MDC provides grant through CAP program for Dexter City Lake upgrades

DEXTER, Mo. – The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) and the City of Dexter recently worked together to bring restroom facilities and a walkway to Dexter City Lake through a Land Conservation Partnership Grant, implemented as part of an ongoing Community Assistance Program (CAP) agreement devoted to improving the area’s user experience.

MDC’s CAP program provides close-to-home fishing opportunities in communities throughout the state of Missouri. Through this program, MDC enters into typically 25-year agreements with cities, counties, state and federal agencies, businesses, foundations, schools, and colleges to provide fisheries management at existing lakes and ponds. It also serves to cooperatively develop facilities for anglers and boaters at lake and stream areas.

“The lake is an excellent resource for the community,” said MDC Fisheries Programs Supervisor Laura Ruman. “We are ecstatic that we could partner and provide a cash grant for these much-needed improvements.”

Through this agreement, MDC provided a grant to the City of Dexter for reimbursement of costs associated with construction and placement of an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessible single-user concrete restroom and reinforced concrete walkway, which totaled $29,075.77. The entire cost of the project was roughly $70,000 – the remaining amount was covered by the City of Dexter.

In 1993, the first Community Assistance Program (CAP) agreement between MDC and City of Dexter was signed, which included the construction of a parking area, fishing jetty, and disabled accessible floating fishing dock at the 11-acre lake located near a residential area. MDC also became involved in the installation of an aeration system as part of a CAP agreement in 2013, and again in 2020 by providing funding for a new well at the north end of the lake.

Dexter City Lake is open daily from 4 a.m. – 10 p.m.