Message from the Mayor - Winter 2023-2024 Updates
Winter 2023-2024 Updates
By Carol Pritchett, Mayor
It was an absolutely glorious holiday season in Lake Lure! The Lake Lure Classical Academy Elementary School Choir put us all in the Christmas spirit with their concert at the Lighting Up Lake Lure Program. Even Santa made an appearance at the festivities this year! The Lake Lure Flowering Bridge volunteers outdid themselves with the fantastical Story Book Christmas themed lights!
We hope everyone enjoyed the additional holiday lights the Town added this year to highlight the beauty of Lake Lure at night. It was a truly magical experience and we thank all those who worked so hard to Light Up Lake Lure this holiday season!
Raptor Round Up! Police Officers worked in partnership with the Lake Lure Classical Academy teachers to ensure that all the children had a meaningful holiday. This is a community effort and we appreciate everyone’s generosity in supporting this year’s Raptor Roundup. Watch a short video of the 2023 Raptor Round Up delivery!
As we embark upon a new year, the Town is working diligently to make the most of the Lake drawdown period. We will accomplish as much as we can on our major infrastructure projects until the Lake begins to come back up on March 31, 2024.
If you have ridden across the dam lately you may have noticed the temporary construction access road that has been constructed over the Broad River as shown in this photograph. This road is allowing the contractor to perform the necessary work to install the reservoir drain valves on the downstream side of the dam. This access will also be used for the field investigation work that will be conducted on the replacement dam in the near future.
In addition to the reservoir drain valve work, contractors are installing a temporary sewer bypass line; demolishing the old abandoned lift station; and installing a new permanent sewer reroute location.
Both the Town and the contractors are working together to release water from the dam prior to predicted heavy rain events to prevent flooding on the work site.
The Bulkhead/Portal Door shown here below is in the process of being fabricated. This door will be installed underwater in front of the dam and will allow the contractor to drill out the hole to install a 72” drain pipe and valves. In January, contractors will begin excavation for all of the foundation work to support the drain valves and pipe.
If you have driven by Morse Park, you may have observed contractors loading a new barge and some equipment into the Lake in preparation for the Lake drawdown. This equipment has been staged and set up before the lake was lowered so that work may resume on the north side of Sunset Cove as soon as possible. The crews will be installing the sewer pipe in the backshore and through the borings under the boat houses that were installed last drawdown season. The engineers and contractors will be continuing to perform surveying and design work to be prepared for the next phase of work in the upcoming seasons.
We are all eagerly awaiting the installation of the new Cell Phone Tower. I am pleased to report the new cell tower project is moving forward and is on track for completion in the first quarter of 2024. The tower is being installed by AT&T. We anticipate three additional carriers will co-locate on this tower once it is well established by AT&T. Town Council continues to see this project as a high priority and we are doing everything within our power to ensure that the cell tower is installed as soon as possible. We will provide updates on the status of the cell tower at Town Council meetings and on our Town Website at www.townoflakelure.com.
Best wishes to everyone all for a happy, productive, and meaningful 2024! We look forward to working with you all in the New Year! As always, your ongoing support is appreciated as we strive to preserve Lake Lure for our future generations.
