Montpelier Dam Reconstruction to Cost $4 Million With $2,000-Per-Acre Landowner Assessment

From the Blackford County Drainage Board meeting on April 6, 2026

The Blackford County Drainage Board reported that the Montpelier Dam reconstruction project is on schedule, with a bond of approximately $4 million planned for the July–August timeframe.

County Surveyor Paul described the project as a county burden of "roughly $250,000 a year forever." Ditch assessments will be levied on affected property owners at approximately $2,000 per acre. About one-third of the affected ditch system runs through Delaware County, which has been "very, very slow" in providing the names and property information needed to assess those landowners. The drainage board confirmed they now have the Delaware County list.

The dam's condition is severe. One drainage board member noted the dam is so degraded that sediment behind it may be the only thing preventing collapse: "there's no hydraulic pressure really."

During public discussion, a question was raised about whether the reconstruction would make the lake a public access point. The surveyor said he hadn't considered that — the county only owns the dam and spillway, not the lake.

Source: Video transcript — Drainage Board 2026-04-06