Marianna Borough rescinds agreement with American Rivers, will not remove Marianna Dam
Contractor repairing street beside creek in Marianna
Scott Beveridge/Observer-Reporter
Fishermen stand in the water at the base of the dam along Ten Mile Creek in Marianna last year.
Karen Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Gerald Kerr is sworn in as a council member at a Marianna council meeting Wednesday.
Marianna Borough Council on Wednesday rescinded an agreement with American Rivers, an environmental group that planned to demolish Marianna Dam.
The board voted unanimously to scuttle the agreement, in which American Rivers would have removed the aging dam at no cost to the borough, and plans to keep the dam intact.
Council will send the organization a formal notice of their decision.
“We plan on keeping the dam for now. We want to assess our options,” said council president Jeremy Berardinelli. “We’d like to keep it. We want to do due diligence and if it’s determined it’s not safe and it has to go, then it has to go. We are going to be as thorough as we can be, gather all of the information, and sit down and make a decision.”
The fate of the dam has been a point of contention for residents of Marianna who are divided over whether or not the dam, a popular site for recreation including fishing and boating, should be kept or removed.
Berardinelli said a petition calling for the dam to be saved garnered signatures from approximately 1,200 of the borough and West Bethlehem Township’s 1,800 residents.
According to Berardinelli, the DEP advised the borough in 2015 to repair two wing walls and to clean debris around a roundhouse installed by the coal mine.
Since then, PennDOT invested approximately $100,000 into repairing the left wing wall on state Route 2020, and debris has been cleared from around the roundhouse, he said.
“The dam has improved since the last inspection,” said Berardinelli. “It’s not in danger of failing, according to DEP.”
In other action, council granted use of the boat launch on Ten Mile Creek to Marianna Outdoorsmen Association for its annual canoe race, which will be held in April 2020.
Representatives of the association also asked council to approve a lease agreement that enables them to use the land next to the creek.
In another matter, engineer Sarah Boyce of Widmer Engineering Inc. advised council to submit an application for Local Share Account funding in the amount of $500,000 to repair and stabilize an area of the borough damaged by a landslide in October.
She also recommended council meet with Washington County commissioners to discuss funding.
Beeson Avenue remains closed following the landslide, and Boyce voiced concern that the slide area needs additional stabilization and that the road remains unsafe.
Also Wednesday, council opted to eliminate its borough zoning ordinance. Instead, the borough will rely on International Property Maintenance Code and prior ordinances.
In other business, Gerald Kerr was sworn in as a council member at a special meeting held before Wednesday’s regular meeting. Kerr filled the last vacancy created after four members of council resigned from their positions in July.
Kerr joins Berardinelli, Scott Jones, Cathy Daniels and Steve Matiyasic on the board.
Council addressed personnel issues at the special meeting, where Berardinelli was appointed council president, Jones was appointed vice-president, and Turturice and Associates was tapped to replace Bassi, Vreeland and Associates as borough solicitor.
In another matter, Berardinelli said the borough is undergoing an audit by Opst & Associates of Greensburg to determine that Act 13 impact fee funds have been properly used and accounted for.
Finally, council also approved a motion prohibiting firearms in the municipal building, with the exception of law enforcement personnel.