photo by Tim Engstrom

Greg Jensen stands Wednesday on the Jugland dam he claims to own. He said he plans to give the county the dam and the land seen behind him.

Jensen, Belshan reveal dam plans

Staff

Published Thursday, October 9, 2008

The man at the center of the controversy surrounding the dam at the outlet of Albert Lea Lake hatched his views Wednesday of what should be done with the area.

Greg Jensen, who owns land on both sides of the 86-year-old dam and claims to own the dam itself, said he would give the dam to the county and said he would donate land on the west side of the Shell Rock River between Freeborn County Road 19 and the dam.

“And I am doing it for nothing — zero dollars,” he said.

He said people will be able to fish from the dam and the area on the west side of the river. He said he hopes a possible new dam would have decks for public fishing.

Jensen said people have been critical of him without hearing his views.

“I haven’t had anybody call me and talk about this plan,” he said.

He said anyone can give him a call on his cell phone, and he asked that the number be printed in the newspaper. It is (507) 383-1067.

Jensen was not at the meeting Tuesday morning of the Freeborn County Board of Commissioners because, he said, he had been told by Shell Rock River Watershed District Administrator Brett Behnke the vote was not taking place.

He and Freeborn County Commissioner Dan Belshan met members of the media Wednesday at the dam. They said they understand why people were upset Tuesday during the meeting. They said people have been given misinformation by Shell Rock River Watershed Board member Clayton Petersen, who had penned a guest column Monday in the Tribune.

They said the people have riparian rights to the small bay between County 19 and the present dam.

“They cannot remove this waterway,” Jensen said.

They cited papers with laws printed on them but couldn’t give the papers to the Tribune for verification of whether they applied. Jensen said he needed them for another meeting and would supply the papers later.

The commissioners on Tuesday rejected a plan calling for a joint dam-bridge at County 19. It would result in the removal of the small bay. Proponents argued that because the bay is less than an acre it doesn’t have the same riparian rights and they said because the state Department of Natural Resources has awarded a $250,000 dam safety grant the state understands the impact of moving the dam.

Jensen owned two parcels nearby before his purchase. One has 125 acres and the other 117 acres. Jensen for a long time had been interested in Lloyd Palmer’s land near the dam. He said Palmer called him up and so he bought it in May. Part of the 28 acres was purchased with $151,720 from the Gregory D. Jensen Retirement Plan & Trust and part of it with $26,120 from the Osterbroen Family Limited Partnership. He said Osterbroen is an old Danish name connected to his family.

He said the purchase came with the dam and he had no idea it would result in controversy. He said when the county turned over the old road that crossed the dam to the Palmer family in October 1958, it only reserved the right of egress and ingress to and from the dam. The document doesn’t retain the dam itself, he said.

Jensen said the dam is part of the road, and so the dam was turned over; the county only has the right to get there.

The Shell Rock River Watershed District’s lawyer Matt Benda said last week the county wouldn’t retain egress and ingress unless it was to get to its dam.

Jensen said the state Department of Natural Resources last summer gave him a permit to repair part of the dam. Because he received the permit, the state recognizes his ownership of the dam, he said.

The original dam-bridge plan calls for a variable crest to allow occasional drawdowns of the water levels to kill invasive fish such as Asian carp.

Jensen asked: “How popular would it be if they drained Fountain Lake, even just one time? It wouldn’t be. They wouldn’t do it. So why do it for Albert Lea Lake?”

He said a new dam needs to have a fixed crest. He said if there is too much water, it will spill over the dam. He said fishermen and landowners want more water, not less. And he said drawdowns rely too much on spring rains to refill the lake. He said he favors dredging Albert Lea Lake.

The original plan also called for a parking lot on the east side. Jensen and Belshan described widening County 19 and having shoulder parking. Jensen said there is neither enough traffic for parking by the road to be unsafe nor are there that many fishermen except during the spring.

He said his plan has less environmental impact on the area, and he said a parking lot would result in parties that disturb the neighbors.

Jensen said he doesn’t owe anyone access beyond the dam and said he plans to put up a fence to keep people from trespassing beyond the dam. Palmer had claimed to own the river, but Jensen said he wasn’t making the same claim. He said people are free to enter the Shell Rock River at the County 84 bridge or the bridge in Glenville and canoe up the river and through his property. He added people are free to call him to get permission to enter the river via his property.

The county commissioners in January 2007 approved drafting plans for a joint dam and bridge. Asked why they voted for making plans, then voted against the final plans, Belshan said the watershed district didn’t bring a solid plan. He said there were too many unanswered questions.

“In 2007, we assumed they would do their homework and bring a plan that is feasible,” Belshan said.

Jensen said the county board had appointed Belshan and Glen Mathiason to negotiate a deal on the dam. Belshan and Jensen on Wednesday said the deal is done except for a few last details.

Jensen and Belshan called the deal they worked out less expensive than the joint bridge-dam plan. They said the bridge will be cheaper, the dam will be cheaper and the county doesn’t have to pay for land.

Belshan gave the Tribune a written statement, too:

“Misinformation is being spread to the public, possibly to cover up the hundreds of thousands of dollars the SRRWD board spent on a plan for a dam that cannot be used because by law the riparian rights prevent the destruction of this bay. That plan would literally pave paradise and put a parking up a parking lot.”

The political jousting over the dam continues, and surely there will be responses soon by proponents on the plan hatched by Jensen and the commissioners.

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