Burlington voters approve advisory referendum to repair historic dam. Now it’s in the hands of the council.

Burlington voters Tuesday said they wanted to keep and repair a nearly 200-year-old dam through an advisory referendum.

Unofficial election results from the non-binding referendum showed 60 percent of voters were in favor of an $8.1 million plan to repair the Echo Lake Dam and dredge Echo Lake, which was created by the dam.

Yvette Moeller, who helped start the Facebook group “Friends of Echo Lake and Dam,” said members of the group stood outside of polls holding signs in favor of saving the dam throughout the day Tuesday.

Their message is simple and so are their signs, which read: “Save our Echo Lake and Dam.”

“We’re very happy with the results,” Moeller said. “Now it’s in the hands of the common council.”

The Echo Lake Dam was constructed in 1835 to generate power for flour and saw mills in the area. But the dam has not served the city as a source of power since 1933.

In 2013, Burlington performed a dam failure analysis. The results found the spillway wasn’t able to contain a 500-year flood, as required by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

The city is required to fix the problem by 2025. Two options were quickly identified, the first being to repair and modify the dam.

First District Alder Shad Branen grew up in Burlington. He said he understands the emotional connection many residents have to the dam and lake. But he’s against saving them, as he believes the dam doesn’t serve a function any longer.

He called the referendum a “disappointing result personally.” But as an alder, he plans to respect the will of his constituents.

“As cliché as it is, the voters have spoken, and I think we need to listen to that,” he said.

The second option on the ballot was to remove the dam and drain the lake.

Removing the dam would cost $7.7 million, while repairing it would cost $8.1 million. The city also received a $1 million grant from the DNR for the project.

To modify the dam, the floodgate would be removed and three new gates would be installed. The concrete retaining wall downstream from the dam would also be reconstructed. Echo Lake would be dredged, the shoreline would be stabilized and improvements would be made to a nearby city park.

If the city removed the dam, it would also restore and reshape the river as well as restore the drained lakebed to a mixture of lawn, natural areas and wetlands, according to a city document.

A city survey found that 60 percent of residents supported repairing the dam, mirroring the results of the referendum.

That’s encouraging to Moeller. She’s hopeful the council will approve the plan to repair the dam, setting in motion steps to select an engineer and start construction on the project.

“We want them (council) to make a decision quickly. We don’t want them to drag it out,” Moeller said. “This has been going on for almost two years now so now is the time at hand.”

But it’s not clear what next steps city officials will take, as the city website for the project says officials could go another route if they wanted to.

“An advisory referendum allows the Common Council discretion to follow the recommendation of the electorate, but it is not required,” the webpage for the project reads.

“An advisory referendum also provides flexibility to pursue a project where the exact costs are not known, such as when a project is conceptual, has not been fully designed, or has not yet been bid,” the webpage adds.

Branen said he’s not sure when the project will be voted on.

“We need to obviously carry the decision of the community with us on what is the best course,” Branen said.