Bono Lake, Colson Caster On Craighead Co. QC Agenda
by February 9, 2015 6:23 am 130 views
Craighead County justices will meet Monday night to decide whether or not to negotiate with a state commission on the future of a lake project.
The Lake Bono project is one of several things on the agenda when justices meet at 7 p.m. Monday in the Craighead County Courthouse Annex.
The project, near Bono, has been an issue that county officials have dealt with for nearly 15 years.
The idea for the lake started in part due to helping with flood control in the Bono area, west of Jonesboro.
In Feb. 2001, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission bought nearly 275 acres of land, for $689,500, for the project.
In return, the county spent $568,045 to replace four wooden bridges with concrete bridges in the Hatchie Coon Island area near the St. Francis Sunken Lands Wildlife Management Area.
The county also spent nearly $4.9 million since then to build a dam and lake bed for the project.
Supporters of the project have said in the past they are hopeful the project will bring tourists and sportsmen to Craighead County.
However, the project has been criticized in the past for delays and funding issues.
County officials have been working for the past year or so to get the land ready for the project. The water control gates were closed last April in order to get water into the lake, officials said Friday.
The lake is expected to be filled by April of this year, while officials will not know until at least February 2017 if the lake is suitable for fishing.
Justices are expected to review an ordinance that will allow County Judge Ed Hill to negotiate with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission regarding the issue.
“County Judge Ed Hill is authorized to finalize negotiations with the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission and enter into an agreement for the operation of Lake Bono that includes, but are not limited to, the following – enter into an agreement for a term not to exceed one year with the Commission for the primary purpose of opening, operating, and maintaining a lake on the Lake Bono property that shall be open to the public for recreational fishing and for the secondary purpose of providing opportunity for watching wildlife and other activities related to fish, wildlife, conservation and conservation education activities; accept conveyance of the property upon the terms and conditions and for the consideration agreed to in a final agreement; and upon conveyance, center into a Memorandum of Agreement concerning the management of the Lake Bono fishery and site improvements,” the resolution noted.
Justices are also expected to discuss a plan to allow Colson Caster, LLC, an industrial manufacturer, to participate in the Arkansas Tax Back program as well as committee reports.