The Webster Parish Police Jury passed a resolution in conjunction with Bienville and Bossier parishes to set a no wake zone standard for Lake Bistineau.
During the meeting Tuesday, Jury President Jim Bonsall, District 6, explained the resolution sets a standard for Lake Bistineau so that boaters will know when the lake reaches an elevation of 144 feet they are required to treat the lake as a no wake zone.
“Every time the lake comes up, there’s some indecision on what to do,” Bonsall said. “When the water gets up into people’s boathouses or into their yards, there’s indecision. At the request of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, we’re setting an elevation, and when the water comes up to that elevation, everybody should know that any boat traffic should be with no wake.”
The motion to adopt the resolution was made by Steve Ramsey, District 11, seconded by Bernard Hudson, District 5, and passed unanimously.
Lake Bistineau is set in Webster, Bossier and Bienville parishes.
In other news, the jury approved the abandonment of 1,000 feet at the end of Wallace Road, which is a parish maintained right of way. Bonsall says 1,644 feet will continue to be included in parish maintenance.
The jury also approved:
- Recreational funding for District 1 — $1,000 for audit expenses for the City of Springhill.
- Recreational funding for District 11 — $2,500 for the Village of Heflin’s civic center.
- Compliance questionnaire for the 2015 audit of financials for the police jury.
In committee reports, Beverly Hammett, with the Webster Parish Library, says a fire last week caused a large amount of damage to the inside of the library in Heflin, making it a total loss. She says the structure is sound; however, damage from soot took out the remainder of the books, computers and other inventory inside.
“Everybody was amazed at how much soot there was because the building is so air tight,” Hammett said.
The cause of the fire was a window air conditioning unit, she said.
“The good news is nobody was hurt, and all of that can be replaced,” she said. “We hated it because it was our newest remodeled building.”
Insurance has already covered reconstruction and cleanup costs, and Hammett says they are now working to replace content inside the library.
The next meeting of the Webster Parish Police Jury will be April 5.