The Lake Mitchell Advisory Committee is recommending a shoreline stabilization program along Indian Village Road.
By: Tom Lawrence, The Daily Republic
The Lake Mitchell Advisory Committee is recommending a shoreline stabilization program along Indian Village Road.
The committee proposes installing riprap along the lake between the Sportsman’s Club and the Lake Mitchell Day Camp and planting trees on the lake side of the road. Trees help stabilize the soil and would also be more attractive, committee members said.
“It’s partially about aesthetics,” said Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department Director Dusty Rodiek.
The plan was discussed during a Lake Mitchell Advisory Committee meeting Tuesday at the Rec Center. The committee passed a pair of motions to move the plan ahead. It will go to the Mitchell City Council for final approval.
SolarBee update
The SolarBee installed in the lake last summer is back on the job.
The solar-power device is intended to increase oxygen, promote fish growth and reduce algae in the lake. It was purchased and installed last year but because of the heavy and steady rains last year, its effectiveness was reduced.
Algae thrives in stagnant water, Rodiek said, and is less of a concern with high, fast-moving water.
This year, the SolarBee didn’t work when it was placed in the lake this spring. It was finally determined that the battery was dead, he said.
The battery was replaced, Rodiek said, and the SolarBee has been working for a month.
If a heavy algae bloom occurs this summer, the SolarBee is expected to help reduce it.
“That’ll be a good test to see how it’s working,” said Mark Puetz, who was presiding over his first meeting as chairman of the committee.
Potential state park
The committee briefly discussed the possibility of a state park near Mitchell.
The concept was discussed with Gov. Dennis Daugaard when he was in Mitchell last month for the Capital for a Day event.
Discussions with the governor’s staffers were also helpful, Puetz said.
“There was a lot of good feedback from the community as well,” he said.
Adopt an Access area
The committee is moving ahead on a final design for Adopt an Access signs. It’s a program introduced by Greg McCurry when he was the committee chairman, a post he resigned after being elected to the Mitchell City Council.
The committee wants to spend $50 or less per sign, Puetz said. So far, more than 12 groups or individuals have agreed to “adopt” a public access area along the lake and ensure it is well maintained.
Teen help hired
A group of young people has been hired by the city to clean up access areas and do other jobs, according to Rodiek.
The city hired 15- and 16-year-olds to perform those tasks. Rodiek said there are morning and afternoon crews, both made up of about five teens,
They work about 14 hours a week in four, four-hour shifts, and are paid minimum wage.
“That’s a tough age for kids to find employment. It’s a good opportunity for them to develop some job skills,” he said.
“The plus for us, we get them started in the system and they learn some of the expectations we have and it’ll be a good feeder system for our own seasonal staff,” Rodiek said. “It’s a good source for us to hire good staff. The ones that work out, we can hire them in the future.”
Fish habitat
The committee wants to continue to place rocks and other material in the lake to improve fish habitat.
Committee members discussed the difference between round rocks and rocks of other shapes. Some members said round rocks seem to work best, although Rodiek said there is no scientific evidence that is true.
The committee said farmers have long been a source of rocks for the lake and for other purposes, but more farmers are using the rocks themselves and are less likely to give them away.
Puetz’s parents donated a large pile of rocks stored near the lake that were used for building a trail project, and some are left over.
They are available for a variety of purposes, he said.
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