MURFREESBORO – After a long wait, the Holly Hill Road dam has been repaired.

During their meeting here Tuesday, members of the Murfreesboro Town Council heard an update from J.T. Grimes, the engineer hired to repair the damaged dam.

“This has been a long process, but everything has worked out really well” Grimes said. “Please go and look at it. It looks really nice.”

The repairs to the dam have been completed and Grimes is in the process of submitting the final plans to the state for a safety certificate.

“The road needs to stay closed until we get state safety approval,” Grimes said.

Dealing with FEMA during the grant process caused the project to take longer then expected, Grimes added.

Town attorney Bob Lee questioned Grimes about trees around the original dam and what role they played in damaging it during Hurricane Isabel.

“If we had removed the trees before the storm, could we have avoided this,” Lee asked.

According to Grimes, the trees played a role in the damage to the original dam.

“You can control your destiny a lot more (by monitoring the trees around the dam),” Grimes added.

Grimes added a permit is necessary to remove trees after they reach a certain size.

“You have to grub, remove the entire stump and back fill,” Grimes added.

The council agreed to monitor the situation and informally requested a proposal from Grimes concerning the trees around the new dam.

“The state has spoken highly of the town during this process,” Grimes concluded. “It has been a pleasure to work with the town. It has been a pleasure to work with Molly (Eubank n Town Administrator) and Gene (Byrd n town Public Works Director).”

In other business conducted on Tuesday, council members voted to move their night meetings from 7 p.m. to 6 p.m. starting with the next meeting on April 25.