County Commission seeks state senator’s help in Silver Lake dam effort

LACONIA — County Commissioners have asked one of the area’s state senators to get directly involved in an effort to obtain funding for a new dam at the outlet of Silver Lake which is prone to fluctuating water levels which results in recurring flooding of shoreline properties.

The commissioners voted to send a letter to state Sen. Bob Giuda, asking him to help spearhead legislation to fund construction of the dam which would stabilize the waterway and prevent further damage to property surrounding the lake in Belmont and Tilton.

“It is necessary to get legislation filed to get this project done once and for all,” County Commission Chair Peter Spanos said of the commissioner’s decision to formally reach out to Giuda whose district includes Tilton.

Spanos said he and Giuda are planning to meet with the commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Services, or the deputy commissioner, to discuss ways to move the project forward. That meeting is tentatively scheduled to take place on April 12, Spanos said.

“We want to find out what (DES) needs from the legislative side,” Spanos said.

The Belknap County Delegation has endorsed using $530,000 in COVID economic stimulus money allocated to the county to fund a study about the need for the dam.

Those living around Silver Lake want the study funded, saying it would “jump-start” the dam’s construction. But Spanos and the other commissioners argue the study by itself is “an empty gesture” without state lawmakers investing some of their own political capital for getting funding for the project into the state budget.

“I’ve seen no initiative on the part of the delegation to put those efforts forward in Concord,” Spanos said at Thursday’s commissioners’ meeting when the vote was taken to send the letter to Giuda.

But delegation chair, state Rep. Mike Sylvia, sees the delegation’s support for funding the study as carrying weight.

“The delegation appropriated the funds needed for DES to start the process on Silver Lake,” Sylvia texted in response to a request for comment. “We trust that the professionals at DES will wisely handle the resources we have approved.”

A contingent of Silver Lake residents appealed to the commissioners earlier this month to support the study. At that time Spanos told the group that without any assurance that the state will follow through the plan to build a gated dam to control the release of water, a new study would only gather dust just like others conducted in the past. To get that assurance would require legislative muscle, said.

While Silver Lake is in Belknap County, public waters are a state responsibility and so “historically it’s completely a legislative issue,” Spanos stressed.

He criticized delegation members for failing to get out in front of the issue.

“Rather than initiating frivolous lawsuits, they should put their shoulders to the wheel and use the legislative process to get this project done,” he said.