The standstill in restoration efforts at four Midland and Gladwin county dams will restart after a Michigan Supreme Court decision Friday. Homeowners in both counties brought forward a lawsuit against the counties’ boards of commissioners, fighting a special property assessment to pay to restore the dams. The court denied the homeowners’ request for relief from the special property assessment.
The Michigan Supreme Court denied that “because we are not persuaded that the questions presented should be reviewed by this Court.”
The Edenville, Secord, Smallwood, and Sanford dams failed on May 19, 2020, following days of heavy rain and flooding. The dam failure caused more than 11,000 people to evacuate and damaged about 2,500 structures. State officials began the process of stabilizing the dams, removing debris, and preparing for the restoration of the dams. However, reconstruction work has been paused since March 2024 due to ongoing litigation related to the work’s bill.
Both counties’ boards of commissioners approved a special assessment in February 2024 that aimed to raise more than $200 million to cover the cost of the projects by increasing about 8,000 homeowner taxes. A group of homeowners in Midland and Gladwin counties, called the Heron Cove Association, claims the assessment would be an unfair burden, violates state law, and does not reflect an actual financial benefit property owners would receive.
State courts have disagreed with Heron Cove Association’s claims and affirmed the decision of the Midland Circuit Court and the Michigan Court of Appeals.
Now that the Michigan Supreme Court disagrees too, and construction on the four dams will continue.
The Four Lakes Task Force, the group in charge of restoration, said the delays in restoration have been increasing costs for the community. David Kepler, president and chairperson of Four Lakes Task Force, wrote in a March 2024 statement that the appeals process would be a setback for the four lakes’ communities.
“This appeal has impacted FLTF’s plan to acquire financing in June, and it is uncertain when or if we can issue bonds required to proceed with the construction to complete the project,” Kepler wrote. “While we respect peoples’ right to appeal, it is a setback and disappointing considering the progress we have made as a community to restore our lakes. The appeal puts us in a position where we are limited to use only State of Michigan grant funds and must ration the work that can take place.”
Now, Kepler said the Michigan Supreme Court decision means good news for locals, and that the Four Lakes Task Force will get to work.
“We will now focus on obtaining financing and restarting or continuing construction on the four dams,” Kepler wrote in a statement.
