SUFFIELD TOWNSHIP, Ohio — Frustrations continue over repairing a deteriorating dam. The Hills Pond Dam, located just off 532 on the Portage-Summit County border, will now cost about $3 million to repair and retain the pond.
That's up from initial expectations of $2.5 million.
Portage County, which owns the dam (technically located in Summit County), learned about the cost increase at the recent April 2 Commissioners meeting.
"You know my feeling about this dam - we should have never purchased it to begin with," Mike Tinlin said during the meeting.
Based on several conversations, it's still not clear when the dam was built or when Portage County took ownership of the dam. Commissioner Sabrina Christian-Bennett told News 5 the dam has been in their possession and has been an issue since she first took office in 2014.
The Hills Pond Dam does not meet state standards, and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources has previously required Portage County to either remove or improve the structure.
The county is also dealing with property issues while trying to access the dam and pond.
Design work involves a two-phase solution that would maintain the pond while also transitioning the existing dam out of its functional use with the help of a rock barrier.
The rising costs prompted commissioners to revisit the price of removing the dam entirely, which would cost between $5 million and $8 million.
Bennett said during that meeting that the cost doesn't match the community impact, noting there are only about a dozen homes near Hills Pond.
"It's very hard to take $3 million, much less $5-8 million to benefit such a handful of people, but unfortunately, these are our two options. It's really frustrating," she said.
County leaders said they have no plans to change course and are too far committed to keeping and repairing the pond. It remains unclear when the work will be completed.
Clay LePard is the Ashtabula, Geauga and Portage counties reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow him on X @ClayLePard, on Facebook ClayLePardTV or email him at Clay.LePard@wews.com.
