The city of Lewisville rents the property for Lake Park—where the barge has been since 1959—from the United States Army Corps of Engineers. The city, in turn, subleases the park’s golf course, Eagle Point Marina, and the fishing barge, said James Kunke, Lewisville's community relations and tourism director.
The Corps requires a site inspection once every 12 months, said Kunke.
“The Corps and city staff did the inspection in March, found a few things that needed attention and marked them. Then, there was another inspection this month and [the Corps and staff] found a few things that were more concerning,” he said.
Kunke said there were a few routine things that needed to be cleaned up or fixed, but that some structural concerns needed more physical maintenance done on them in order to ensure visitors' safety.
Some of the areas that will need tending to include the fishing barge’s electrical work, decking and floatation foam, Kunke said. Once these concerns have been addressed, and the city and Corps of Engineers deems the barge up to code, it will be able to reopen to the public.
“We notified them and gave them a list of the items that needed to be addressed,” Kunke said. “So they're aware of those [concerns] and we are hopeful they'll be able to get those remedied and be able to reopen.”
Kunke said the city has always intended for the lake to have a fishing barge–it is included in the Lake Park Master Plan.
“You just don’t want anybody going out there and having an enjoyable time with their families fishing and having a preventable accident happen,” Kunke said. “It needs to be a safe and enjoyable environment, and the management agrees.”
