Town Manager David Hazlett said that property owners adjacent to Lake Carroll had been notified by borough staff that the borough’s dam engineer, Andrzej Kulik, was concerned that over time the roots of the trees growing in and around the dam embankment … could ultimately weaken the dam itself.

In Pennsylvania, dams are regulated to the degree that only grass would be permitted to be grown on a dam’s embankments, but Lake Carroll is not (according to state guidelines) a state-regulated dan. "If it was regulated by DEP (state Department of Environmental Protection), they would have ordered us to cut the trees down," Hazlett stated.

The engineer had suggested three options for dealing with embankment concerns: 1) do nothing; 2) cut down the existing trees; or 3) cut down the existing trees and remove the stumps and root systems. In addition, any cutting and removal would necessitate backfilling with "suitable embankment material."

Hazlett stated the engineer recommended the second option (removing the trees) over doing nothing, but then claimed option three (removing trees, stumps, root systems) was the "ideal solution."

The town manager said that he had been trying to amass information regarding the costs of the removal options - but had thus far only been able to determine that the cost of just cutting the trees down and removing them was $25,000, but that did not include removing the trunks, roots, and backfilling.

Regarding how much it would cost to adhere to the full recommendation (removing trees, stumps, root systems, and backfilling), Hazlett stated, "I can’t even begin to imagine how massively expensive that would be."

However, several of the Lake Carroll property owners who attended the borough meeting, and communicated with the borough by mail, were not enthralled by the proposal to remove the trees.

Lakeside resident Robert Reid wrote, "There are hundreds and hundreds, perhaps more than one thousand, mature trees involved. These trees have been growing on the dam for more than fifty years … The trees help stabilize the dam," adding that the trees should be removed only when they die from natural causes.

It was also suggested by a couple of attendees that if trees come down (through dying) … that they be replaced with Yews, which tend to strengthen structures such as embankments by having stronger root systems, rather than engaging in any tree cuttings.

The town manager suggested another solution might be to meet with the borough’s engineering firm to get a better feel for what possible solutions they can provide. "I feel I need a lot more information and get a better feel for what the best answers are for it (and) continue to research the topic."