By the time this column appears, the new dredging schedule for White Rock Lake will have been released at my first official Lake Advisory Committee meeting. Assuming the Council approves the three-year bond program work plan, the dredging should be completed in mid-1999.

The project should be far enough along by the first quarter of that year to allow the City to bid on the Olympic pre-trial skull boat event – a very exciting possibility.

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Following is a copy of the three-year schedule. Please note that this schedule will be extended by approximately one year if the Council is not able to approve it as part of the budget process. This schedule also could be extended if problems are encountered with the permitting process.

In other lake news, a request for $1.7 million for hike and bike trails and a new parking lot on the east side of the White Rock Lake was submitted as part of a larger request for a federal ISTEA grant. It will be at least several months before we know whether the grant has been approved.

Dredging Schedule

The three-year bond program work plan is as follows:

• Consultant notice to proceed – started and completed January 1996
• Bond sales – will start November 1996
• Preliminary design report – started January 1996, will be complete August 1996
• Design – will start August 1996, will be complete March 1997
• Permitting – will start August 1996, will be complete June 1997
• Advertise, bid and select contractor – will start March 1997, will be complete August 1997
• Site work notice to proceed – will start and be complete August 1997
• Site work construction – will start August 1997, will be complete May 1998
• Lake dredging – will start August 1997, will be complete August 1999

Lake Advisory Committee Appointed

The Lake Advisory Committee will be meeting on a regular basis with City staff members and project engineers assigned to the dredging project.

The first task of this group will be to host public meetings to gather input about the placement of the dredged sediment. Because the lake will be hydraulically dredged, the sediment will be conveyed to the selected site through an above-ground pipeline. There will be many issues to resolve during this project, so once again, please do not hesitate to ask questions.

You also are welcome to call the manager of the dredging projects, Ben Cernosek, at 948-4202 with questions about the lake or to find out times of public meetings.

Hispanic Cultural Center?

Everyone is invited to the May 7 public hearing from 7-9 p.m. at Bryan Adams High School, 2101 Millmar, to discuss the development of a Hispanic Cultural Center in Dallas. I really hope all of you will find some time to participate in this and in lake discussions. It will be great to see you.