HOWLAND — The group of Hubbard Township residents who is doing what it can to save the Coalburg Lake dam and property presented its goals to Trumbull County MetroParks officials.

Hubbard Township Trustee Jason Tedrow and residents Kendall Burrus and Mary Lou Reder met last week with parks Director Zachary Svette. Tedrow said according to plans, demolition of Coalburg Lake and dam will take place by Sept. 30.

“We wanted to make the metroparks aware of what is going on, and what the residents are planning to do. This will be a long, progressive process,” Tedrow said.

He said he has been in contact with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, state attorney general’s office and MS Consultants to see what can be done to prevent the demolition and put together an alternative plan.

Tedrow said Federal Emergency Management Agency funds are available for community dam rehabilitation because it is classified as a high-hazard dam.

“We are looking at viable options to rehabilitate the dam and also find some viable financial assistance,” Tedrow said.

He said they will seek a FEMA grant with an application deadline of Feb. 29 to pay for a study of the property and dam. Tedrow said it has a 35% local match.

“We want to see about getting this property into public hands for community use to benefit Brookfield, Hubbard Township and Hubbard city,” Tedrow said.

Coalburg Lake property is located in both Brookfield and Hubbard townships.

Tedrow said the property once was owned by Youngstown Sheet and Tube, and family picnics and other events were held there. He said the lake once was managed by Harry Price.

“We do not want to see this resource disappear from our landscape,” Tedrow said.

Reder said residents want the property saved. She said it once was a site for coal mining. Sheet and Tube purchased the property and created the lake to cool its machines.

“There is a lot of history there. There are eagles and turtles there,” Reder said

“People call me asking what they can do to help. Our community wants that property to enjoy,” Reder said, noting she has obtained more than 1,000 signatures to save the property.

Tedrow said the property could be used for families for hiking and outdoor activities.

NEARBY PROPERTY

Svette said the Coalburg Lake property is not far — about a half mile — from the Trock property, which is owned by the metroparks. But he said the metroparks can’t have the Coalburg Lake property because of the liability of the dam. Both the lake and dam are on private property.

The metroparks secured a $183,000 Clean Ohio Fund to buy the Trock Forest Nature Preserve, which is 40 acres of woodlands and wetland.

It is the first metroparks’ holding on the eastern side of the county, which has been a goal for metroparks officials.

Svette has said future plans could include building trails, but, for the most part, officials want to keep the property for wildlife.

Board member John Brown said the metroparks can’t take the property on as a responsibility. Reder said the petition is to help prevent the dam from being drained and removed by the state.

Reder said she and local officials were informed by Trumbull County Engineer Randy Smith that a grant is available if the property is acquired.

The ODNR funding opportunities for 2024 include the High Hazard Potential Dams Grant program, for which the Coalburg Lake property is eligible.

Officials said if approved, ODNR and FEMA would provide 65% of the funding, with the remaining 35% coming from local sponsors like township trustees or the fire district.

Officials said the ODNR has to conduct a study of the dam before obtaining funds. The township also would have to obtain legal counsel and work with the owners of Coalburg Lake, which consists of 101 acres.

Reder, who has lived near the lake for 15 years, said she has heard rumors for years that the lake was going to be drained and that people wanted to buy the property, but the dam is an issue.

Township trustees have said there is a concern over the liability of the dam ever since the Kinsman dam broke in the summer of 2019.