MANKATO — Although the number of personnel on site at the Rapidan Dam was down a lot Friday from earlier in the week, local governments maintain a team approach to assess and determine the next steps in dealing with the new path around the structure.
Eric Weller is one of those people who has spent a lot of time there. The fairly recently appointed Blue Earth County emergency management director has helped coordinate logistics in the consistently wider spot in the Blue Earth River.
“This is really a team response, and the emergency management director really is a coordinator of different agencies and partners to come here initially, when it first happened, as a public response team. Because it’s an emergency response,” said Weller, who has 14 months in his current role.
It’s a role that has transitioned from a public safety response to a public works challenge.
Although hired full time in April of last year, Weller, who is trained in emergency medical services and emergency management, has contracted with the county for 10-15 years. So he knows the players and their roles well.
And the fact that the sheriff hired him means he has earned their trust.
As of June 23, he felt on the downhill side of flood responses in Blue Earth County towns of St. Clair, Madison Lake, Eagle Lake and Lake Crystal.
“And then Sunday this happened,” he said. “We knew there’s a lot of water going through here, and so it really is our role just to coordinate resources, get people here to help. Today we’re really working on logistics of keeping people safe.”
Because so many people have a relationship with the Rapidan Dam Store and the folks who operate it, social media has been buzzing with everything as it happened.
Arm chair experts have questioned actions, and often fears have been sparked based on incorrect information or things that hadn’t even happened yet.
“I know there’s a lot of people out there on social media that are talking about, you should have done this, you should have done this,” he said on Wednesday. “Even contractors are saying you should have done this.
“They’ve had probably a dozen contractors on site in the last three, four days, looking at things. Engineers with sub specialties in soils and water flows and all of that,” he continued. “But it really is about safety.”
In most cases, nothing will be known for sure until water levels are down and the flow rate has diminished so conditions can be looked at more closely. The Blue Earth County Sheriff’s Facebook page is updated daily and has the most accurate, up-to-date information.
One action they took early on, he said, was to remove items like the Dam Store sign and other personalized items that might be overlooked if action is needed quickly to save the building.
Those items have sentimental value that will be appreciated when recreating the Rapidan Dam Store experience, whether it be temporarily somewhere else or permanently on the same site it has been for more than 50 years.
Overall, Weller said he has had people offer any resources needed to keep the operation running safely, from the Sheriff’s Office to Public Works and Engineering.
“There’ll be lessons learned from this, but people are doing the best job they can under the circumstances,” he said.