When it comes to Jay Hoeft’s Fountain Inn building, the city of Beaver Dam has preferred to wash its hands of the situation, allowing the Department of Natural Resources to handle the legal process which could lead to the building’s demolition.
But that doesn’t mean the city has avoided the situation completely.
Hoeft made sure of that on Oct. 21, when he sent city officials a letter accusing them of illegal activity regarding its downtown revitalization plan.
Hoeft believes the city’s plan, which razed 10 downtown buildings and removed a pair of culverts in Tower Parking Lot, will actually lead to higher water levels.
“The following statements are all opinions that I believe to be fact,” Hoeft wrote. “Under Wisconsin Administrative Building Code in the Flood Plain Ordinance, it is illegal to fill in a floodway. No one is allowed to have an adverse affect. You are not allowed to do anything that alters the flow or increases the velocity of the water flow. As for the illegal alterations that have taken place, before the removal of the buildings the water flowed freely underneath and the river widened underneath as well. Almost all of the area where the buildings once stood has since been replaced with soil and rocks, narrowing the water.
“It is my belief that this will raise the average high water mark, not lower it.”
A recent study conducted by MSA Professionals, however, contradicts Hoeft’s assertions.
According to the findings, the obstruction removals dropped the floodplain elevation 1.7 feet at Tower Parking Lot, 2 feet along the 100 block of Front Street and 1.2 feet along the 200 block of Front Street.
The floodplain elevation at the Madison Street Bridge, meanwhile, fell one foot. That change gradually reduced to zero from the bridge to the dam.
In practical terms, the floodplain elevation is now two feet below the parking lot and 2.4 feet below the river wall along the 100 block of Front Street.
It is unclear whether or not Hoeft plans on pursuing legal action against the city relative to the claims outlined in his letter.
“This is to inform you that you are putting a Wisconsin and National Historical Property at risk, especially in an area that has experienced two floods in one five-year period,” Hoeft wrote. “When my building was built in 1911, it was not designed to have almost one-half of the river narrowed. In the areas after the dam, most of the water level is determined by the volume of water coming over the dam. I thought the purpose of the plan was to reduce the probability of flooding.”
The Fountain Inn, 203 Front St., was one of 11 floodway properties the city had planned on buying last year, but after originally circulating a petition asking the city for 100 percent of assessed value, Hoeft decided against selling his property under those exact terms. He reopened his tavern in November 2008.
The city gained control of the remainder of the properties and the DNR wrote on Dec. 5, 2008 that any building that was not removed from the floodway as a result of the city’s action would be ordered removed as quickly as possible.
From that point on, the city has tried to keep a healthy distance from Hoeft and his building. City attorney Maryann Schacht is often asked by alderpersons and citizens about the status of Hoeft’s building, and she is quick to report that the DNR is handling the issue and it is out of the city’s hands.
Two weeks ago, Schacht told the community development committee that the DNR was working “judiciously” on the case, but said that Hoeft could challenge any final order all the way to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.