To the Editor:

The South Whitehall Commissioners never expected the voters to approve the referendum in November of 2016 to retain Wehr’s Dam, especially when they had associated it with a possible tax increase.

They thought that they could accommodate the Wildlands Conservancy in demolishing the dam, with no political consequence to themselves.

In July 2014, the commissioners gave the Conservancy permission to conduct a study of the dam, which was intended and designed to justify its demolition.

The engineering firm for the Conservancy then claimed the dam was leaking under itself, at one small spot.

On Feb. 13, 2015, the DEP wrote the township; “The Wildlands Conservancy has recently brought to our attention that there is some confusion relating to the current condition of the Wehr’s Dam ... ”

For the commissioners to have granted the Wildlands Conservancy permission to interface with the state was improper. The dam is the historic property of the township residents, not an outside party with an agenda.

A subsequent study of the dam by another engineering firm could not confirm the above referenced leak.

It is now necessary for the commissioners to put aside their attempt to accommodate the Wildlands Conservancy, and honor the results of the referendum.

They must change their Park Master Plan, which still calls for the dam’s demolition.

They must now advocate for the dam with the state DEP, and correct any misconceptions about its condition.

The reality is that the dam is a overbuilt massive concrete wedge, sitting on an enormous concrete platform, which would stand for another 100 years with no repair.

Although its been over three years since the referendum, the township hasn’t applied one dab of cement to the dam.

On the contrary, they have rebid the repairs based on the Wildlands contentions, getting a price which exceeds the amount authorized by the voter’s referendum.

They are trying to undue the will of the voters.

The dam sits in a state of benign neglect, waiting for the state to accommodate the Wildlands Conservancy and condemn it.

Michael Molovinsky South Whitehall