BY PHIL CUSTODIO
Clarkston News Editor
A group of Springfield Township residents hope a class-action lawsuit derails a plan to remove the Davisburg Millpond dam.
“It’s pretty sad,” said Blanche Barber of Davisburg, who filed suit in Oakland County Circuit Court against Springfield Township, Springfield Township Parks and Recreation, Oakland County, and Oakland County Parks and Recreation. “We used to fish here, take out the row boat. My kids learned to swim here.”
Springfield Township Board is considering plans to remove the dam due to deterioration and restore the pond to its original river state. According to the suit, filed by the law firm of Keller and Avadenka of Bloomfield Hills, removing the dam would inflict “irreparable harm” on nearby neighbors by lowering property values, loss of habitat, lower water table, disturbance of local fishing, and increasing contamination. The dam-removal decision has “wrongfully deprived plaintiff’s full use and benefits of the right to utilize their property,” according to the complaint.
In their responses to the lawsuit, the defendants deny the allegations as well as the plaintiffs’ class-action status, and called for dismissal. Affirmative defenses include lack of standing by the plaintiffs, statute of limitations, governmental immunity, damages have not yet occurred, and defendants have acted lawfully and and defendants have acted lawfully and in good faith.
The lawsuit complaint was filed on Oct. 28, with answers filed on Nov. 21 by Oakland County and Nov. 26 by Springfield Township. The defendants filed to remove the case to federal court on Nov. 27. The federal court approved the petition, moving the case to the Eastern District of Michigan. This action closes the case for Oakland County Circuit Court, but “does not constitute a dismissal or a decision on the merits,” according to the order, filed Dec. 3.
The lawsuit calls for an injunction against the project to prevent removal of the dam, as well as attorneys fees, costs, and other damages.
“For many years now, it has not been properly taken care of,” said Barber, who has lived in Davisburg for 45 years. “We are trying to protect and preserve this asset – the pond needs to be cleaned up, a sleeve put in the existing tube, two extra outlets for overflow, and drainage off the golf course stopped.”
Removing the pond and dam would create an “ugly, stinky scar in the middle of town,” depriving residents of habitat, fishing, swimming, skating, handicap-accessible floating dock, and a water source for local firefighters.
“You would see a big hole here, 16 feet deep,” Barber said. “It would be a muddy mess, a smelly swamp with a lot of mosquitoes and snakes.”
They set up an online fundraiser for legal expenses at Gofundme.com, “Davisburg Mill Pond and Dam,” with all donations promised to go to lawyer fees to protect, fix, and maintain the pond and dam.
“This is a community project to come together to save the Mill Pond and Dam,” according to the Gofundme appeal. “We are here to preserve our heritage and to protect the habitat in the historic town of Davisburg, Michigan. We are thankful for all of the support and donations to help us protect the Mill Pond and Dam.”
Springfield Township Board commissioned a Mill Pond Feasibility Study in 2017. The study found the outlet pipe within the dam, located between Mill Pond and Rotary Park under Davisburg Road, is deformed down to a 30 percent flow and needs replacement or removal, and is also undersized and does not meet Michigan Department of Environmental Quality standards.
The Township Board formed a Mill Pond Park Committee in 2017 to explore options to revitalize Mill Pond Park with dam and pond improvements, or remove the dam and restore the river corridor.
The township hosted a public meeting on the dam issue in March, and the Township Board met on the issue in June, assessing several options. The option receiving their top score was to remove the dam and replace it with a pre-cast open-bottom culvert with natural river substrate instead of concrete, with a total cost of $1.6 million-$1.8 million, and a 100-year maintenance cost of $125,072.12.
Other dam-removal options included replacing it with a concrete box culvert, total cost of $1.7 million-$1.9 million, 100-year maintenance cost of $125,072.12; or replace with a bridge, cost of about $2.1 million.
Plans that would preserve the dam and pond included replacing the existing spillway with new pipes or culvert, costing about $1 million; or a new bridge, which would cost about $2 million.
Davisburg’s sawmill and dam on the Shiawassee River were built by Cornelius Davis in 1836, according to information collected for the study. The dam was repaired and a new grist mill built in 1854, but the mill fell into disuse by the 1940s and was demolished in 1948.
Springfield Township and Oakland County Parks and Recreation department signed an interlocal agreement in 2015 to manage the dam, with the county paying 55 percent of the costs and the township responsible for 45 percent. The township owns and operates Mill Pond Park, and the county owns and operates Rotary Park, located across Davisburg Road from the park. The township and county work together to manage and maintain the Mill Pond.