EAST MACHIAS – Gardner Lake camp owners will have a lake to return to next summer, thanks to $40,000 in donations and the determination of town selectmen.
The repair of Chase Mills Dam – which lies between Gardner Lake and the East Machias River – is the second dam project the town has completed in the past four months.
This summer, 20 U.S. Air Force reservists spent several months in East Machias, dismantling a former hydroelectric dam in the center of town. The project resulted in Atlantic salmon having free access to the river for the first time in 74 years.
Earlier this month, Dale Richardson & Son built a replacement dam directly behind the leaky old dam on Chase Mills Road. The reconstruction assures sufficient water for the fish ladder that is used by alewives, sea-run brook trout and Atlantic salmon.
And the reinforced dam maintains the water levels on Gardner and Second Gardner lakes, both for recreational use by camp owners and others and for the loons who nest at the water’s edge, according to District Conservationist David Garcelon of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Garcelon and Nate Pennell of the Washington County Soil and Water Conservation District assisted East Machias selectmen with the project and were instrumental in obtaining a $15,000 grant for the work from the Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund.
First Selectman Bucket Davis said selectmen were concerned about the Chase Mills Dam because it was a safety hazard. Children swam up to the structure and jumped off – putting themselves at risk of being sucked into the water that poured through the holes in the concrete, he said.
The town’s insurance company said the town would be liable for any injuries, even if fencing were installed, Davis said.
Connors Aquaculture, which has a salmon hatchery on Gardner Lake, donated $15,000 for the engineering and design work for the new structure , he said.
Davis said the engineer from Civil Engineering Services told selectmen he didn’t think the leaky decades-old dam could survive another winter.
Selectmen didn’t want to take the chance that a new dam would have to be built, both because of the lengthy permitting process and higher cost, Davis said.
But with this year’s taxes already committed, the town had no money for the work, he said.
Then, the Maine Atlantic Salmon Commission donated $2,000 and the Gardner Lake Club contributed $1,000, he said. Over the next two months, 22 people donated an additional $2,300 and the $15,000 check from the Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund came through.
With winter approaching and no time to put the project out to bid, Davis said, he consulted with the Maine Municipal Association, which said no bid process was required because the town wasn’t using tax money.
Davis said he and Selectman Jack Gardner asked Richardson, who is also a selectman, if his company would do the work. Richardson was reluctant to take it on because he was afraid people would think he’d sought the job, but MMA said there was nothing to prevent a selectman from doing the work, Davis said.
“We had to get the job done and the weather was changing, ” Davis said.
Initial engineering estimates pegged the price of the project at $80,000, but Gardner said selectmen were prepared to rebuild the dam, one side at a time.
Richardson completed the work quickly and the total project costs – exclusive of the engineering work – were $24,968, Davis said.
Everyone pitched in to make the project a success, and Davis said selectmen are grateful to everyone who made a donation.
“It was the same type of partnership we had in removing the old dam,” Gardner said.
“I feel very fortunate,” Davis said. “We’ve done an awful lot in this town without any money.”
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