Town Board OKs replacement of Mt. Marion dam

The Town Board has approved a construction contract to replace the Mount Marion dam on the Plattekill Creek and granted the easements necessary for the work to begin.

The actions were approved unanimously during a meeting Wednesday. Bast Hatfield was hired for the project, which will be paid for with money from the New York Rising Community Reconstruction Program.

“It would not have been possible without this funding,” town Supervisor Fred Costello said.

Bast Hatfield is to be paid $222,222, but the amount could increase after crews finish reviews of damage from recent highwater events.

“There is a sluiceway that is uninspectable right now because it’s filled with debris,” Costello said. “Depending on condition of the sluiceway, there may be a work order change to address that.”

The dam holds back water in the Plattekill Creek, adjacent to Glasco Turnpike, near Mount Marion Park. The state Department of Environmental Conservation says the dam, which was built in the early 1900s, is about 150 feet wide and 8 feet tall.

Town Highway Superintendent Douglas Myer said the dam was constructed for a grist mill, which typically used the water to power grinding stones.

Town officials want to keep the dam in place to retain water for use in the event of a fire at Mount Marion Elementary School, which has an insurance company requirement to have 1,500 gallons per minute of water available for three hours. Fire officials say the amount has fallen significantly below that level since the dam was damaged during Tropical Storm Irene in 2011.

Other water sources also do not meet the fire safety standard. Myer previously noted the Mount Marion Park residential area is connected to a 100,000-gallon tank that would be drained in 67 minutes of firefighting.