Public opposition sends latest Kletzsch Park dam proposal back to the drawing board

Any redesign of the Kletzsch Park dam in Glendale is on hold, as a committee of the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors waits for a new proposal from the county's Parks Department.

That new plan won't be coming before May — at the earliest — in large part because of the County Board's limited schedule around the April election.

Public opposition led the Parks, Energy and Environment Committee to reject the department's plan late last month.

"Honestly, it’s a pretty big setback for us," said Jeremy Lucas, director of administration and planning for Milwaukee County Parks.

Questions and concerns about the redesigned dam had come from a number of constituencies and focused on the location of a fish passage, the fate of a grove of century-old oak trees and the level of consultation with American Indian communities.

The public convinced members of the committee that there were intractable problems with the design, said County Supervisor Jason Haas, who chairs the committee.

The $2 million plan from the Parks Department included a fish passage in the west side of the Milwaukee River, a scenic overlook, portage area and access to the water for people with disabilities, and dam repairs.

The parks committee discussed the proposal at three meetings before the proposal died at a fourth meeting late last month.

"I think it's very clear that this item will need to see a little bit more collaboration and work before it comes back before us," County Supervisor Marcelia Nicholson said at the final meeting.

Still unresolved is a state Department of Natural Resources order that the county repair the dam. The other elements of the redesign stemmed from that order.

Haas said his interest is in the health of the river, and that he would like to see a plan in which contaminants in the river are cleaned up, fish can move upstream and a consensus based on facts and science is reached.

Inclusion of a fish passage is aimed at expanding the habitat of native fish.

Asked how to fashion a new plan that meets the various constituencies' needs and desires, Lucas said, "That's the question du jour."

Finding a solution that will make everyone happy will be very difficult, he said. 

Their new plan will need to include not only a new design of the dam's physical space but also the structure of the project's financing.

The $2 million proposal included $165,000 from county capital funds that were used to leverage outside funding. 

Contact Alison Dirr at 414-224-2383 or adirr@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter @AlisonDirr.