COLUMBUS — Polk County is looking at spending an estimated $2.75 million on required repairs to the Turner Shoals Dam at Lake Adger over the next three years.

The Polk County Board of Commissioners met Monday and heard from engineer Dave Odom about the costs and the schedule.

Odom said the emergency action plan has been completed by AECOM, who has also been working on responding to comments, with the plan current under review with the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality.

Odom said the first work will be done in the 2018-2019 budget year, and is estimated at $100,000 for the design and permitting.

Phase I is for concrete overlay at each bulkhead monolith,  and is estimated at $1.15 million; phase II is tie-down anchor installation and is estimated at $1.03 million; and phase III is seismic retrofit of arch spillway and is estimated at $575,000, according to Odom Engineering PLLC.

Phase I is estimated to be done in the 2019/2020 budget year, with phase II estimated to be done in the 2020/2021 budget year and phase III in the 2021/2022 budget year, Odome said.

“Are you anticipating that we will be borrowing the money?” commissioner Ray Gasperson asked county manager Marche Pittman.

Pittman said by that time, the county should have about $1 million in its Turner Shoals Dam savings, so the county can finance the rest through a United States Department of Agriculture loan.

Commissioners also discussed whether to seek bids for all three phases at once or bid it out individually.

Odom said the county can bid it both ways. He said one contractor may be the low bid on all three, but there may be contractors who specialize in some of the projects.

Pittman said by years two and three, the county may be able to consolidate.

“The first year will be design and we have the money to cover that,” Pittman said.

Commissioner Shane Bradley asked if there were still no offers to buy the lake. Bradley has been adamant Polk County sells the lake.

Polk County bought the lake and dam for $1.6 million in 2008 for a future drinking water source for the county.