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j j j by the The Thames River and adjacent pond running through Thamesford will be the location of a massive cleanâ€"up and development project taken on by village Lions Club. TheLions Club are certainly packâ€" ing a big roar in Thamesford. The 75â€"member service club have a massive projeqt underway involvâ€" By MICHELLE MUYLAERT Thamesford Lions plan $1.4 million park project af ing the cleanâ€"up and beautification _ cent pond to eliminate algae buildâ€" of the Thames River and its banks _ up and the construction of islands through town at an estimated cost of _ developed from the river bottom to $1.4 million. help control erosion. The detailed plan includes major Trees and shrubs will be planted to dredging of the river and an adjaâ€" encourage wildlife usage and WÂ¥3 eliminate the deadwater zone. A manicured fishing zone with inâ€" terlocking edging will produce a clean break at the water‘s edge.. Once complete, the project will inâ€" crease the size of the current park Taylor is currently involved in the complicated process of creating ease agreements in order to transfer the land and acting as mediator betâ€" "Their arguments virtually colâ€" lapsed," he said. p According to Taylor, council was concerned about the annual maintenance of the park area followâ€" ing completion. When Taylor calculated the maintenace costs at only $8,500 annually, the vote was turned around eight to two. One major stumbling block, however, came at the municipal level. Zorra Township Council shot down a request to have all the inâ€" volved land put into their name, acâ€" tion necessary to receive any government funding. Officials, including those from the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority, the Ministry of Transporâ€" tation and various land owners were contacted for their input. ( Taylor nixed initial reactions that the project was too ambitious for a small town service club. An employee of General Motors in Lonâ€" don wellâ€"versed in project developâ€" ment procedures, he created a detailed proposal of the plan and began investigating the reâ€" quirements of all the controlling authorities last November. The Lions hope to make the longâ€" stagnanted waters usable for boating, fishing and waterfowl development. area three times. Esthetic features planned include a series of floodlights, spotlights on the dam and waterfall, foot bridges over the pond area, asphalt walkways, the removal of scrub brush to plant evergreens and public water fountains. "Everybody knows what kind of mess that is,"‘ Larry Taylor, Lions Club member.and coâ€"ordinator of the project said. "It has been neglected for a long time." . "A lot of people drive through Thamesford and don‘t realize it. There is nothing to attract their atâ€" tention. When this is done it is going to look awful darn good. People will get out and walk around the park and wander into the businesses. It‘s going to do a lot for this town."‘ Funding will come from the proâ€" vincial government and ambitious fundâ€"raising projects within ‘the community. Club members will cut costs by doing as much of the work as possible th‘emselves. Taylor is hoping for substantial support from Thamesford residents and business people whom he believes will be the major beneficiaries. "It‘s anybody‘s guess," Taylor said of the startâ€"up date. ‘‘We had originally hoped to start some minor things this year. We have to clean out the swamp and do other things afterward. It‘s a natural progresâ€" sion." Taylor will look toward provincial government funding for this work. He anticipates dredging will begin next August. "V‘i’ii}vngtvli’i'htiéi*’vention, the pond will become extinct within the next few decades. , Alrctsgert s t 70 0 "I want to do what the people want to do," Taylor said. "This is a Lions Club project." The first physical work to be done is the dredging of the mill pond adjaâ€" cent to the Thames. This alone will cost $300,000 to $400,000. It is hoped the dredging work, the islands and a bottom draw off could save the pond that is gradually filling in with silt and vegetation. ween the village of Thamesford and Zorra Township. He expects to make his fifth appearance before Zorra council in the near future. LCOIVUTL OR C A lot of responsibility for a man who joined the Lions Club only three years ago. af us dA oo C oannls dront Following this, he will call for conâ€" sultant engineering studies on some of the more complicated project features. e t Aopine &4