Lake Advisory Board

The Town of Lake Lure operates under a manager/council form of government with a vast area - both land and water - to manage and maintain. To assist the town with the challenges of managing the community’s prize asset - the lake, the town council created a lake advisory committee in March of 1992. This committee consisting of seven members each appointed for staggered, two- year terms. The lake advisory committee is responsible for making recommendations to the town council on matters referred to it by the town council, such as:

 

- Revisions to regulations governing construction and use of lake structures,

 

- Ways to improve fishing,

 

- Boat use regulations,

 

- No wake zones,

 

- Enforcement of regulations to create a safer environment for lake users,

 

- Silt removal, dredging and other means to improve the lake ecosystem, and

 

- Assimilating community network to handle warnings and cleanup after major storms.

 

Each member of the committee has an area of responsibility, which they assume at the January meeting of each year. Emergency preparedness, fish and ecosystem, dam and sewer system, dredging, recreation, law enforcement and lake structures are the seven areas of responsibility that the members, concentrate on during the year. The committee has a chairperson, vice-chair and secretary who are elected by committee at the January meeting as well.

Member	Area of Responsibility
Chris Braund - Chairperson	Lake Use Regulations & Law Enforcement
Bo Williams - Vice-Chairperson	Recreation & Commercial Activities
Robin Proctor - Secretary	Dam Operations, Sewer System & Water Quality
Wiley Bourne	Lake Structures
Harvey Harris	Dredging & Watershed Stabilization
Gary Hasenfus	Fisheries & Ecosystem
Bob Keith	Emergency Preparedness & Response

 

The committee actively promotes a holistic approach to lake management that encompasses all of the areas of responsibility listed above. Some of the past projects assigned by the town council and completed for the town’s people are:

 

- Creating a lake structures ordinance (zoning and structural requirements for all docks, seawalls, boathouses, and cluster mooring facilities). The ordinance provides guidance on the construction and required maintenance of all structures within the boundaries of the lake, including docks and boathouses.  

 

- Developing a lake management plan (giving some continuity for the local government in managing a multimillion dollar facility)

 

- Writing standard operating procedures for the facilities at the dam (hydroelectric station and wastewater treatment plant)

 

- Performing a lake use study to establish boating carrying capacity and activity preferences based on permit sales data, gas sales and an in-depth citizen survey with over 30% responding.

 

In addition to these projects the committee has been involved in:

 

- The monumental cleanup in the wake of two major floods in 1994 and 1996.

 

- Establishing a partnership between the town and Environmental Quality Institute at the University of North Carolina – Asheville to be a part of the volunteer water monitoring network (VWIN) to monthly take water samples from the lake and it tributaries to establish baseline data and monitor fluctuations in conditions.

 

- The creation of the Upper Broad River Watershed Protection Committee. This task force of individuals from local, state and federal agencies along with citizens of the 95 square mile watershed at the headwaters of the Broad River applied for and received a grant from the North Carolina Clean Waters Management Trust Fund. These monies have been used to hire an erosion control officer, acquire riparian buffers and to assist residents implement BMPs in the watershed. This partnership is critical for the protection of all of the waterways in the region.

 

- Touring the shoreline of the lake annually to establish placement of regulatory buoys.

 

- Reviewing activity data, getting feedback from state and local enforcement officers and recommending adjustments to the town’s local boating ordinances.

 

- Organizing workshops on lake management held by the North Carolina Lake Management Society with the support and financial assistance from the local business community.

 

- Developing an eight-year fish stocking program that has improved the game fishing.

 

- Establishing a ten-year dredging plan and acquiring a dredge to maintain the navigable waterways.

 

The committee has had a history of being comprised of a broad-based group of citizens with varied backgrounds and interests. Those on the committee have given much time and energy to accomplishing goals in the many varied fields of lake management and in service to the community.

 

Lake Advisory Board Meeting agendas and minutes