MOUNT VERNON — A post on social media from a local satire page has created a stir in Mt. Vernon with City Hall being inundated with calls from people upset about the Veteran’s Park Lake.

According to Mt. Vernon Mayor John Lewis, the information in the post just isn’t true.

Lewis says the post claims the city is going to fill in the lake and build a new fire department on that spot, and will do so with a new fuel tax.

The Mayor says a recent failure of the drawdown pipe at the lake has forced the city to ramp up its timeline for improving the lake, as a new dam wasn’t scheduled until year eight of the 10-year plan, and this is only year 5.

He explains the project now awaits plans from the engineers and will then await the approval of IDNR and the Army Corp of Engineers. In the meantime, heavy equipment will be moved in to begin removing dirt.

Currently the lake sits with an average depth of 4-feet, which is up from an average of 3 feet after it was dredged twice.

The plan is to have spots in the lake with 8 to 12-foot depths to provide better habitat for the fish.

Lewis says they have received calls from people upset with the loss of the fish in the lake, but 80 to 90% of the fish were removed before the lake was drained and have either been relocated, eaten, or used for bait.

The remaining fish will be removed and buried to mitigate the odor problem in that area.