CADILLAC, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Cadillac residents in search of pearls, diamonds and shiny necklaces are finding a surprise when they visit Wexford Jewelers these days. They are greeted by a parking lot that has a few areas that are blocked off by fencing. Customers are seeing what appears to be sink holes in the parking lot but the holes are actually the result of structural damage due to a failing culvert.
Michigan News Source reached out to Keith Terwilliger, the administrator in sales at Wexford Jewelers, to ask about the situation. Terwilliger said, “Essentially it’s kind of like an octopus. There’s one big problem with a lot of tentacles. The main problem that affects us directly is that there are two culverts that run underneath the parking lot between our building and the Plaza North, which is Sherwin-Williams and AT&T…and those two culverts are actually placed in the river so the water can run underneath the parking lot. They were placed there some time in the early 1960s to late 1960s before permits and before a lot of regulations were in place.”
He continued to say, “And the trouble that we’re having is that the river obviously is under the jurisdiction of the state of Michigan. And then that area where the culverts run, which is the majority of the parking lot that we use, is not deeded or owned by any party. So the plaza to the north doesn’t own it, and neither do we. So we have no ability to take responsibility or gain permits for it to do any sort of repair, nor could we ever afford it, because it would be millions of dollars to either repair or ‘daylight’, which the state of Michigan EGLE (Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy) wants to ‘daylight’ it entirely and take out the whole area of the parking lot which we would lose 90% of our parking if that was to happen.”
Terwilliger said that the culverts have exceeded their lifespan. He said, “They’re only supposed to have approximately 50 to 60 years at best if not even less. And the metal is rusted, it’s eroding, and then it’s collapsing. And then the sediment and the gravel in the parking lot is going into the culverts and down the Clam River. So that’s why the parking lot is sinking…It’s an infrastructure failure.”’
He also described how Lake Mitchell and Lake Cadillac are connected together through a canal and how the water drains to keep the lake levels regulated. He said it “drains through a dam at the base of the Clam River that’s next to Consumers Power and that water goes through that dam through the Clam River and then these culverts, and then essentially goes out to the east/northeast part of Cadillac, where the true original part of the Clam River is and connects into there.”
Terwilliger warned, “So if these culverts were to fail, God forbid, it would potentially flood about a block north into the neighborhoods, into an area where one of the credit unions exists. And then…should it be the case where that water cannot be pumped out or diverted, then essentially it would allow Lake Mitchell and Lake Cadillac to take on water, and those residents would flood there too… So it, it has massive implications.”
Unfortunately, nothing has changed since the story was first reported on except that the holes are getting deeper. Terwilliger said they are getting deeper in the parking lot and the “actual circumference of the holes is expanding just due to the massive amount of rains we’ve had over the past week.” He continued to say, “Every time the water level rises and drops, more of the gravel and the sediment from the parking lot goes through the holes in the culverts and washes down the river, and then you have more sinking or more erosion and digression of the holes in the parking lot.”
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Terwilliger has told his customers, and wants everyone else to know, that the building is completely safe and the store is still open. He said that the city has been really good about helping them with extra fencing and that any area that might not be safe for pedestrian or for a vehicle has been totally blocked off. He added they’ve also had a city engineer check everything out to make sure that it’s safe to maintain business.
Terwilliger also pointed out another problem in the area. He talked about a drain tile in the area that connects to the culverts and is blown out entirely. He said, “The whole bottom half of it is gone and it’s pouring water right into the base of the river that also is the bridge of U.S. 131 and North Mitchell Street. So that’s a whole separate problem in itself.”
Meanwhile, Terwilliger is waiting to see how the wheels of government progress. 9 & 10 News had reported that the city has been trying to help him figure out how to deal with things but with the parking lot being undeeded and not claimed by anyone, it’s complicated.
Nevertheless, City Manager Marcus Peccia is working with Terwilliger to find a solution to the problem. Peccia said about the issue, “The river is owned by the state. None of this property is owned or is under the authority of the city however the city is certainly trying to do everything we possibly can to help the adjacent property owner in finding resources to get this problem resolved.”
Although there are no plans yet to fix the problem, Terwilliger says that Michigan Republican Senator Michele Hoitenga has been “amazing” and has stepped in to see how she can help.
Terwilliger also added, “We would like to see more people message in to our local representatives and our state officials to let them know the urgency of this.”
