New Albany councilmembers demand answers from mayor about cost of Silver Creek dam legal battle

NEW ALBANY, Ind. (WDRB) -- New Albany's mayor is at odds with the city's councilmembers over the price of an ongoing legal battle.

Councilmembers are talking about a lawsuit that centers around the proposed removal of the dam on Silver Creek. In 2020, the River Heritage Conservancy and Ecosystems Institute applied and were granted a permit to remove the dam on Silver Creek.

The city of New Albany, specifically Mayor Jeff Gahan's office, sued to stop it. But councilmembers have said they're being kept in the dark over how much taxpayer money Gahan has spent, and are expressing their frustrations with his silence.

Earlier this month, the council approved a budget for the city without knowing what the mayor has spent or intends to spend. The total city budget is $30 million.

In a two-page letter sent to the council, dated Oct. 17, Gahan claims no budgets have been overspent and the council needs to simply trust him. A few members of the council have been asking for months how much the mayor has spent in legal fees.

Gahan is suing River Heritage Conservancy, the developers of Origin Park, who said they've spent $592,741.41 in the legal battle.

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New Albany Mayor Jeff Gahan letter to City Council 10-17-24

“Transparency, obviously, is for any city leader, any government leader," said Kent Lanum, Chairman of the Board of River Heritage Conversancy. "Transparency is key to everything. If you can’t have access to the records, which the council is now starting to question, I don’t know where the legitimacy comes in at the point.”

Members of the New Albany City Council have also asked Lanum how much they've spent, and how much he believes Gahan has spent.

"We estimate probably between $1 million and $1.2 million," said Lanum. "Because they have had three to four lawyers, three law firms. One of the law firms in Indianapolis, particularly, operates one of the highest-billed law firms in the state. Obviously we don’t know, and I know the council has asked us too and that was our guess.”

All of this money and effort is over the removal of the dam on Silver Creek. The same area where 14-year-old AJ Edwards drowned on Memorial Day.

In August, Gahan ordered emergency maintenance done to the dam in the form of tons of rocks dumped next to it. Because the work was done without state or federal approval, Gahan received a citation from the Indiana Department of Resources to appear in court.

The U.S. Corps of Engineers ordered the work at the dam to be stopped, and gave the city until this Friday, Oct. 25, to come up with plan to restore the area.

"The City’s response will determine the next steps to resolve this violation, which may include referring the matter to the U.S. Attorney," the corps said in a statement to WDRB on Oct. 2.

While the issue has been divisive, it's not taking away from the planned Origin Park Development.

“We had hoped to connect into the town but, obviously with the relations with the mayor, that has been shut down for years,” said Lanum.

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New Albany City Council response to Mayor Jeff Gahan's Oct. 17 letter

Origin Park is a more than 400-acre recreation area planned right across Silver Creek, none of which is in New Albany.

“It is hard to mediate something when both parties are diametrically opposed. We want to get the thing down, he wants to keep it up,” said Lanum. “There really is no happy medium to this, so any mediation is really just a waste of effort.”

Leaders said the park will be built regardless of the efforts to stop it, including whether the dam is removed or not.

To read Gahan's letter to the council, click here or on the PDF embedded above. The letter also includes copies of resolutions passed by the city asking for the preservation of or modifications to improve safety at the dam.

To read the Council's response to Gahan's Oct. 17 letter, click here or on the PDF embedded above.

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