After more than five years at the helm, Steve Garner is stepping down as chairman of the Lake Wichita Revitalization Committee.
Garner will not be going far, though, as he plans to remain on the committee, serving as a member.
“We’ve been working diligently for five years," he said. "I’m thrilled about where we are in the project, and we need someone who can devote the time and support needed for this next step."
The LWRC group began, Garner said, as an offshoot of the city of Wichita Falls Parks Board. A few of that board’s members were interested in creating a committee focused on the lake.
Garner said, as a runner and cyclist, he’s always loved the outdoors, especially Lake Wichita.
Lake Wichita was only used lightly for recreation and fishing and Garner thought it could be so much more.
“I wanted to focus on something and give something back to the community,” he said.
In 2012, Garner and others met with city staff, including then-Mayor Glenn Barham. The city told them that two times before the city tried a Lake Wichita committee, but the project never got very far. The city said they were welcome to give it a try, though.
With the blessing of the city, committee members were appointed in 2013 – tasked to create a plan for improving the lake.
The group presented their master plan to the city during its annual budget meeting, and Garner said staff was shocked at the depth and breadth they had for the plan.
The Wichita Falls area at that time was going through a devastating drought, and the idea of funding a multi-million-dollar recreational lake seemed impossible.
Still, the LWRC pressed on, gathering input from the community concerning the lake.
Garner said they gathered 377 responses to an interest survey and found about 97 percent of respondents were in favor of revitalization of the lake.
In the first few years of the lake project, the most important step was gaining the Army Corps of Engineers 404 permit. This permit is required before an entity can dredge, excavate or otherwise change the landscape of a body of water.
The group teamed with Carollo engineering group for the permit application process. After the 10-month approval process, the LWRC had a community-thank you celebration following the approval of a permit for Lake Wichita.
The next step in the long-term project is a laser focus on fundraising and marketing.
Garner said now that he will not be the group’s chairman, he can devote effort toward increasing awareness of the Lake Wichita project and investigating and procuring funds.