The Lake Improvement Association has decided to suspend the oil derrick project for further evaluation. Member concerns regarding the project's estimated investment as well as how the project might affect fundraising efforts to restore Grand Lake St. Marys prompted the LIA executive board to put the project on hold in order to conduct additional research regarding the project's strategy.
The oil derrick project was conceived to employ the history of Grand Lake St. Marys, the site of the world's first offshore inland oil well, as a mechanism to attract the interest of the oil industry and potentially lead to new funding sources to restore the lake. Additional details will be provided once the project is reevaluated.