Town of Lake Lure,
North
Carolina
Town of Lake Lure, North
Carolina
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THE
LAKE LURE TRIBUTE
1927-2002
75
YEARS OF PROGRESS Mayor:
Jim Proctor Commissioners:
Blaine Cox, Lea Hullender, Dick McCallum, George Pressley, Town
Manager: H.M. “Chuck” Place APRIL
2003 Published
by Town of Lake Lure, P.O. Box 255, Lake Lure, NC 28746 Newsletter
Editor & Coordinator: Monica Stofer Telephone:
(828) 625-9983
Fax: (828)
625-8371 Website:
www.ci.lake-lure.nc.us
E-mail:
lakeluretown@blueridge.net
MAYOR’S COMMENTS by
Jim Proctor
Now that our country is at war I would like to urge all citizens, no
matter how we view
the political situation, to put our thoughts and prayers with the men and
women of our armed forces. They
have committed themselves to stand up for the values of our nation and defend
the security of our world. The
Department of Defense has a website designed to allow each concerned
person to sign a thank you letter to the men and women of the U.S.
military for defending our freedom. That site is: www.defendamerica.mil/nmam.html. So far, over 7
million names have been added to this thank you card.
TOWN
MANAGER’S REPORT by
H.M. “Chuck” Place III, AICP
War Time
As I write this report, I am listening to the news about the strikes
against Iraq by our forces in Kuwait and the Persian Gulf.
It is not likely that this conflict will have much effect on the
day-to-day operations of our little community, but many of our citizens have
sons and daughters, other relatives
or friends that have been sent to the war zone. I join all of you in wishing for
a speedy conclusion to the war and praying that all of your loved ones will come
home safe and sound.
Budget Time
(repeated every year)
Just like the IRS, budget time comes around every year about now.
It is a time to reflect on the cost of
administering the town’s business over the past year and attempt to
project our needs for the following year.
Just like your personal
budget, this is a delicate balancing of needs with available income.
The town’s policy is to try to provide the best service possible
utilizing all available sources of funds without increasing ad valorem taxes
unless absolutely necessary.
Over the next two months, we will be developing the 2003/2004 fiscal
budget. Starting in April, we will
began holding budget workshops that are open to the public.
The process will culminate with a public hearing to receive your input.
I encourage you to attend these
sessions so that you can be better informed
about the decisions that go into adoption of the annual budget and to make your
opinions known to your Town Council.
Council will also hold a hearing on the six year capital improvements
program, or “CIP” in April with the intention of adopting the program as a
guide for future capital spending. This
is the fourth year that we have
prepared a CIP which consists of a capital budget for the upcoming year and a capital plan for the five year period after that.
Each year, we adopt a revised CIP, dropping the past year and adding a
new sixth year. Capital projects
are those
major purchases and projects costing over $10,000.
This important budgeting tool will allow us to plan for
large expenditures well ahead of the time the funds are needed.
Finance Officer Sam Karr and I will always be available to answer
questions about the process or the budget, itself. Spring
Time
Spring has sprung - that’s not to say we might not be hit with at least
one more nasty winter storm. But,
other than more rain than usual for
the past few years, things are pretty nice right now.
Grass is greening, trees are leafing and flowers are busting out all
over. This is truly a wonderful
time of year and we should
all take advantage of the lesson given us by Mother Nature.
It’s the time to clean up and spruce up before the lazy days of summer
are upon us. Now if I can
just get past spring fever........
TOWN
COUNCIL ACTIVITIES by
Town Clerk Mary Flack, MMC, CTC
REGULAR MEETING: The regular
town council meeting was held on Tuesday, March 11, 2003, 7:00 p.m., at the Lake
Lure Municipal Center.
Under the “consent agenda,” Council: *
approved the minutes of February 11, 2003 (regular meeting); *
approved budget amendment of $895.00 for 401(K) expense for Erosion Control
Specialist; *
approved request from the Lake Lure Lakefront Owners Association to suspend the
town’s alcohol ordinance in order to serve beer and wine during their annual
meeting in the community hall of the Lake Lure Municipal Center on June 13,
2003, from 4:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m.; and *
approved request from the Dixie Rodder’s to: (1) hold a 19th annual
car show July 11-12, 2003 on town property; (2) rent the town community center
along with the grassy area behind and adjacent to the building which extends
toward the town marina; (3) suspend the town
peddling ordinance to allow the club to sell t-shirts and other vendors
to sell food and car parts; (4) use a P.A. system for playing music and making
announcements and (5) suspend the town alcohol ordinance for participants to
consume beer and wine only as stipulated with restrictions by the Lake Lure
police department.
In other activities, Town Council: *
reviewed and revised proposed contract to operate the Chimney Rock Village water
system. This contract will be
presented for consideration at the next town council meeting being held on
Tuesday, April 8, 2003; *
approved a budget amendment of $13,000 for town hall repairs; *
heard a report from Peter McCann, representative of the Vietnam War Memorial
Committee, asking for donations to be used toward a project to bring a replica
of the Vietnam War Memorial to Rutherford
County; *
approved a request from the Hickory Nut Gorge Chamber of Commerce to hold a
“business after hours” meeting on Monday, April 14, 2003, at the Lake Lure
Community Center (Youth Center and Visitor Center sides) and suspend the town
alcohol ordinance in order to serve beer and wine only during this event with
restrictions stipulated by the Lake Lure Police Department; Other items were
discussed pertaining to fireworks,
fishing tournaments, Halloween activities, and boat parade.
These items will be
presented at the next town council meeting on April 8, 2003
for consideration; *
held discussion regarding marina slip assignments; Council members agreed to
hold a joint workshop meeting with the Lake Advisory Committee to discuss this
item and other lake issues including boat safety; *
approved a budget amendment of $2,000 as compensation for the use of Mary Ann
Dotson’s property for silt disposal as part of the dredging of Tryon Bay Cove;
and *
held a closed session meeting regarding personnel matters. TOWN
EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH by
Betty Hinson, Personnel Director
Terri Potts, employee of the month, commenced her employment with the
Town of Lake Lure on May 15, 2000.
Terri’s position with the town is that of Zoning Administrator.
All Zoning Compliance permits, Land Disturbance permits, Lake Structure,
and Sign permits, among others, are issued by Terri.
Terri holds memberships in the N.C. Association of Zoning Officials, the
American Planning Association, NC Association of Flood Plain Managers, and NC
Association of CRS Coordinators.
Prior to her employment with the Town of Lake Lure, Terri was with the
Town of North Topsail Beach where her position was that of Planning/Zoning/CAMA
Administrator.
Terri’s duties are varied and many and we say “thank you” for all
your hard work.
COMMUNITY
POLICING NEWS by
Chief Mike Bustle
Many thanks are extended to Russell Pitt, of Mark Twain Drive in Lake
Lure, for his most generous donation of a new Dell computer and software to the
Lake Lure Youth Center. His
donation also included many hours of professional assistance in the maintenance
and configuration of youth center computers.
The center’s youth have already experienced a tremendous
benefit in computer
knowledge, enjoyment and help with homework assignments.
Thank you Russ!
Thanks are also extended to the members of The Episcopal Church of the
Transfiguration in Bat Cave for their donation of $200 from outreach funding for
supplies for the Youth Center. These
funds will help satisfy some of the current needs of the After School Program
for area youth.
Current attendance of the program fluctuates from thirty-seven to almost
fifty students. The program
has accomplished goals of occupying
youth and offering a structured educational environment for youth during
employment periods of parents, and reduction of vandalism incidents throughout
Lake Lure and the Gorge.
The Lake Lure Police Department is pleased to report the receipt of a new
$8,000 four-wheel drive John Deer Trail Gator all-terrain vehicle from U. S.
Smokeless Tobacco Company in Greenwich, Connecticut to aid in search and rescue
efforts throughout the Hickory Nut Gorge. The
vehicle gift is part of the
company’s nationwide effort to recognize and support emergency service
contributions to communities and
improve emergency response in remote areas.
The gift “Gator” will tremendously enhance emergency response and is
an excellent beginning in upgrading the police department’s and other
emergency services’ ability to serve. Currently,
area departments have been forced to depend on volunteer’s use of privately
owned four-wheelers during search and rescue missions.
The police department is pleased to announce the recent addition of
Patrolman Lamar Burch following the transfer of Sgt. Rick Tullis to the N. C.
Justice Academy. Patrolman
Burch comes to Lake Lure from the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Department with
approximately sixteen years of experience in policing, investigations, crime
scene processing, loss prevention and corrections.
The police department would like to congratulate Patrolman Sean
Humphries, and wife Melissa, upon the birth of their son, Christian Cheyenne
Humphries, born March 5, 2003.
The department also would like to congratulate administrative assistant
Vicki Coggins on the birth of her first granddaughter, Michelle Coggins, born on
March 3, 2003.
GOLF
COURSE NEWS by
Charlie Greeson, Pro Shop Clerk
March came in like a lamb;...a wet one.
We were underwater for quite a few days last month.
We have renewed hope for April, however, with even more improvements than
we announced in March. There are
some new fences that do more than present pleasant eye appeal.
One of the first to notice is between the cart barn and the practice
range. This should
prevent golfers who are looking
for errant golf balls on the
practice range from coming down the bank and wearing out that
unsightly path causing erosion. The landscaping
plants along the back side
of the fence came from that obnoxious clump of pampas grass (if you're a golfer
that's what you call it)
located at precisely the wrong
place in the sand bunker along fairway number one.
We divided that thing into
enough parts to go between all the
posts up the hill. Another plant
that was in a less than desirable location was the forsythia at one corner of
the parking lot right where the road turns up the hill.
We moved
that plant, did a little digging and scraping, laid down some cross ties
and gained two more parking spaces. Just
below the cart barn we cut away
some of the bank to widen the driveway and alleviate a bottleneck.
We then built a retaining wall with landscaping added above that. Nice.
By the way, speaking of
landscaping, we could use some more plants.
If you have some trees or shrubs in some place where you no longer want
them, give us a call. We could come
get them out of your way if it's a type or size we could use here at the course. Any donations toward that end would be greatly appreciated.
Back to improvements - The next place you see new fencing is where you enter the
course to go to the first hole. The
fencing extends from the mail box to a newly constructed
intersection complete with an island (also landscaped) to direct traffic
flow. This is another thing that
has been needed for a long time. On
to hole number two and the fencing along the tee box for the white and blue
tees. This will stop the walking
traffic from wearing out a path
from the green at number one and provide a place for us to place distance
markers to give a more accurate gauge to the center of the green from
that tee box. Also, to help enhance
turf quality on the second hole, we have roped off
the area from the bank along the back side of the red tees to the creek
to hopefully prevent carts from driving through there and onto the fairway.
Signs directing golfers to stay on the cart path have been placed along
the side of the cart path leading to the green as well.
That's a point we would like to emphasize.
Please obey the signs
posted anywhere on the course as they are provided for the common good.
There may, from time to time, be areas that we will rope off to give the
turf a chance to recover from wear and tear.
Our intent is to strive for continued improvement of the course with
minimal inconvenience to the golfers.
Other stuff - Alvin Coggins has completed relocating his custom club
fitting and repair shop to our pro shop here.
In the coming weeks he plans to refine his shop's operations and set-up
to better serve his clients. During
the off season, Alvin became a certified golf teacher, recognized by the
Professional Coaches and Teacher Association of America.
He hopes his certification will enable him to better meet his past and
future customer's instructional needs. Days
and hours his shop will be open for business are Monday through Friday, 10:00
a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Hours will be
subject to change depending on scheduled lessons.
More improvements are in the works.
We probably won't stop until we get to looking like Augusta.
We still have some inexpensive rates
so y'all come on out and play at the same price you've seen for the past two
years. When you do, keep your head
down and your spirits up.
THE
TRAVELING WALL by
Veterans of Rutherford County
The Disabled Veterans of Rutherford County
are bringing a replica of the Viet Nam War Memorial to Rutherford County.
The traveling wall is a half scale replica of the Viet Nam War Memorial
(THE WALL) in Washington D.C. This
memorial will be placed on the grounds of Legion Field, located in Forest City.
It will be open to the public seven days, Nov. 16th
through Nov. 23rd. This
is a major undertaking and we, the Disabled Veterans of Rutherford County, need
your support. The Town Council of
Forest City, The Forest City Merchants Association, and The Rutherford County
Tourism Development Authority have graciously consented to join us in this
project. We ask that you please
support these veterans both living and deceased, by giving a tax deductible
donation in any amount. For more information
please contact the County Veterans
office at 828-287-6185 or the
Tourism Development Authority at 828-245-1492. You may pick up a honor or
remembrance donation form at town hall. NEWS
AROUND LAKE LURE
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 Hugh or Nancy Pinney at 828-625-0867.
Lake Lure Tours, Lake Lure Marina and the Resort Marina are
open Friday through Sunday during the month of March.
April 1st - Lake Lure Tours, Marina and the Resort
Marina will be open daily. For
special events during this month please call 828-625-1373.
The Lake Lure Lions Club is hosting the 17th Annual
Open Golf Tournament on Friday, May 9, 2003.
The event will be at Apple Valley Golf Club in Fairfield.
For times, fees and deadlines please call 828-625-1878 or 828-625–2888.
Garden Club - Join them for
this exciting field trip! They are
going to Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens in Belmont, NC (near Gastonia). Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden is a world class botanical
garden, encompassing more than 110 acres of lush, manicured grounds.
DSBG features 6 theme gardens ( the four season garden, the cottage
garden, the canal garden, the perennial garden, the conifer garden and the west
garden (consists of only whites)), twelve fountains, garden wildlife, a natural
woodland trail, gift shop
and visitors pavilion. They will
leave the Lake Lure area at 9:00 a.m. from a designated location where maps to
the Garden will be provided. For
more information, please contact Jean Hoffman at 828-625-1631 or Joanne Phillips
at 828-625-8498.
The Heartbeat Pregnancy Center is
hosting the 10th Annual Walk For Life on Saturday, May 3, 2003.
The walk begins at 9:00 a.m. at the Lake Lure Marina. Anyone
interested in participating in the walk please contact Betty Koon at
828-625-5166 or the center at 828-286-4357.
“The next generation is in
our hands”. NOTICE For
comments about the operations of the Lake Lure Tours, call 828-625-0077.
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