Funds needed to fix dam

The Meadow Run Mountain Lake Park Association in Bear Creek Township will lose its insurance and perhaps its lake if it can’t come up with about $500,000 to pay for repairs required by the state to the lake’s dam.

The state Department of Environmental Protection informed the association years ago the earthen dam had deficiencies, but DEP issued a permit extension because the association needed more time to secure the funding for repairs.

State Auditor General Jack Wagner, however, chastised DEP in May, complaining that about 600 dams in Pennsylvania were deficient and a threat to people downstream. Among them was the Meadow Run dam, listed as unsafe in 1980 and putting 70 people at risk.

The carrier insuring the dam will drop the policy on Sept. 1 unless the repairs are made by then, according to Michael Rebovich, the association’s vice president. The association is attempting to secure a new carrier, but with a higher-risk policy that will cost more, Rebovich wrote in an e-mail.

The project would cost about $1 million, and a bank has agreed to loan the association the money, but only after the project has been completed.

The association currently has about $300,000 to put toward that from member dues of $1,500 per residence.

The association has a $500,000 loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, but it won’t kick in until three months after construction has begun, so about $500,000 must be found to pay up front for construction. After the USDA guarantee kicks in, the short-term loan will be paid off.

State Rep. Michael Carroll, D-Avoca, is helping secure that money, and he said he hopes to finalize that loan, which would be at a higher interest rate than the bank loan, within 45 days. Some association members, like Mike Gatcha, have approached officials to garner support.

The association is mailing a letter to its 161 members asking for certificates of deposit to cover the up-front loan, which should be released back to the owners within three months.

Wilkes-Barre Township, which owns the 258-acre Wilkes-Barre Township Settlement Camp on Mountain Lake, might resolve the issue. Township solicitor Bruce Phillips said the township council plans to consider at its work session later this month guaranteeing the bond.

“Of course, we’re obviously concerned. We don’t want them to drain our lake,” Phillips said.

The permit expires at the end of the year, but provisions in it effectively require that the construction be done with the next few months, Rebovich wrote.

If the money can’t be secured, Carroll said he’s “certainly willing” to seek another extension.

“They have done everything that an association can reasonably do to advance the project to construction,” he said.