One of the things that made Clarkston such a desirable place to live is the mill pond.
Now it is in jeopardy as the owners of the dam no longer want to pay the upkeep and liability.
They are checking into having the dam removed and just a stream running through. Now, to the owners, there is no more dam to fix, nor any more liability payments.
Dams in our state have already failed, so can you blame them?
The city has already, in years past, turned down ownership of the dam.
Clarkston is a small city and the expense would be a burden.
Possible solutions are 1) to add a tax to cover the liability policy and the upkeep of the dam, 2) take a percentage of the parking fees for liability and dam repairs, and 3) the owners of the dam once wanted to build a first-class hotel by the Clarkston Mills but was stopped by the Historic District Commission. They were just doing their job to stop it.
I might be wrong here, but the house beside the mills had to be torn down. This house, though pretty, is not in sync with the older homes in the village. This is probably the best step in resolving Clarkston’s problem.
Think about it.
Is it better to tear a house down or lose a mill pond?
Robert Dean
Clarkston