so that is the purpose of my letter.
We need to find a way to find that compromise without draining more and more of our limited resources.
Sincerely,
Don L. Corbett
126 Delaware Lane
Friday, April 1, 2011
Lawsuit Updates
Recently there have been several legal rulings in the favor of Indian Lake Borough and St. Clair Development, LLC, referred to below as defendants.
In three cases where the local court ruled in favor of defendants, and said rulings were subsequently upheld by the Commonwealth Court of Appeals; the request by the attorney Robert Ging, representing Jim Lyons and Mary Jo Takacs, that the Commonwealth Court of Appeals reconsider their decisions, were all dismissed.
All pending legal challenges against the Borough's Zoning Ordinance (#144) have been settled in the Borough's favor.
Just this week, the Commonwealth Environmental Hearing Board dismissed the suit brought by attorney Ging in behalf of Lyons and Takacs against the Department of Environmental Protection in approving St. Clair Development's floating docks.
The only ruling I know of against the defendants was for a violation “of the spirit of the Sun Shine Act”, the Borough was given 60 days to revote on the matter, which Borough Council did at its next meeting, with the same results. There is one other lawsuit that was sent back by the Commonwealth Court related to this. It concerns a request to buy an easement in front of someone else's property, in this case St. Clair's property. This is just plain silly and I doubt it could go anywhere.
The only action that I know is still pending is the suit against the Somerset Planning Commission for their decision in approving St. Clair Development's plans. Fortunately for the defendants, this suit is being defended by said Planning Commission without any direct involvement by the defendants.
This is all good news, great news. One can hope that those that have been filing these frivolous law suits, and those that have been paying for them, have learned a few lessons, and we, the citizens of Indian Lake can return to living in a quiet, beautiful, mountain community.
In three cases where the local court ruled in favor of defendants, and said rulings were subsequently upheld by the Commonwealth Court of Appeals; the request by the attorney Robert Ging, representing Jim Lyons and Mary Jo Takacs, that the Commonwealth Court of Appeals reconsider their decisions, were all dismissed.
All pending legal challenges against the Borough's Zoning Ordinance (#144) have been settled in the Borough's favor.
Just this week, the Commonwealth Environmental Hearing Board dismissed the suit brought by attorney Ging in behalf of Lyons and Takacs against the Department of Environmental Protection in approving St. Clair Development's floating docks.
The only ruling I know of against the defendants was for a violation “of the spirit of the Sun Shine Act”, the Borough was given 60 days to revote on the matter, which Borough Council did at its next meeting, with the same results. There is one other lawsuit that was sent back by the Commonwealth Court related to this. It concerns a request to buy an easement in front of someone else's property, in this case St. Clair's property. This is just plain silly and I doubt it could go anywhere.
The only action that I know is still pending is the suit against the Somerset Planning Commission for their decision in approving St. Clair Development's plans. Fortunately for the defendants, this suit is being defended by said Planning Commission without any direct involvement by the defendants.
This is all good news, great news. One can hope that those that have been filing these frivolous law suits, and those that have been paying for them, have learned a few lessons, and we, the citizens of Indian Lake can return to living in a quiet, beautiful, mountain community.
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