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| Horseshoe Lake,1909. The wee house in the distance was built in 1908-09. |
Let me take that back. You can go here, but aside from the house in the distance, it's now, in the eyes of the government agency responsible for its upkeep, officially gone.
One of the draws to the land once owned by the Shaker sect east of Cleveland in the early 1900s was the series of man-made lakes created by members of the sect to drive their gristmills. They dammed up Doan Creek and flooded the lower lands and created these magnificent lakes. When the land was bought up, the City Cleveland got the lower lake and on, Horseshoe Lake. Taking the lakes, the city promised to maintain the damns and care for the lakes, forever.
Horseshoe Lake was first threatened by Cuyahoga County Engineer Albert Porter - a sociopath, without a single redeemable quality. In addition to being an A-1 creep, Porter hated the heights area up on the plain to the east and south of University Circle. Porter felt that they were too stuck up to accept a low life like himself, so he plotted to destroy Shaker Heights and Cleveland Heights by running freeways through the area. Had porter had his way, there would be a giant cloverleaf interchange where this lake was.
Shaker housewife fought him back and the old creep (Porter was a bully within the Democratic party, he bilked his own employees for kickbacks on his wages, AND was accused of sexual harassment back in the 1960s) and Horseshoe Lake had a fifty+ year reprieve.
The end of the lake started two years ago started when it was drained by the sewer commission that oversees Cleveland's sewers and drainage, including creeks, streams, rivers, and other bodies of water. It was only a "temporary" drain to fix the ancient dam created by the Shakers almost 200 years ago. But the damn was never "fixed" - studies they said - and the lake bed, once twenty feet deep was never cleared out of the sediment muck. Residents in the large old homes - that paid good money for the view and their taxes started demanding answers.
They came this year. Evidently, the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District board or commission in charge of the money, has decided that removal of the dam will take place and the stream bed naturalized. "You'll love it - it's so much better for the community!"
Never mind there is a legal agreement that says that they have to maintain the lakes.
Never mind that there is no funding to support a wetland with native species and with removing the invasive species.
Never mind the generations that enjoyed walk around the lake.
Never mind the Van Deusen Nature Center built on land that made Horseshoe Lake look like a vague horseshoe.
Like the carnies they are, they claimed "but we're going to maintain the Lower Lake and dam." Between the lines, it read more like "we love Shaker and Clevland Heights, and we're only robbing you of one lake," the greedy little piggies around the table claimed.
The cost of removing 20+ feet of muck and replacing the damn to return the lake to a LAKE will run upwards of $36m, and they won't pay that. So instead, they are willing to pay $28 to remove the damn, naturalize the area, claiming flood benefits. The upkeep would fall to Shaker. The downside to this is, of course, Cleveland remains in control of land that they have failed to maintain.
There is more here at Cleveland dot com, and Shaker and Cleveland Heights both could rehab the lake on its own. But what happens when Cleveland pulls the plug on the lower lake or some other shenanigans in the future. You know where there is vacant land, there is someone, somewhere who wants to develop it.
The other question is what is it going to go to the values of the residences whose laws overlooked the lake. Yes, I know they have plenty of money, but the real estate was worth more because of the houses, the huge lots, and the lake view. Are the people in those properties going to see a reduction in their taxes, which are extraordinarily high, even by Shaker standards?
What Albert Porter couldn't achieve with the Clark Freeway is being done by the sewer board.
It's all a sham, as well as a shame.
I don't know that land management and government are ever a good fit. We recently experienced something like this with the natural bogs in Golden Valley. It seems manmade mountain bike trails and cross country ski paths are more important that turtles, frogs, wood ducks, heron and the like. So they drained them and destroyed a natural grotto in the process. The priority never seems to preserve what is, but to destroy what little natural habitat these tiny critters have. I know they are coming for my beloved prairie. It's just a matter of time. Thanks for sharing this story.
ReplyDeleteA lot of the problem is that budgets only up so far, and that means they don't even try to get the work done correctly.
DeleteMoney makes the world go around
ReplyDelete...the world go around
...the world go around.
Money makes the world go around
It makes the world go 'round.
A mark, a yen, a buck or a pound
...a buck or a pound
...a buck or a pound.
Is all that makes the world go around
That clinking, clanking sound...
Can make the world go 'round
Money money money money
Money money money money
Money money money...
No-one actually cares about nature, neighbours, historic land rights and so on if they can make some money out of it. Corruption is rife everywhere. Jx
If the half-baked plan goes into effect, twenty years from the area will be half filled in and populated by condos.
DeleteI'm from the Government and I'm here to help!
ReplyDeleteThe check is in the mail!
DeleteOh - don't get my husband started on Horseshoe Lake. He's been live-streaming the meetings and reading all the notes, the replies, the snide remarks.
ReplyDeleteWe never go there for dog walks anymore now that the walkway over the damn is closed to pedestrians. It's a shame, as it was a preferred destination.