A recent article in “The Des Moines Register” showed there are only 10 or 11 counties in the state with more debt than Clarke County. Adding another $37 million or more to build the proposed 800-acre lake will greatly add to the burden that our county residents already carry.
Our property taxes increased this year, and it would probably be safe to say that our taxes will jump again significantly if we allow this 800-acre lake to be built.
After doing a history of Osceola Water Department back in the late 1980s, I found that we have been doubling the size of West Lake approximately every 30 years. The original lake, built in the early 1930s, was roughly 69 acres.
In 1958, we more than doubled it to 160 acres. In the 1970s, because of the addition of Jimmy Dean and a two year drought, the decision was made to double the lake again to 300 acres.
The original site for the Squaw Creek Lake would have doubled the lake again. With this being said, an 800-plus-acre lake would not be needed until 2045, and unless we add two more full packing plants, we would probably never need an 800-acre lake.
The estimate of $37 million to build the 800-acre lake is several years old. After our latest school addition went from $3.5 million estimate to $5 million actual cost, I’m sure $50 million would be a more accurate final cost for this lake.
Fifty million dollars could go a long way toward paying for several things our county truly needs:
• A 200-300-acre lake
• A dredge to help the present West Lake
• Build another school
• Pave some county roads
• Fix many of our city streets
• Create a landfill or compost site
• Help our community center
• Help our animal shelter
• Etcetera
It’s sad this project will be taking land from landowners and even sadder it will take several homes! A poll should be taken of all the people pushing for this larger lake project to see how many would be willing to give up their home in this same situation.
I think it’s time to start over and have everything out in the open, especially how the lake will be paid for, and be more truthful to local residents. We should select a site that would not affect several of our friends and neighbors in such a negative manner.