Wylie Texas -- A large contingent of Fannin County residents attended the regular meeting of North Texas Municipal Water District Board of Directors, held Thursday, July 26, 2018 in Wylie. Eleven members of the group addressed the water district board in hopes of having the name of the new lake changed from North Texas Municipal Lake to a name containing some reference to Bois d'Arc.
Bois d'Arc Creek is a historic watershed named by French trappers in the mid-1700s and frequented by Native Americans long before that in search of the unique "yellow wood" of the bois d'arc tree.
The proposed reservoir had tentatively been called Lower Bois d'Arc Creek Reservoir for years during the planning stages and residents assumed the lake would be named after the creek that would supply its water, however at the groundbreaking ceremony, the water district announced it planned on naming the reservoir North Texas Municipal Lake. That announcement drew the ire of Fannin County residents who are committing more that 30,000 acres to this project.
With hundreds of county residents expressing displeasure over the possibility of local heritage and history being overlooked with the naming of the lake, Fannin County Commissioners Court and Bonham City Council would both unanimously approve resolutions to name the reservoir Bois d'Arc Lake.
Local officials attending the regular meeting of North Texas Municipal Water District Board of Directors July 26 included Fannin County Judge Spanky Carter, Fannin County Judge-elect Randy Moore, Fannin County Commissioner Dean Lackey, Fannin County Commissioner-elect A.J. Self, Jaime Baker and Jason Ross from the office of U.S. Congressman John Ratcliffe, John Vick from the office of State Senator Bob Hall, Fannin County Zoning Commissioner Gary Fernandes, and Republican nominee for District 62 State Representative Reggie Smith.
Mr. Ross told the NTMWD board members that Congressman Ratcliffe had received considerable feedback from constituents, with 100% wanting to change the name in deference to the historical nature of Bois d'Arc Creek as well as the need to select a name that will encourage economic development.
Gary Fernandez spoke in regard to optimizing the opportunity created by the construction of the first large reservoir to be built in Texas in almost 30 years and remarked that Bois d'Arc Lake would be more appealing and therefore be more conducive to marketing.
Commissioner Lackey reminded board member of the intense pride county residents have for their heritage and the prominent role the name Bois d'Arc has played in county history.
Judge Carter stressed the importance of communication and teamwork during a project that will take years to complete.
"With harmonious cooperation, success is inevitable," the county judge said. "It would mean a lot to the hard-working citizens of Fannin County to have the name changed to Bois d'Arc.
The actual vote for the name change will be at the August 23 regular meeting of NTMWD board of directors.
