On the 11th of September, Lismore City Council signed a licensing agreement with community organisation Lismore Lake Incorporated to manage the Lismore Lake project with the goal of bringing it back to its former glory in the 1970s and '80s.

The Lismore App caught up with President Brad Lancaster to find out the process involved and rough timelines in trying to achieve their goals.

This journey has not been a short one, it has taken over 10 years for Lismore Lake Inc to be in the position they are now.

"It's got to take a while to get going, we've got a process to follow but probably twelve months. Now we've got to get things in order to apply for grants, so we're applying for a deductible gift recipient, so we can then become eligible to accept donations, gift donations that are tax deductible."

"We've got to do our constitution upgrade, ABN registration, bank accounts and then the deductible gift recipient application. Now we've got the license, we're licensed through Landcare as well with our insurance for the volunteers and then there's the water license. We did have an offer from a farmer who has offered part of his water license to use to top up the lake and then there's fees for that, to transfer part of that license to here, so we can pump from the river to top the lake up."

Lismore Lake Inc has said that this whole process will not cost Lismore ratepayers a cent, so there will need to be fundraising activities in the future.

"We're going to probably have fundraising because that's quite a few thousand dollars to do with the transfer of the ownership to put it in the Lake Incorporated name."

"It's gonna be a slow process. We'll, hopefully when we get things going and then we can get volunteers out here so we can clear the peninsula here. We've got to follow the guidelines of the Master Plan supplied by the council and Landcare have also given us a plan for the bush regeneration, what we can remove and replace. We can't just come in and clear everything."

As has been stated before the new Lismore Lake will not have motorised boats as stated in the Master Plan because the lake has two bird sanctuaries. However, passive recreation vehicles such as canoes, kayaks and paddle boards will be allowed.

"We've got the two bird sanctuaries on the north and south island, " Brad explained, "When the lake is full they will be surrounded with water, so people won't be able to get to the island. The birds will have a safe habitat for nesting and to escape people. As well as a bird hide at the end of the peninsula and some different viewing angles."

The more you talk to Brad the more you can begin to see his and the committee's vision for a completed Lismore Lake product.

"I remember coming out to the lake when I was at school on the '70s. We'd come out here for kayaking, that was one our sports. We made the canoes and kayaks at school, came out here and the teacher then taught us. We paddled and rolled and did everything out here and then we swam in the pool there as well."

Included in the vision is a 1.5km cycle path, which forms a loop with exercise stations set up around it.

"It will be a fantastic area to get utilised. There will be nothing better than coming out here in the afternoon or in the early morning just to run around the lake in a safe environment or for families to ride their bikes around."

An Aboriginal healing or yarning circle is another idea to add to the vision as well as a dog park.

As the Lismore Lake Inc organisation makes progress and has ideas or is given community ideas that involve something not in the Master Plan such as constructing new BBQ areas, a complete design and costing plan will need to be submitted to council.

"As long as it is not against the Master Plan, we can get a yes," Brad said. "Who knows, maybe we can hold events out here like a Dash for Cash run or a Food Van event."

When a lot of locals hear the words Lismore Lake, they think of the pool and not the lake itself. The Lismore Lake Pool is in the plans but it is part of stage two. You may remember that Federal Member for Page Kevin Hogan helped get a $2 million grant without restriction to restore the pool but that was refused by council at the time.

"Both Kevin Hogan, Federal MP, and Janelle Saffin, State MP, both support what we're doing out here."

To make the vision become a reality, Mr Hogan and Ms Saffin will need to play a key role when it comes to finding grant money.

Once all the paperwork and documentation is in order, any passing by traveller will start to see some cleanup and bush regeneration work starting. Then once the water license transfer is complete, the water level will rise but slowly so animals can make the necessary adjustments. The filling process will take a month or two.

"We've estimated that the lake can hold up to one megalitre (a million litres) but we will have a much bigger license so we can water the area to keep it all lush and green."

The Lismore Lake area also involves a koala food tree planting area and a lease for the Lismore Rowing Club, all three entities need to coexist so the progress will need to be unified.

Ultimately, Lismore needs attractions so that when couples and families visit Lismore, they spend more time in our LGA and spend more money. The belief is a resurrected Lismore Lake will be one of those attractions.

"The Lismore Lake is a gateway to the town and this is what you need to entice people to come and spend time here. When they come in they'll say, wow this is great rather than the eyesore it is now."