The City of Niles is a step closer to determining what it will do with the long-dormant Pucker Street Dam.

The city council voted Monday to enter into a contract with Lawson Fisher Associates for assistance in preparing a request for proposal (RFP) for the possible installation of a hydrokinetics turbine to restore power generation at the dam. The city will pay the South Bend company $2,800 for the job.

The city has one proposal already on the table, presented by South Bend’s Falling Waters LLC in February, which sparked the idea for the city to pursue new hydrokinetic turbines to restore the dam.

At Monday’s council meeting, Council Member Tim Skalla expressed his opinion that the city shouldn’t sell the dam outright, which is what Falling Waters is requesting the city do.

“We could find someone to partner with us so we could retain ownership of it,” he said.

The city is moving ahead with restoring the dam despite argument from the Michigan DNR and a group of residents known as the Dowagiac Riverkeepers to remove it.