Town of Lake Lure, 

North Carolina

I’m very happy to report that the new waste water lift station at the base of the dam is complete and in operation. This project has been in the works since the big flood of 1996 and was paid for with a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

A little historical background may be in order to understand the need for this project. The founders of our fair community back in the mid 1920's were businessmen who intended to create a real estate development of large estate lots surrounding a beautiful mountain lake. In those days, it was common for household sewerage to be deposited directly into whatever body of water happened to be closest. Few homes in the mountains had indoor plumbing and outhouses were built over cesspits in the ground which leached into the water table. Dr. Morse and his partners did not want sewerage flowing into their brand new lake and planned a system of pipes that would collect household sewerage at manholes around the perimeter of the lake and transport it under the dam to be deposited into the river below the dam.

While running sewerage into the river is abhorrent today, the system was very forward thinking for the time. However, by the 1960's federal and state health authorities saw the need to halt this sort of pollution and required all waste water to be treated before it got to the water table or to open bodies of water and mandated that a new wastewater plant be built below the dam to treat the effluent from our system. The plant was constructed downriver from the dam and was connected to the end of the old sewer main under the dam. Unfortunately, the old pipe was lower than the plant so that a pump station had to be built to “lift” the effluent up to the plant for treatment.

This system functioned reasonably well for over 25 years, but when the big flood occurred, it failed. The water level in the lake rose so fast and so high that the overflow gates could not accommodate the volume of water and it flowed over the dam itself. The lift station pumps were in a concrete vault with a metal grate on top, located at the base of the dam. When the water poured over the dam, it cascaded into the vault, utterly destroying the pumps and putting the treatment facility out of business. The lift station was eventually rebuilt, but the town, FEMA and the health authorities were concerned that this could (and probably would) happen again. At the town’s request, FEMA approved a one-half million dollar grant to construct a new state of the art lift station on the bank of the river, out of the flood plain and away from the dam.

The new station contains three electric pumps, far more powerful that the old ones. Rather than pushing the effluent up to the plant, they pull it up from the low point under the dam and then force it down to the plant. Normally, one pump runs as needed and a second pump kicks in during periods of high flow. The third pump is a backup and they cycle so that all three are used in rotation as the primary pump.

The project took a lot longer to complete than we would have liked, but it operates very well and came in under budget. And it certainly gives us all a lot more peace of mind!

And on a related note, the hydroelectric turbine that has been out of service for almost two years was put back on line just in time to generate power during the lake draw down last month. It has been running almost daily since and is doing just fine. Hopefully, we will be able to keep to a reasonable operating schedule this year now that the lift station project is finished and the power plant is back in full operation. We just need all of you to put your hands together and pray for rain.

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MAYOR'S COMMENTS

As you may have heard, the town of Forest City will ask the Rutherford County Commissioners to consider changing the way county sales tax are distributed. Currently, the General Statues of North Carolina allow counties to distribute their portion (2%) of general sales tax collected to municipalities using one of two calculation methods. These two calculation methods consider either annual population of each municipality or by property tax collected in each municipality. Currently, the county distributes sales tax revenue based on the property tax collected.

The Daily Courier reported that if the annual population method was used it would reduce Lake Lure's revenues by $302,118 or about 16% of Lake Lure's current budget for revenues. As you might guess the biggest gainer would be Forest City (+$623,811). Along with the Finance Director of Forest City, I have asked to be on the agenda for the next County Commission meeting February 5th. I believe that when presented, all the facts and statistics will clearly show that the method based on property tax collected is the most equitable and fair method for Rutherford County.

The town council approved a proposal from Lake Lure Tours, Inc. to make quite a few improvements to the marina and beach areas. Rick Coley later in this newsletter describes these improvements.

I have heard several complaints lately about stray dogs in Lake Lure. If you see a stray dog please call 828-287-6025 for the Rutherford County animal shelter. If you see a stray dog or any animal that is a nuisance and/or a threat call 911.

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On Tuesday, January 16th, the Lake Lure Town Council unanimously approved a proposal from Lake Lure Tours, Inc. to improve the Town-owned marina, beach and town center area. These improvements include the following; expanded paved parking at the marina, paving an unfinished road to allow completion of the traffic patterns in the town center area, continuation of the boardwalk to Pool Creek, replacement of the chain link fence around the beach and grass meadows opposite the ABC Store with a more attractive fence, and enhancements to the beach to include a covered pavilion and a water activity area. The water activity area on the beach will contain a water balloon station, water spraying area, a small bumper boat area and a 10-12 ft. high water slide station. This area of the beach will require an additional admission fee. The town manager will work with LLT, Inc. to finalize the design of the new fence.

The costs to pave, replace the fence, extend the boardwalk and construct the pavilion are estimated to exceed $100,000. However, there will be no direct cost to the town. The town has agreed to reimburse Lake Lure Tours for the costs to construct the fence and boardwalk only. This will be paid for out of the town’s percentage of revenues received from the admissions to the new water activity area. Currently, the town receives 20% of all gross revenues at the beach, up to $100,000. The town then receives 15% of all revenues in excess of $100,000. Lake Lure Tours will pay for all other costs associated with the proposal in exchange for an extension of its concession agreement for an additional 5 years.

Overall, the improvements provide a much-needed facelift for the beach and town center area. In the long run, the improvements will result in significant increases in revenues to the town coffers. With ever diminishing revenues from the hydro plant, I believe this will be a welcomed addition.

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Steve Greenlee, employee of the month, has been employed with the Town of Lake Lure Golf Course since September 1999 and from May 1994 to May 1995. Prior to his employment with the town, he served in the United States Navy until his retirement in 1992. Steve did a lot of volunteer work on the golf course between periods of employment with the town. We often hear people commenting about the good work that Steve is doing at the Golf Course. Thank you Steve, for a great job.

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REGULAR MEETING: The regular town council meeting was held on Tuesday, January 9, 2001, at 7:00 p.m. at the Lake Lure Municipal Center.

Under the "consent agenda," Council:

* approved the minutes of December 12, 2000 (regular meeting) and December 19, 2000 (special meeting;

* approved budget amendments for police department, lake department, and silt removal as submitted from the Finance Director; and

*approved request from Brian Crissey to suspend the town alcohol ordinance in order to serve beer and wine during a wedding reception inside the community hall of the Lake Lure Municipal Center on July 20, 2001, from 4:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m.

In other activities, Town Council:

* held a public hearing regarding amendments to the Lake Lure Zoning Regulations;

* adopted ordinance no. 01-01-09 and ordinance no. 01-01-09C amending the zoning regulations;

* adopted ordinance no. 01-01-09A (prescribing procedures for disposing of personal property valued at less than $5,000 and repealing ordinance no. 00-12-12A);

* adopted ordinance no. 01-01-09B (delegating authority to purchase apparatus, supplies, materials or equipment);

* reappointed Richard P. Conrad, Robert F. Turner and Robert Washburn to serve on the Lake Advisory Committee;

* reappointed Riley Hardy to serve on the Board of Adjustment/Lake Structures Appeals Board and appointed Michael C. Williams to serve as an alternate on this board;

* reappointed Anthony A. Brodfuhrer and Jack W. Lawrence to serve on the Zoning/Planning Board.

* reappointed Donald Suttles to serve on the Golf Course Advisory Committee. Appointed Jack Donovan and Dennis M. Demcho to serve on this board;

* reappointed Sheridan Wait to serve on the Lake Lure ABC Board;

* authorized the town manager to draft an agreement between Lynn and Vicki Smith and the town regarding a drainage problem at property on Boys Camp Road;

* approved a lease agreement between the town and the Lake Lure Board of Alcoholic Beverage Control;

* approved a proposal from the National Golf Foundation Consulting, Inc. to do a market study of the Lake Lure Golf Course for $3,500;

* heard a presentation from Rick Coley of Lake Lure Tours, Inc. regarding improvements to the town beach and marina, boardwalk, and traffic area in front of the Lake Lure Inn and Lake Lure Arcade Building;

* held a discussion about the problem of stray dogs and animal control; and

* recessed the town meeting to be held on Tuesday, January 16, 2001, 9:00 a.m., at the Lake Lure Municipal Center for the purpose of continuing a discussion regarding Rick Coley's proposal for improvements to the town beach and marina, board walk, and extension of concession agreement for the town beach and marina.

RECESSED TOWN MEETING: Town Council held a recessed meeting on Tuesday, January 16, 2001, 9:00 a.m., at the Lake Lure Municipal Center. The purpose of this meeting was to further discuss a request from Richard Coley regarding: expansion of paved parking area at the town marina; completion of a one-way traffic pattern in the area of the Lake Lure Inn and Lake Lure Arcade building; improvements to the Lake Lure town beach; construction of a new fence and completion of the town boardwalk around the beach perimeter; and extension of the concession agreement between the Lake Lure Tours, Inc. and the Town of Lake Lure. Town Council approved Mr. Coley's proposal as presented and authorized the town manager to draft a revised lease agreement.

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Our vision statement is “protecting soil and water resources through watershed education and program participation.” We do this through a variety of conservation-based programs that provide financial and technical assistance to landowners in the Upper Broad River Watershed. The implementations of our programs help to decrease the amount of sediment ending up in our creeks, streams, and lake. The goal of reducing off-site sedimentation is a daunting task, but because of state funding through the Clean Water Management Trust Fund we are making headway.

In February we plan to begin our road bank stabilization program for the Town of Lake Lure. Town road banks have been inventoried according to the severity of the erosion problem and erosion control measures have been planned for these areas. We will be planting vine ground covers, such as English ivy and periwinkle to stabilize steep eroding banks. The Spindale Inmate work force, who has already planted over 3,600 ground cover plugs on Burnt Ridge Road, will assist us with the planting. We look forward to beginning this major phase of road bank stabilization using plants for erosion control. We would like to hear from town residents who are interested in having their town road bank planted with a ground cover to protect the soil from eroding. Please call the Town of Lake Lure at 828-625-9983, ext.123 to speak with the Watershed Protection personnel.

Our next Upper Broad River Watershed Protection meeting will be held on February 21st, 9:00 a.m., at the Lake Lure Municipal Center. At our last meeting we met Tom Massie, the representative for Clean Water Management Trust Fund. Come be a part of the group that is doing exciting conservation work.

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NEWS AROUND LAKE LURE

Lions Local Contributions: The Lake Lure Lions Club contributed $3,600 to the Bills Creek, Chimney Rock and Fairfield Stations 1 and 2 Volunteer Fire Departments; $800 to the Hickory Nut Gorge EMS and $800 to the Mountains Branch Library to enhance their services in our local community.

Notice: The Kiwanis Club of Hickory Nut Gorge will sponsor two festivals in 2001, Memorial Days on May 26-28 and October 13-14. A special 20% off two-festival booth fee is being offered to food vendors, artists, and crafters who apply before March 15th. Call 828-625-2299 or 828-625-0969 for application forms.

Reminder: The Kiwanis Club still needs your favorite family recipes, either traditional or up-to-date, for the new souvenir cookbook -- and we need them SOON! Please type or clearly print your recipes with all necessary details, plus your name, phone number, and a line or two about the origin of the recipe to be used in this book. Then mail them by February 15th to Marcia Hardy, Cookbook Chairman, P.O. Box 335, Lake Lure, NC 28746. Or drop them in the box at Nita’s Grocery in Gerton, at Burch Real Estate in Bat Cave, at Child’s Corners Restaurant in Lake Lure, or in the lobby at Lake Lure Inn. Proceeds will be passed on to a variety of Hickory Nut Gorge community organizations and services. Thanks!

Lake Lure Newcomers invite those who are new residents in Lake Lure (24 months or less) to join them in various activities which include: potluck, gourmet, out'n about, theater, bridge/poker, book club, and hiking. Anyone interested in becoming a member, call Fred Noble or Jeanine Noble at 828-625-8706.

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Note: The deadline for newsletter articles to be received at Town Hall for the March issue is February 21, 2001

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