St. Charles Dam Removal Task Force To Meet Thursday

ST. CHARLES, IL — Removing a dam along the Fox River in St. Charles has become a hot topic in recent months. And those interested in learning more about the issue can attend the first meeting of the Fox River Dam Joint Task Force, which will be held next week.

The task force will meet at 6 p.m. at city hall, 2 E. Main St. in St. Charles.

The meeting will be the first of several that will take place, and a full schedule is expected to be released once it is set up by the task force, according to a news release from the city of St. Charles.

The joint task force formation comes following a recently released draft report from the United States Army Corp of Engineers regarding the removal of nine dams along the Fox River, including the dam in St. Charles.

The task force aims to take a closer look at the potential environment, economic and recreational impacts to the city, park district, residents and businesses if the dam is removed, according to the news release from the city.

Members of the task force include nine community representatives from the city, park district and river corridor foundation.

City representatives include residents Conrad Newell and Brian Pohrte and aldermen Ryan Bongard, Paul Lencioni and Bryan Wirball. Park district representatives include Jim Cooke, park board commissioner; Bob Thomson, park board of commissioners vice president; and Mike Kies, park district superintendent of recreation.

John Rabchuk, director for the Fox River Corridor Foundation, is also on the task force.

“The Fox River is at the very heart of our community and I don’t feel like the issues pertinent to St. Charles were adequately addressed in the US the Army Corps of Engineers report,” St. Charles Mayor Lora Vitek said. “I think it is important to gather more information specific to the economic and recreational impacts surrounding dam removal, and to solicit public feedback before any decisions are made.”