City councillors approved a $5.3 million contract for work on the Boulevard Lake dam in Thunder Bay, but there's no guarantee the project will start this summer.

The city is still waiting for approvals from the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change to drain the lake, so work on the dam can begin.

The potential delay worried some councilors at their meeting Monday night.

"That's a concern in the fact that the company was advised it was going to go ahead this year, and now we're going to potentially project it for another two years," Coun. Rebecca Johnson said. "When are we really going to know this?"

Administration told council the contractor has until June 15 to start the drainage.

If that target is not met, most of the work will wait until next summer.

Meanwhile, Thunder Bay residents will have another chance on Tuesday night to give their input on the management plan being developed for Boulevard Lake.

More than 100 people showed up for the first open house, which exceeded the city's expectations, according to the coordinator of parks planning Werner Schwar.

Schwar said it's a good indicator of how important the park is to the community.

"It was a really great in that we saw a lot of passion about the park and the lake itself," he said. "People were wanting to be engaged and involved in the process, and that's always a good thing."

Schwar said a consultant has made 26 recommendations based on input from the first open house, and organizers will now be looking for feedback on those recommendations.

Tonight's open house at the North End Rec Centre starts at 6 p.m.