Tecumseh City Council asked to fund kayak, canoe portage at Red Mill Pond dam

TECUMSEH — With repairs being planned for part of the Red Mill Pond dam in Tecumseh, city officials are considering funding the creation of a proper kayak and canoe portage around it.

Kayakers and canoeists over the years have used an area around the south end of the dam to portage from Red Mill Pond, under the North Evans Street bridge and back into the River Raisin. The Lenawee County Drain Commissioner’s Office is planning repairs to the dam’s auxiliary spillway gates and a realignment of the auxiliary spillway itself. While making those plans, the office’s engineering firm also looked at designing a portage that would be more safe and cause less erosion to the dam’s earthen structures and riverbank.

The county’s engineering firm, the Spicer Group, estimated the cost of a portage would be $161,000. It would involve installing steps made of rosetta stones and include a low railing system that would allow users to slide their watercraft down to the water instead of carrying them or dragging them down the riverbank, which can damage the turf and cause erosion. Rich Graham of the Spicer Group said the slide is modeled after one installed at a park in Washtenaw County.

There is a lake level district that pays for operation of the dam through a millage. That district cannot be assessed for a recreational project like the proposed portage, drain commissioner Jenny Escott told the Tecumseh City Council at a study session on June 17.

The county government has allocated $925,000 of its American Rescue Plan Act funds toward the repair project in order to minimize the amount that would be assessed to the lake level district, Escott said. Last year, the county applied for a $600,000 state grant that it hoped could cover more of the repairs and the cost of the portage but was rejected, and the county does not want to wait and apply again to do the repair project, which is planned for later this summer or in the fall.

The county intends to put the project out to bid within the next month, Rich Graham of the Spicer Group said. The county would need to know whether the city will be involved for the bid documents, Escott said.

If the portage project is not funded, Graham said, the county would fence off the current pathway for safety and security and shore up the riverbank with riprap to prevent erosion.

In a summary of the proposal that Tecumseh City Manager Dan Swallow prepared for the council, he said if the current pathway under the bridge is closed off, watercraft users might go over the embankment and cross Evans Street to get to the river on the other side of the dam.

“While you see some people do this today, it is definitely not a safe option,” he wrote.

Swallow told the council June 17 he's asked local foundations about whether they would help fund the project, but at this point the council is being asked if it would allocate funds from the city’s reserves to pay for all of the portage project. He said the city’s reserves can absorb this project, but part of the consideration about whether to fund it would be what might the city not be able to pay for if it spends $161,000 on this project.

“If indeed council chose to go along with putting this portage in, this is the ideal time to do it,” Mayor Jack Baker said. “Obviously, cost would be much less than if we brought in a contractor at another time.”

Council members Brian Radant and Ron Wimple agreed that the project is worth exploring, due to the timing of the county’s project and safety considerations of not wanting watercraft users to carry their canoes or kayaks across Evans Street to get around the dam.

Subscribe Now: For all the latest local developments, breaking news, and high school and college sports content.

Swallow said he would follow up with the foundations on his funding request and bring the proposal back to the council soon.

The overall auxiliary spillway repair project includes removing, realigning and replacing the auxiliary spillway walls and floor; replacing the seven auxiliary gates and installing remotely operated lift actuators; upgrading the telemetry to support the new actuators; adding safety fencing and signage; and improving the current access point for dam operators on the northwest end of the bridge, including installing erosion-resistant turf where drain commission employees could park their vehicles. Currently, they park across the street at Evans Park and have to cross Evans Street to access the dam controls.

— Contact reporter David Panian at dpanian@lenconnect.com or follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @lenaweepanian.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Kayak, canoe portage proposed for Red Mill Pond dam in Tecumseh