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$1 million grant spurs Great Miami River project

River advocacy groups have pushed for the removal of the Monument Avenue low dam on the Great Miami River to allow for more recreational use of the river through downtown.

Staff Photo by Chris Stewart River advocacy groups have pushed for the removal of the Monument Avenue low dam on the Great Miami River to allow for more recreational use of the river through downtown.

ENLARGE PHOTO

Aerial view of the Great Miami River dam removal and river restoration project.

ENLARGE PHOTO

View from RiverScape.

ENLARGE PHOTO

$4M river project gaining support

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By Steve Bennish, Staff Writer Updated 3:18 PM Wednesday, July 27, 2011

DAYTON — Imagine the scene a year after the hazardous Monument Avenue low dam is removed and replaced with two dam-like structures that offer safe passageways for recreational paddlers on the Great Miami River.

Downtown, many more people will be in the river piloting canoes and kayak play boats that dart and dance on engineered whitewater. Some will be pros executing elaborate moves and others will be newbies gliding down some fast water.

Crowds of people will be on shore watching, especially on weekends, predicts Carrie Scarff, the Five Rivers MetroParks point person for the dam removal and river restoration project.

That project, the better part of a decade in the making, got a boost Tuesday when executives with Cox Enterprises announced that the James M. Cox Foundation will provide a $1 million challenge grant toward the estimated $4 million construction effort.

It’s a top priority for the Downtown Dayton Plan, which includes among its goals attracting thousands of more people to live in a revitalized downtown. The river features would be under the management of Five Rivers Metro Parks.

The project is designed to hit several goals including river safety, water sport recreation and making downtown a draw for more residential and business development.

“This is great for the region, fantastic for the city,” said Dayton Mayor Gary Leitzell.

The Monument Avenue low dam, built in 1978 to provide a patch of still water and a deep pool for power boating, was the site of a fatal drowning in 2003. The dam has no flood control purpose and would not pose a flooding issue if removed.

Scarff has been studying the potential of the project for the better part of a decade. Similar waterway improvements have been completed in Reno, Nev.; Pueblo, Colo.; Missoula, Mont.; and nearby in Springfield on Buck Creek.

Scarff expects the river will be a regional draw with tourists coming from Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Columbus. For example, in Missoula, Mont., a whitewater project created a dynamic draw that includes contests every Thursday that pulls in an audience of a couple hundred, Scarff said.

The grant was announced by Cox Enterprises Chairman Jim Kennedy who appeared with other executives at the Cox Arboretum.

“The James M. Cox Foundation and Cox Enterprises are strong believers in doing what we can to make a lasting impact on our natural resources. This project is a great example of that,” Kennedy said. “We all need to do our part, and my hope is that this gift will inspire others to make a difference and get this critical project done.”

Key to the decision was Alex Taylor, Executive Vice President of Cox Media Group and great-grandson of the late Gov. James M. Cox. In 2010 while working in Dayton, he committed to resolving the low dam safety issue and led the company in its first participation at Clean Sweep of The Great Miami River. Taylor, a recreational paddler and fly fisher who wrote a book about fishing, is on the board of directors of the nonprofit American Rivers, an organization dedicated to restoring natural river flows. He pursued the grant with the family foundation.

When the project completes, Taylor said, “I hope (the river) is a more accessible and safe place for kids and families. We should all be able to enjoy this.”

Bernie Farley, co-owner of watercraft dealer Whitewater Warehouse, 104 Valley St., hosts a Wednesday evening river trip for 75 boaters who travel from Eastwood MetroPark to his business along the river not far from RiverScape.

“I’ve been to these places around the country and it’s amazing the amount of return for the investment,” he said. “We’ll bring a new breed of consumer to the Dayton area. We have so many enthusiastic outdoors people here. It will have a dramatic effect. The economic effect will be huge.”

Brian Linnean, owner of the Wine Gallery and Cafe at the corner of Main Street and Monument Avenue along the river, now partners with the Whitewater Warehouse on river tours. He said he’d expand his business and install bike racks and kayak racks when the project completes.

“It will be a great deal for downtown,” he said. “Right now, the low dam scares off a lot of people.”

Mike Ervin, co-chair of the Downtown Dayton Partnership and chairman of the board of managed care company CareSource, which built a new headquarters downtown near the river, said: “We are thrilled with the leadership role Cox has taken in moving this project forward. They are strong supporters of strengthening our community. This project is critical to a vibrant downtown, but is it much more. It will contribute to the economic development of our entire region, whether you live in Tipp City or Centerville.”

The project should work well with the 285 miles of regional bike trails and Dayton Dragon’s at Fifth Third Field, Scarff said, to build excitement for downtown. By next year, two major bike trail connection projects should link downtown Dayton to Troy and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and Fairborn.

In the plan, the low dam would be removed along with its dangerous five-foot drop and deadly downstream boil. Two stretches of engineered limestone blocks or boulders would be built to reach across the river east and west of the North Main Street bridge.

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About the project

Project highlights: Removal of hazardous Monument Avenue low dam, installation of two engineered rock formations in the river to create a downtown whitewater attraction.

Cost: $4 million estimated.

Who is leading the project: Five Rivers MetroParks.

Completion date: February 2013.

Economic impact: Expectations of luring more people to live downtown and boosting tourism from water sports enthusiasts.

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