County opens bids for weed spraying at Lake Contrary

By Chris Fortune

Buchanan County officials have at least two tasks to complete before deciding whether to dredge Lake Contrary.

The county opened bids to spray the weeds at Lake Contrary Friday morning which include the cost of the liquid and the application. The county will have about 30 to 60 days to decide on a contractor.

“I think we’re going to make our decision a lot sooner than that,” County Commissioner Ron Hook said.

The county received one bid from Hammock Flying Service, an Arkansas-based company, for $182,500.

Hook estimates the county has until the end of the month to spray a product called Clearcast over the vegetation and allow it to break down the weeds over the winter and spring seasons.

Spring is the earliest a dredging project could begin, but another piece of business the county must take care of is acquiring the permits needed to put the silt from dredging into the river.

“I just want to emphasize we’re waiting on the final permit from the Corps of Engineers before we do any dredging whatsoever,” Hook said.

The Army Corps of Engineers requested more soil samples before deciding whether to grant a permit for the project. The county provided soil samples earlier this summer.

“We’ve got to wait until the lakebed freezes over and gets hard so we can get out to the middle of the lake where we need to get the tests they’re asking for,” he said.

The cost to rent or purchase a dredging machine, a time frame to dredge and the section of the lake to start with are among the factors the county must consider before making any final decision.

“We still got to make a decision as three commissioners to whether we’re going to do it or not,” Hook said.