AUSTINTOWN — Neighbors surrounding the former Meridian Lake are a couple of steps away from the lake being restored, nearly a year after the dam was breached and the lake drained.

The first step, and most important, was acquiring the property from the previous owner.

According to the Mahoning County Auditor’s website, Youngstown-based Woodside Aqua Properties LLC purchased the dam and lake from James Salter, who originally purchased both for $50 in 2017. The deal closed last week, but the purchase price was not disclosed; market value is $10,790, according to the county.

Representatives from the limited liability company spoke to a group of nearly 30 neighbors at Wedgewood Park Evangelical Church on Tuesday night to discuss what comes next.

Tentative plans were discussed, though nothing is set in stone. The neighbors will continue to have conversations with one another to gauge where they stand on subjects such as forming a homeowners association, if a new dam can be put in and have a rough estimate for a timeline.

The need for a new dam stems from an Oct. 26, 2020, breach.

After an assessment, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources the dam to be a hazard. The lake itself was drained in days, and destruction of the dam was completed Nov. 5.

Salter purchased the property for $50 after it was put up for auction by the auditor’s office. Two years after purchasing the property, legal action was taken in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court by Ohio’s attorney general at the time, Mike DeWine, for Salter’s alleged failure to keep up the property. After the breach, neighbors faced a muddy mess where the lake had been.

With Woodside Aqua Properties possessing the deed to the property, the issues following the breach may be resolved — but that won’t be until enough money is raised and an engineer conducts studies on how exactly a new, sustaining dam can be built.

nhawthorne@tribtoday.com