A Message from Mayor Carol Pritchett - May-June 2021
Spring is in full bloom in Lake Lure and it is a glorious time of year. In addition to the magnificence of spring, we are celebrating the fact that so many of our citizens have been able to get the COVID-19 vaccine. We are grateful to the Blue Ridge Health Clinic in Lake Lure and Spindale and to the Rutherford County Health Department for their ongoing service to our community. These organizations have done a marvelous job disseminating the vaccines and I commend all those who have volunteered to support this effort. Though we will continue to use caution as necessary, we are beginning to get back to some sense of normalcy.
Town Hall reopened May 14, 2021. We will begin having in-person Town Council Meetings following this date and the public will be invited to participate in these meetings.
We will be holding a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Lake Lure Boardwalk and the renovation of the adjoining Washburn Marina on June 11, 2021 at 11:00 am. These projects were completed last year, but we were not able to properly celebrate these accomplishments due to the pandemic. As you may know. we completely redesigned the Marina to include a floating aluminum Boardwalk that adds stability and safety. The Boardwalk extends from the Marina around the curve to the Lake Lure Beach. The Marina branches off from the Boardwalk and has increased boat slips from 84 to 220 slips. The project is paying for itself through increased slip rentals and through the support of a $100,000 grant from the Rutherford County Tourism Development Authority.
As you know, our beautiful Lake is the centerpiece of our Town, Rutherford County, the Hickory Nut Gorge, and beyond. To maintain our Lake, we must continue our dredging efforts. I want to take this opportunity to thank Tim Shellenberger for his foresight into the importance of ongoing dredging to sustain Lake Lure. He recently provided the Town with an extensive report including specific recommendations to enhance our dredging program. These recommendations are being explored by the Parks, Recreation, and Lake Director Dean Givens. Mr. Givens will be presenting a plan for maximizing the Town’s $850,000 dredging budget in 2021, which includes the $637,500 grant the Town recently received from the NC Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Water Resources. We will keep everyone informed as this plan is finalized through Town Council.
Additionally, I want to keep you informed about our progress with the sewer system replacement project. LaBella Associates is the engineering firm overseeing this effort with the Town. They have completed the Engineering Report and Environment Information Document (ER/EID) with recommended solutions for the sewer system and the Town’s waste water treatment plant (WWTP). This document has been reviewed by the NC Department of Environmental Quality and we are working through their recommendations. Approval of this report and its recommendations is the final step in securing the funding needed to begin Phase 1 of this project. In the meantime, the Town has made a decision to go forward with plans to rehabilitate or replace the “digester” for the WWTP. This will immediately reduce operational costs at the WWTP and allow the project to move forward. LaBella Associates will be working with the Town to construct this critical part of the WWTP this year.
As we continue our work to strengthen Lake Lure’s infrastructure, we plan to host some community meetings in the coming weeks. We look forward to updating you more fully at that time. Our goal for these meetings will be to provide additional information on key projects and to obtain your input and feedback as we continue to work together to preserve Lake Lure for future generations. Please stay tuned for these dates as soon as the meetings are confirmed. Thank you as always for your support.
