I don’t live in Evansville, nor have I been to this lake so I apologize for my lack of knowledge on this subject. However, it would seem that the dirt dredged from the lake bottom could be used as fill for other building sites. Granted, allowing independent contractors take dirt from the bottom of the lake for free would take much longer, but the overall cost would be a great deal cheaper. There are always construction sites and landfills that need to be filled in, backfilled, or re-graded. Has anyone on the council looked into this possibility? It would seem like some simple advertising might attract the interest of contractors who are looking for fill. On the other hand, this could have already have been looked into or may not be a possibility.

The issue as well about the S.O.L.E. committee the group that was suppose to be finding a solution for this lake, that is reasonable is there have been so many people on this committee through the years. They can't agree, They don't get along, so it has lost members and they find new. The same old arguments start all over again. Let it go back to natural form.

I would also like to comment about some asking if it could ever be used for additional park space, play equipment etc.. I do believe this Mill Pond, is spring fed, it will always be wet. So the only affordable solution is to let it revert to a stream.

It means that a machine will be used to dig dirt and debris out of the lake bed in an effort to make it deeper.

Sorry what does dredged mean?

I wish we could sue the individuals who ordered the lake drained and make them pay to restore it to its former self, even if it was 2 feet deep. Brillant leadership in this town. Now it is full of brush and trees growing. Should have used the extra bricks from downtown and bricked over the lake. Would you take the shingles off your roof because it leaks in one spot, if you knew you had NO MONEY to buy a new roof.....uh probably not....unless your in Evansville government.

I think the dist 4 opportunity has been filled, maybe just not confirmed.

It would not take much to run it better just common sense.

You don't bankrupt a town and that's the direction its going.

I would welcome the opportunity to run next time. We have 4 month twins so my schedule right now is just a wee bit full.

I think its a two year term? I should be ready to run by then.

She most certainly has her own agenda.

Before I decide what I would like to say for yes or no to the lake, what type of $ figures are we looking at to turn the "new" land into usable fields, playground equipment, etc? A comparison would be very welcomed.

There is an opening on Council, District 4, if anyone thinks they can run Evansville better. Or why didn't anyone run against the mayor this past April? Just wondering

Amen, it has a lot to do with having the right people. The mayor has her own agenda. There are to many puppets on the council that do as she says.

Taxes are outrageous. We recently had neighbors move to Madison because they got a good deal on a house, did not have to drive and the taxes weren't bad.

You can not say that about Evansville.

I grew up in E-Ville when Lake Leota was there - it was a great lake. I also lived there when all the talk was going on about what to do (spend the money, leave it alone, etc, etc). I think the council has gone in the wrong direction over the years (with uneducated members and ego-centric members) and now the City finds itself in a terrible mess. Taxes are so high there and for what? I loved E-Ville; loved the schools and was proud to say I grew up there. But I would never move back - and that's sad. I'm sure I'm not the only 30-something to feel this way. Leave the lake alone. Re-think how to spend your capital budget and the money it will take to have a referendum and elect coucil members who are RIGHT for Evansville.

Any sort of tax increase in this current economy would = an economic disaster.

We do not need this lake. I already pay too much for taxes in Evansville!

they need to have a advisory referendum to get the people's opinions to see if the citizens of eville even want to pay for this mess, at the tune of almost 3 million. You should WANT this to go to referendum other wise this council who is less than xxxxxxx will just push this project through with out asking anyone. They will just due what they want, and we the tax payers will have to pay for it because a few decided they wanted it.

Unfortunately there are a few people in E-ville that think their opinions/views are that of the masses. "Let's bring the old world charm to the downtown", "Saving OUR Lake, etc. etc. I say it again, the few "important" people that got the Lake to where it is today need to figure out a fiscally responsible way to get it back to what it was, A LAKE.......Hmmmmm LAKE LEOTA !!

Why a referendum? We never had one for the (vacant) downtown renovation, along with those awful bricks or the new fire station. It's time for a new or old mayor & a clean slate of alderpersons & a lot less power for the hysterical committee

Correct me if I am wrong, but didnt a construction business volunteer years ago to dredge the lake, but someone decided against the project? At this point it is just a bug haven. I dont think the city should spend a fortune fixing this mess. I agree let it go back to its natural habitat. The taxpayers can not afford to pay for this mistake.
As far as the bricks go...I remember when we paved over the bricks years ago. Now we have a slippery road that makes my car sound like its falling apart! I am wondering why we would go back to something that was covered years ago. If we didnt like it then...why would we now?
In these times of uncertainity we should look to sustain our city, not add things to a impossible wish list.

The city of evansville and the s.o.l.e. committee have made one xxxx of a mess. They never should have touched it but to let it resort back to a stream. It makes me sick to think about what they have done. The part that really makes me angry it is a select few at this point who want it restored to a lake. WHEN this goes to referendum in the fall , which is suppose to be advisory it won't pass. NOT for the price it will take. IF the mayor and a few 'select' people had their way they would not ask the citizens of Evansville what they wanted done, they would just push the project through. There will be xxxx if they even think about going that way.

They shouldn't touch it. They should take the dams out and let it flow. Allen's creek has become a much healthier creek since they drained the lake. Water temperature has dropped and the natural vegetation that grows has come back. Natural trout populations have gone up and made fishing better the whole way through the creek You can even catch smallmouth bass in the park all you could catch there when i was a kid was bullheads, sunfish and carp. Plus with the lake gone you don't have to dance around goose crap all day when you're there and It smells a lot better.

The city of Evansville should have done a better job of researching the project BEFORE they drained the lake. All they have done is waste money and create an eyesore. I can't hardly stand to go to the park any more, because everytime I see the lakebed it makes me sick.

Please tell me the cost of replacing the bricks and the labor costs involved over the next 50 to 75 years? The city is out already replacing some of the lovely bricks that are broken in half and damaged. The S.O.L.E started the lake project, now they better figure a way to complete the lake project. It is an eye sore and they should be ashamed they started something they had no idea on how to finish.

The downtown bricks cost $90,000, which was $70,000 more expensive than asphalt, $13,000 of which was paid by private donations. That's about $11 per person for a project that will last 50 to 75 years and is expected to benefit the community over that time frame. It's also not even close to the $2 to 4 million or more that dredging the lake will cost, by a factor of around 100. Yes, that's right, you could rebrick the downtown for 5000 years straight for that kind of money.

I to moved to this city maybe not for the park but for the schools. I was also looking forward to being part of a town that pulled together and flourished. This didn't happen, it is actually going in reverse and it started way before the economic downturn, and you can't blame the bricks either, however you can blame the road construction that has closed the down town 3 out of the 4 summers I have been here. I hope for Evansvilles sake that when they finally get the roads done that this town can rise up and become a close small town.
We have alot to do but the people who own most of the town still insist on putting up business that look light steel pull barns. It's tough to pull in tax dollars if all the buildings look like barns and the center of town is ripped up, and it appears to the outsiders that we have given up on the LAKE. Yes it would be nice to have the lake but as any municipal financial decision the cost ruins the outcome. Evansville can't afford a tax increase to dredge the lake, let it fill up naturally.

If you go and read the history on this lake, you will find it was never meant to be anything more than a pond, a mill pond. At one time the damn was broke and it was allowed to become a stream again, let it be. Allow it to become a stream again. Allow it to fill. The s.o.l.e. committee screwed this up very badly. Years&years thousands, and thousands of dollars. The only way not to have to go through this again in 20 years is to allow it to revert to the stream. IF this lake is fixed we the tax payers will still be paying for it in 20 years.
City officials seem to want to have their cake and eat it to, that is not going to work in this situation. I agree with the last post they never should have started it until they had the money. Ruth Ann has done a wonderful job writing about the history of this MILL POND.

I thought the 'bricks' were suppose to bring business into the down town. Be a attraction. What a waste of money by city government and it did nothing to help bring business into the down town. If they wanted to put the bricks down they should have brought in the business first, then rewarded them selves with having the bricks done. But as normal city council just spend, spends, spends. No real plan at all, not one they stick to anyway.

They need to let it fill up again and let nature take its course. Let it be. They never should have touched it before they had the money. They have spent hundred of thousands on opinions of what to do. When they did not like one answer they hired someone else. IT is going to cost close to 2-2.5 million to do. After denying it for months , they finally admitted it last spring that it would be very costly.

There is no justification for spending that kind of money, on that Lake with the economy the way it is, taxes as high as they are in Evansville, it has just gotten ridiculous.

Let it fill up and let it be..

One of the deciding points for my young family to move to Evansville, 20+ yrs ago, was the park. It is sad to me to see that the lake isn't filled yet. I totally agree that the brick paving downtown is a total waste.(When we first moved to Evansville we had brick road and it was tore out) Most businesses are/or have moved out of the downtown area so why waste all the money on the bricks???
Please clean up Lake Leota so our park can once again be beautiful

I've been through this beautiful park on more than one occasion - with the lake and without. To think that they've spent millions "improving" the city with wasted tax dollars on brick pavement roads and feel that this lake is not worth it.

.

Shame on Evansville.

This is so sad.

I grew up playing at Leota Park. No, it wasn't the most beautiful lake in the world (or even county), but it was "our" lake.

Evansville no longer has a beatiful park. This is an eyesore.

It is decision time. Stop dragging your feet. Either clean it up as planned, or let it fill up again. Imagine how quickly it would have filled up with all of the rain we've had this year.