Request for money for lake is denied

City parks officials hoping money from the Missouri Department of Conservation would give them a jump-start on opening Philips Lake have learned this year’s budget request has been denied. But they still hope to open the lake to public fishing this summer.

A city request for $157,500 to help pay to develop A. Perry Philips Park Lake was not included in the Conservation Department’s recently approved budget. The 40-acre lake, part of a 62.95-acre donation by Bristol Lake Investment Co., is the centerpiece of the Philips lake tract: 140 acres of city-owned land that will be used as a park.

The state money would have gone for a road to the lake as well as a boat ramp, a dock for fishing and a dock for boats, parking, lighting and bathrooms. The main use of the lake will be fishing for bass, crappie, bluegill and catfish. Swimming will not be allowed, and boats will be limited to small electric motors.

The park is adjacent to the Bristol Lake Development, which will eventually include a mix of residential and commercial structures.

Park Service Manager Mike Griggs said the lake needs at least a temporary entrance road and parking lot before it opens. These need funding, Griggs said, but first Parks and Recreation is waiting for developers to complete a road on the south side of the property. That work could be finished by the end of June.

The city is also waiting for rain to restore water levels in the drawn-down lake. Once the water is high enough and the south road is completed, Parks and Recreation will try to find other revenue to begin development.

“Unfortunately, we didn’t get the MDC funding, so we will try to see what can minimally be done,” Griggs said. “A conservative timeline for gravel to be in place would be from sometime in August until the first of October.”

The Columbia City Council approves the annual city budget in October, and the Parks Department would then have access to $250,000 of parks-tax money for Philips Lake Park, Griggs said. That would allow for paving the gravel with asphalt to meet city codes as well as development of other amenities.

A permanent parking lot and rest room are the first priorities, Griggs said. Then work can begin on the docks and security lighting. Eventually, the park could include a fish-cleaning station, picnic shelter, trail and athletics field complex. Specifics will be decided based on a series of public meetings.

The Conservation Department will manage the lake’s fisheries under its Community Assistance Program. The state agency finances lake facilities under the program, and the city hopes to receive the $157,500 next year.

Fisheries program supervisor Marlyn Miller said that larger ongoing projects, including cold-water hatchery renovations, received priority over the city’s request this year. “We will naturally resubmit it,” he said. “I’m quite hopeful it will be approved.”

Meanwhile, residential construction is under way. Three single-family houses are being built on 74-acre residential tract. Valerie Barnes of Boone Realty said those houses are expected to be completed in October. Several other residential lots, starting at $65,000, are under contract, she said.

There have been no new proposals for the next phases of the development, said Chuck Bondra, a senior city planner. City engineers are working on a design for a proposed interchange at U.S. 63 and Gans Road. Chief city engineer David Nichols said construction of the interchange could begin as early as 2008.