Daryl Metcalfe

MIDDLESEX TWP — The effort to restore Glade Run Lake is increasing, but some supporters are upset that one of the officials in the best position to help isn’t doing more.

State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, R-12th, covers the township as part of his legislative district and previously had lent his verbal support to the project, according to Siggy Pehel, Glade Run Lake Conservancy president.

But Metcalfe “has not been very active at all” in advocating for the project in Harrisburg, Pehel said.

With only $160,000 raised in what’s estimated to be a $4 million project to refill Glade Run Lake, Pehel said the conservancy can use all the help it can get.

“If that was me as an elected official, I’d be working diligently to build infrastructure in my own area and to do so in any possible way,” Pehel said. “We’re not getting that support from our representative. He hasn’t approached us. We’ve approached him and, after a few times, we got the message that you’ll support us but you won’t be a strong advocate.”

The lake goes far beyond providing recreational opportunities for residents, Pehel said. The property used to bring in about $1.6 million annually, according to the state Fish and Boat Commission, based on fishing licenses and tourism.

Jack Cohen, president of the Butler County Tourism and Convention Bureau, said at a tourism meeting Thursday morning that it is a shame that Metcalfe isn’t completely on board with the effort to save the lake.

“We don’t know why but he’s not helping that community,” Cohen said. “And that’s sad.”

Cohen called the lake “a real issue for tourism” and said it’s a “travesty” the property was even drained in the first place. He also called upon the tourism board and its members to support the project in any way possible.

It would be another issue, Pehel said, if the lake didn’t have a strong base of support, or if other politicians weren’t taking heed.

But it’s quite the opposite, he said, as a regional coalition of sorts has sprung up with the support of state Sens. Randy Vulakovich, R-40th; Don White, R-41st; and Scott Hutchinson, R-21st, as well as state Rep. Brian Ellis, R-11th.

In fact, the Glade Run Lake Conservancy just recently topped the 2,000-member mark in its effort to repair the lake’s dam and refill the lake.

“When you have 2,000 constituents in your own area that feel you aren’t addressing an issue, something is wrong and people will notice that,” Pehel said.

For his part, Metcalfe countered that he has and will continue to help by working with the Fish and Boat Commission.

He called Glade Run a “great asset to the county” and a project that is “certainly worthy of support.”

But there’s a limit to how far that support will go, Metcalfe said.

“I support the citizens’ efforts to restore Glade Run Lake,” he said. “What I don’t support is state tax dollars being used for various local projects that local officials think they have a right to.”

Metcalfe said he supports the effort locally to raise money for the project, and that the lake provides numerous benefits to the community.

But that doesn’t mean he’ll go fishing for state tax dollars for the lake any time soon.