Kahle Lake enthusiasts can tune into a virtual meeting on April 8 to learn more about an upcoming major renovation effort at the lake.
State Rep. Donna Oberlander, R-63rd District, announced the session, which is free and open to the public.
“We were planning this meeting for last spring so local residents, anglers and boaters who use the lake could ask questions about the upcoming repairs and make whatever plans they need to, but the pandemic put that in-person gathering on hold,” Oberlander said in a news release.
The meeting, which will begin at 3 p.m., includes a presentation by Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission Executive Director Timothy Schaeffer. The meeting will be broadcast at http://www.RepOberlander.com and www.Facebook.com/RepOberlander.
There is no need to register in advance.
“We announced last year the lake will soon benefit from the release of state funds,” Oberlander said.
“Specifically, the funding – estimated at $8 million – will include planning and engineering, and will allow repairs to be done in a more timely manner so the lake can reopen sooner. The overall construction is expected to last until November 2024.”
Bish has presented comments, questions and suggestions he has been collecting to the Fish & Boat Commission. Those matters will be discussed at the meeting.
The session also will include state Rep. Lee James, R-64th District, and state Sen. Scott Hutchinson, R-21st District.
Paul Urbanik, the Fish & Boat Commission’s chief of engineering, said in 2016 that the lake dam is causing the deterioration of the main and secondary spillways.
That deterioration, in turn, is affecting the stability of the main dam structure.
The entire concrete spillway structure is deficient and needs to be replaced; spillway capacity also will need to be addressed.
Part of the plan will involve removing as many fish as possible from the water before completely draining the 47-year-old lake.
Kahle Lake – a 251-acre, state-owned impoundment on the border of Clarion and Venango counties near Lamartine – is managed to allow fishing opportunities for largemouth bass, bluegill, yellow perch, black crappies, walleye and brown bullhead.