By CRAIG FREILICH

POTSDAM – The village Board of Trustees has a draft engineering report aimed at reassuring the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that a retaining wall at the east dam on the Raquette River is in good enough shape to keep its “low hazard” designation.

The board also approved a lease allowing Verizon to place a cellular array on a village water tower.

At the board meeting Monday night, Village Administrator Everett Basford reported that H.L Turner Group of Concord, N.H., a firm with particular experience with power dams, has submitted a draft report in response to a FERC request for an analysis of the stability of the flood wall at the west end of the east dam, next to the parking lot at Evans and White Hardware on Fall Island, Basford said.

FERC had made its concern about possible failure of the wall known last fall and had suggested that the classification of that dam be changed from a low-hazard installation to one with significant damage, Basford said. FERC also wanted a detailed emergency plan in place for the chance that the wall would fail.

But the draft Turner report says that their “complete analysis concludes the wall is stable and they believe the dam should be classified as a low-hazard dam,” Basford said.

Turner did recommend that the wall be recapped to repair wear and tear on the concrete and cover exposed rebar on the top of the wall.

Comments from trustees will be returned to Turner with the draft so the company can prepare the final report.

The board also approved an agreement to allow a new cellular telephone array on the water tower on Clarkson Hill.

The tower, village property on Clarkson land, already has AT&T and Sprint cellular antennas installed, and will now get a Verizon array. Verizon will pay $19,500 per year for five years, after which the rate will go up by 15 percent, and another 15 percent every five years over a total contracted period of 25 years.

The environmental review has been completed, so Basford said he doesn’t think the planning board will have to be involved in the process, but the matter will go to the code office for design review and issuance of a building permit for the work.

The agreement was approved with “yes” votes from Mayor Reinhold Tischler, Trustee and Deputy Mayor Eleanor Hopke, and Trustees Steve Warr and Nick Sheehan. Trustee Ruth Garner did not attend.