On October 24^th, 2001, Mike Sells of Dalhart.net sat down with Mayor Rahll and City Manager Greg Dugan for an interview with them concerning the plans to renovate Rita Blanca Lake. The following is that interview:

Dalhart.net: Hello gentlemen, I am Mike Sells with Dalhart.net. Dalhart.net is a community based website in which we provide Dalhart residents with local information. I would like to ask you fellows a few questions about the plans you have to improve our lake area.

Dugan: How many of those websites do we have now? What, we have the chamber, and Lynn Ballew has one….

Dalhart.net: I guess that would make me number three.

Dalhart.net: Are there any plans to drain the current lake, and develop a body of water that Dalhart Area Residents could use and enjoy?

Mayor Rahll: No there is not. There simply isn’t any supply of water to keep the lake full. We did a study some years ago that showed that the water being pumped into the lake would not even cover the evaporation.

Dalhart.net: What about making a smaller body of water that we could maintain? There is a small lake in the town of Greensburg, Kansas that the city keeps pumped full, and the residents there use it extensively.

Dugan: There simply isn’t any water. The only source of water that the lake gets now is from the water treatment plant. We have to have a place to put that water.

Dalhart.net: What about the current mosquito problem that we have because of the lake? Something needs to be done about that.

Dugan: The Lake does not contribute to mosquitoes.

Mayor Rahll: I do not know anything about that.

Dalhart.net: What about the terrible algae problem in the lake due to the treated water from our sewer plant? Doesn’t improperly treated water cause extensive algae problems? Isn’t that harmful to the waterfowl that frequent the lake?

Dugan: The algae problem isn’t caused by treated water. It is caused by the lake being so shallow. It is only about three feet deep at the deepest point. The sun shinning through the shallow water causes it to heat, promoting algae growth. The algae doesn’t harm the waterfowl.

Dalhart.net: Don’t you think that the residents here want the lake to be improved where they could have a place to fish, canoe, and enjoy?

Dugan: We have a fishing lake!

Dalhart.net: Mr. Dugan, have you ever been to the fishing lake during the kids fishing tournament? There are so many people there that you can hardly get to the water!

Dugan: That doesn’t change the facts. We have no plans to do anything to the current body of water.

Dalhart.net: Are there any plans to have any fundraisers to help raise money for the improvements to the lake?

Mayor Rahll: We plan to spend an extensive amount of money allotted by the Economic Development Fund. No fundraisers will be necessary.

Dugan: We plan to spend a lot of money on the project for several years in the future.

Dalhart.net: What improvements to the current buildings and structures are planned?

Mayor Rahll: Not yet. We are planning to hire a park architect to make the plans for our improvements. We want to consider this project at every angle. We are not going to take on this thing lightly.

Dalhart.net: How will the plans for the lake be made, and who will be responsible for the decisions made? Do you intend to make a separate committee for the organization of the effort?

Mayor Rahll: We are putting that together at this time. We have hired a park technician. We plan to hire the architect. We will use existing people to make the decisions and manage the project. Right now, plans are to improve existing buildings, and do extensive landscaping.

Dalhart.net: What are the plans to allow the riding of ATV’s on the West End of the lake property? I saw the article on the front page of the paper, warning people not to ride in that area.

Dugan: We are looking in to that, but I can assure you that they won’t be taking over the entire property, as they seem to have thought that they could.

Mayor Rahll: The reason for this is that the city only has taken over the park area itself. Texas Parks and Wildlife has a 99-year lease on the rest of the property. The Lake, and the entire canyon all the way to the railroad tracks is still controlled by them until the day that they release it. They are the organization that is not allowing riding out there, not the city. We are making plans to try to get that property back as well. If we do, we will consider a designated area for the riding of ATV’s, etc. then.

Dalhart.net: So, even if we wanted to do something with the body of water at the lake, we couldn’t because it is controlled by the state.

Mayor Rahll: That is correct, and I might add that I am extremely disappointed with the lake of anything done by the state to improve the property. That is the main reason we turned it over to them in the first place.

At this point, Mayor Rahll had to leave the interview due to previous engagements.

Dalhart.net: Are there any volunteer programs being considered in which residents could volunteer to help with some of the work being done, such as planting trees and so on?

Dugan: No. The city plans to spend significant amounts on the project. We don’t want people going around and just arbitrarily plant trees wherever they want!

Dalhart.net: As I stated earlier, I am developing a page to help keep our residents informed on the progress of the project. I also would like to provide a discussion board for residents to discuss plans and offer suggestions. Would you please e-mail be any new developments concerning the project so that I can post them for our residents to read?

Dugan: Just keep an eye on the paper. We have a city council member who works there. You can get any information you need there.

Dalhart.net: Would you give me your e-mail address so that we could ask you questions about the project?

Dugan: I don’t want to have my e-mail flooded with questions about this project. I am a very busy man.

Dalhart.net: Would you consider paying a visit to the web page discussion board occasionally and giving us all some information there? That doesn’t require your e-mail address.

Dugan: If I have time and think about it, I will.

Dalhart.net: Thank you for your time.

· Note: This is a summary of the interview, and not “Direct Quotes”.

AN EDITORIAL ON THIS ISSUE BY MIKE SELLS OF DALHART.NET:

I was pretty disappointed with the information that I learned in this interview. I would like to thank the mayor for his cooperation and his attention. However, Greg Dugan was extremely uncooperative and maybe just a little bit rude. I have a few things to say to Mr. Dugan and his responses to my questions.

1. When I told Mr. Dugan about Dalhart.net, his response was, “How many of those do we have now?”

Mr. Dugan, how many new subdivisions do we have now? How many gas stations do we have now? How many restaurants?

2. His statement that the lake doesn’t contribute to a mosquito problem is downright ridiculous. Mosquitoes breed in stagnant

water. I would go out on a limb here and say that the water down at the lake is pretty stagnant! For more information on

mosquitoes, go HERE! We had a lot of mosquitoes this year. Anyone who has ventured down the trail by the old boat ramp just

before dark in the early summer has been covered with mosquitoes. How much money does the city spend spraying for them?

The fact is that by improving the quality of the water at the lake, and by introducing natural predators of mosquito larvae into the

Lake, we could drastically reduce our mosquito problem.

3. As for Mr. Dugan’s extensive knowledge of the causes of algae infestation, I have this to report:

When organic matter such as animal waste or improperly treated wastewater enters a body of water, algae growth increases and the

dissolved oxygen levels decrease as the plant material dies off and is decomposed through the action of the aerobic bacteria. Decreases

in the dissolved oxygen levels can cause changes in the types and numbers of aquatic macro invertebrates, which live in a water

ecosystem. (Taken from http://searchpdf.adobe.com/proxies/2/20/61/38.html) Also try the following links:

http://dnr.metrokc.gov/wlr/waterres/smlakes/algae.htm and http://charliesspace.tripod.com/algae.html

Mr. Dugan was partially correct about algae. Shallow water does contribute to its growth. All the more reason to drain the lake, make it

deeper, covering a smaller area, and properly treat the wastewater.

I think that our city management is not in touch with the wants of the residents here. I believe that most of us would rather have the water at the lake fixed where we can use it. Yes, improvements of the park would be good to, but WE WANT A LAKE! Not an algae infested, mosquito-breeding swamp filled with our sewer water.

I believe that the lake could be fixed by making it deeper, and covering a smaller area. Then improve our wastewater plant, and supplement the water supply with well water. We could stock the lake with Sand Carp, which eat algae and moss, along with other varieties of fish that would eat mosquito larvae, and that we could go fishing to catch. There are experts that we could consult to help us with this. Instead of hauling away the material dredged from the lakebed, pile it up in the middle making an island. This would reduce the cost of the project.

I do think that we can do some things to help to convince our city’s management to consider building a small lake that we can use. We need to go to city council meetings and voice our opinions, write letters, and maybe even voice our opinions on Dalhart. Net’s discussion board. As I said before, the mayor was cooperative and seemed to be excited about the project. I believe that there is hope yet.

Since Mr. Dugan is not willing to cooperate with Dalhart.net in providing information concerning the project, I will do my best to provide you with any information that becomes available, including by “keeping my eye on the paper”.

This is just my opinion, and I could be wrong.

Mike Sells