State gives keys to Eunice City Lake

The City of Eunice officially took possession of Eunice City Lake on Wednesday with the stroke of a couple of pens.
Mayor Claud “Rusty” Moody signed off on the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Act of Donation contract– which stated that the Louisiana Wildlife & Fisheries Foundation donated all improvements upon the property back to the City of Eunice.
“It’s always nice when governments work together,” said Moody. “From what was a disaster, springs a betterment for the people of the city of Eunice. But we still have a lot of work to be done there. After we finish doing what we have to do, then City Lake will be officially opened.”
After the contracts were signed, A. Kell McInnis, executive director of Louisiana Wildlife & Fisheries Foundation, handed the keys to the new facility over to Mayor Moody. This act made the long journey and vision that is the Eunice City Lake project a “done deal” after two years.
“Now all we need is some slow, gentle rain,” said McInnis. “So that we don’t have an overflow and we can get water into the lake.”
However, it will take more than just adding water to complete Eunice City Lake.
The lake is still not ready for public consumption as catching rain water will be needed to bring the lake to a level of completion.
William Gauthier, an architect with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries said that smaller fish– which consist of red-ears, blue-gills and other “sunfish” species– have already been stocked in the shallow lake with plans for larger species of freshwater fish to be introduced when the water level is higher.
“The bass will go in during the spring,” said Gauthier. “That’s the bass feed that they put in already. They got to get those brim to a decent size and then they’ll introduce those bass. Right now, obviously the lake is probably two to three too low. But the plan is...to drop some beds of gravel...add an artificial structure in the lake and also add an aerator pump pretty soon.”
Moody said that the City Lake levee–which had been discussed in prior meetings– appeared to be in a better condition than was initially believed. He said that the city will need to reinforce and maintain the levee periodically.
McInnis said that the news about the levee was good news to hear.
“At worst, we would have to fool witht he fishing end of things,” said McInnis. “But what you don’t is to lose that levee. That levee has been in place a long time and the last thing you want is to have something wash that out.”
While the state will be finishing up some last-minute items in their “fish phases”, the city is planning the first of their own ingredients: official city signs.
Rules and regulations will also need to be discussed, voted on and imposed on the Eunice City Lake, something that Mayor Moody said the Eunice city council will have to tackle in the near future.
Moody said that, without a doubt, waterskiing and jet-skiing will not be allowed in City Lake.
As the opening day draws near, Ward 1 Alderman Roland Miller said that nearly every week someone asks him about the Eunice City Lake project– which was reportedly finished with its construction phase in June of this year.
While Miller said that he believes that the grand opening of Eunice City Lake is long overdue, he remains confident that the park will be open for the Summer of 2014.