Posted on January 17, 2019
Fisheries and lakes ecology manager Brad Meredith told the Hot Springs Village lakes committee that the Lake Balboa drawdown levels have fluctuated over the last few weeks because of heavy rainfall events.
He noted one instance when the lake was down 53 inches on Jan. 4, and by the next morning it had risen 10 inches because of rainfall.
Dredging equipment was expected to arrive the day of the meeting (Jan. 9). When it does arrive, the mechanical dredging will begin, starting in the Sanchez area of the lake.
Meredith said he will have three machines doing the work, with hopes for more, as more workers and more equipment becomes available.
As for hydraulic dredging, the requests for proposals have gone out. Once a contract is selected, it will have to be approved by the POA board, because, Meredith said, it’s quite expensive.
Clearing of dam faces has taken place over the past few months and more clean-up is under consideration.
Meredith’s report said the public works department is planning on having a contractor come in and burn the faces to kill current growth and other debris. They would also spray the riprap through the growing season, with possible help from the lakes department.
Accumulated Christmas trees were collected and placed in Lake Coronado for improved fish habitat.
Meredith has also inspected the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission property for more cut cedars. He said there are several along a road that would be easy to remove, thus work parties will be formed to remove them and place in Village lakes
Chairman Bill Goodwin again brought up the idea of using a golf course pond to rear baitfish.
Seeing as the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission no longer stocks Village lakes, it will be up to POA to make any future stockings. Meredith said he’d talked to lake managers in Bella Vista about their successful efforts in doing so and is gathering information to develop a process to move forward.
Goodwin said a subcommittee will meet concerning kayak launch sites that do not impact neighborhoods. “We need to get everybody on the same page,” Goodwin said.
Meredith brought up an idea that went nowhere last year, but is seen as a way to promote the Village fishery, that being a Village Fishing Challenge, which would be similar to what Hot Springs does, but on a much smaller scale.
The event involves tagging fish, maybe as many as 75. If an angler catches a tagged fish, they win money. Meredith will again seek vendors to cover the cost, which he sees as $10,000, which would go to the payouts for the caught fish. There would be no POA dollars spent on the Challenge. Fish would be placed in the four largest lakes – Coronado, Balboa DeSoto and Cortez.
Next on the agenda was Greg Jones who gave an update on the Lake Balboa Marina (see the Hot Springs Village Voice, Dec. 4 issue, page 1B for more details). Jones, who operates the marina for the Diaz family, said he hopes to be open by Memorial Day and the cost of re-construction and improvements will reach one million dollars.
“We’re trying to build a premier facility for the Village,” Jones said. Once a contract is in place, the plans will go to the ACC for approval.
Also at the meeting were Brenda Cameron and Ken Gilmer from the Village Compliance Department. Cameron said there were 1,300 compliance violations investigated last year, 306 of which had to do with resident’s boat docks and another 86 at boat ramps. She explained that once a violation is found, the offender receives a warning ticket. If nothing is done, they receive a 10- and then a 30-day notice to comply. If they don’t, they are fined.
Only one person was fined in 2018. Meredith added that the inspectors, of which there are only two, “work their tail off to help us.”
The next meeting of the lakes committee takes place at 8:30 a.m., on Feb. 13, at Coronado Community Center.
Source: Hot Springs Village Voice
