NEW ALBANY, Ind. — New Albany's Glenmill Park Dam at Silver Creek Landing is temporarily closed to visitors months after a teenager drowned near the site.
"We frequent all of the parks here in New Albany and it's sad that we can't go to that one right now," said New Albany resident Erin Bryson.
Its closure is part of the city of New Albany's emergency maintenance plan. Mayor Jeff Gahan announced on Friday that the site will be closed for emergency maintenance work to "eliminate the hydraulic roller effect caused by the current condition of the dam," and improve safety.
"Additionally, in a recent court filing, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources authorized a filing that indicated the 'drowning machine...at Providence Mill Dam, will...continue to risk public safety' if it remains as is," Gahan said.
The dam is more than 100 years old and has sparked debate in the New Albany community if it should remain or be demolished due to safety concerns.
Bryson said her family frequents city parks, and they visited the dam at Silver Creek Landing just a couple weeks ago.
"It's a pretty and historic place here in New Albany," Bryson said.
She added that she wants to see the dam stay, but is all for making it safer.
"It's important for us to have places for us to go to with our kids," Bryson said.
Another New Albany resident says signage will help, which is one of the safety improvements that was passed by city council.
"If it's a safety issue, just put more signs up, more warning signs for kids so that those things don't happen," said Ashley Love.
Love said she has never visited the dam, but understands wanting to preserve the site for its history.
"Let's get it to stay and figure out how to fix it so that we don't have kids that will go down there and harm themselves," Love said.
The emergency maintenance comes after the death of Andre "AJ" Edwards, a 14-year-old boy who drowned at the Silver Creek Dam in May.
"I feel so sorry for that family," Bryson said.
Some advocates and New Albany councilmembers are urging for the complete removal of the dam.
"Bottom line, this dam is dangerous," said New Albany City Council Rep. Louise Gohmann. "Low-head dams have claimed the lives of over 1,400 victims over the past 50 years."
Gohmann cites both safety and environmental reasons, including lower water temperatures and more fish species.
"The creek will be healthier with the dam gone," she said.
Gohmann added that the removal won't come out of taxpayers' dollars. The Indiana Department of Natural Resources has already provided a grant to cover the costs.
But for now, the dam stays temporarily closed.