MINUTES TOWN OF LAKE LURE REGULAR TOWN COUNCIL MEETING Tuesday, October 8, 2024 @ 5:00 pm m my li Lake Lure Inn Attendees: Mayor Carol C. Pritchett Mayor Pro' Tem Dave DiOrio Commissioner Jim Proctor Commissioner Scott Doster Commissioner Patrick Bryant Town Manager Olivia Stewman Agenda Town Staff: Fire Department Chief Dustin Waycaster Police Department Chief Sean Humphries Parks & Rec Department Director Dana Bradley Public Works Department Director Dean Lindsey Community Development Director Mike Williams Communications. Department Director Laura Krejci Human Resources Department Director Jennifer Duncan Finance Department Director Steve Ford I. coming. I. Call to Order: Mayor Carol Pritchett called the meeting to order at 5:00pm and thanked everyone for Agenda Adoption: Commissioner Jim Proctor made ai motion to approve the agenda as presented, Commissioner Scott Doster seconded, and they all voted in favor. II. Discussion of Storm Recovery Updates: Commissioner Dave DiOrio made ai motion to approve an Inter-local Agreement for hurricane debris removal, Commissioner Scott Doster seconded and all voted in favor. * Fire Chiel/Emergency Management Coordinator Dustin Waycaster provided an overview of Hurricane Helene. He noted that the' Town signed a State of Emergency (SOE) leading into the storm which allowed life-saving measures to be taken as needed. The SOE remains in Following the storm there were over 800 missing persons. Some of these were duplicates.. At this time there are 41 people missing persons and the search The' Town of] Lake Lure implemented the Emergency. Action Plan (EAP) prior to the storm. The new siren system that was: recently installed was activated. The Overbridged Emergency Notification System was utilized to share critical Atacertain point, the amount of water coming through the dam could not be controlled and an evacuation plan was implemented as part oft the EAP. The Fire Department utilized all equipmênt available and swift water teams were activated. Door-to-door evacuations took place,including in Chimney Rock Village. There are currently 3 reported fatalities in Rutherford County. ChiefWaycaster thanked all those who headed the warnings and evacuated. Hei thanked the National Guard, US Coast Guard, NC HART, SC Hart and countless volunteers for their support with search and rescue efforts. The Town is working closely with the! Rutherford County Emergency place. continues for these individuals. information. Operations Center. Dam Engineers came out after the storm to assess the dam. They confirmed that the dam was stable and developed a plan for emergency repairs due to erosion that The Fire Department is providing mutual aid to Chimney Rock Village. We are transitioning from search and rescue to the: recovery phase of the operation with assistance from many agencies including the State Bureau of Wel have resources at our disposal through FEMA and we are meeting with them Duke Energy is working hard to restore power and the water system is also being repaired, but fixing the sewer system is more complicated. We must remove the! lake debris quickly so crews can access the sewer lines, identify any We are: maintaining the lake level at 985.5 and monitoring discharge rates at the dam to reduce the chance of debris coming towards the dam. We have had many high-level visits from the Governor, Senators and State Representatives. Mayor Pritchett has shared. the high-priority needs of the Town PublicServices Director Dean Lindsey oversees the Town' 's utility system and he occurred from water on the sides of the dam. Investigation (SBI). daily. issues and make repairs. along with cost estimates. provided an update on that are underway. east of Pool Creek Park have water. He advised that the' Town had two wells inj place. One survived the storm and all those As second well in Firefly Cove provides water to the Arcade Center and The issue with the Firefly Cove well was: repaired and we are trying to re- configure the Firefly Cove wells to feed the' Town Center area. Water samples have been submitted for testing and we are awaiting the results. The Boil Advisory will be lifted as soon as we know it is safe to do SO. Regarding the Sewer System, the Lift Station was damaged in the storm and Wastewater' Treatment Plant (WWTP) was under water. We lost road access to the hydro-electric plant but we are working diligently to restore everything within the next couple of weeks. We have ordered a temporary pump for the lift station and we are working on aj permanent solution including getting. power to the WWTP by redoing the electrical.We are working closely with] DEQ as Schnabel Engineers are overseeing dam repairs, specifically repairing the erosion on the left abutment. The' Tanner Gates are operational and the dam is in good We are working to fix the line under the dam next, which should restore sewer Aportion of Buffalo Shoals road (near the dam) was damaged during the storm. Parks, Recreation, and Lake Director Dana Bradley is overseeing. Lake Cleanup and The priority is moving boats from the lake that present al hazard to a secure location. Owners will be contacted by the contractors. Boats in the marina Crews are working from the dam side of the lake to: remove debris carefully. We are working to obtain a second location to remove a very large debris field. Many truckloads have been removed. It will take weeks of work but we will geti it Police ChiefSean Humphries advised that the Police Department at Town Hall was Thel Police Department is temporarilyr relocating to the Parks,recreation, and Lake Hei thanked all of the agencies that have provided support including the NC beyond. these plans are being developed. condition. service. This portion of the road has been repaired. debris removal. and in other locations will be: removed al little later. done. badly damaged. Department. Highway Patrol and the Rutherford County Sheriff. Four patrol cars were lost in the storm. Hee encouraged anyone needing assistance to call 911. continue to restore power as quickly as possible. Checkpoints remain in place as you enter town to minimize traffic to' Town Center tol homeowners only. This will prevent looters and also allow Duke Energy to It was noted that Lake Lure is making great progress with the recovery process with the support of many agencies.1 NCDOTI has worked diligently to repair roads throughout town. Peter Olearyprovided an update on Chimney Rock Village. Chimney RockVillage Officials have established aj pass system for homeowners that allows for one entry/exit per day. Entry is restricted to all others except workers. Town Manager Olivia Stewman noted that Communications. Director Laura Kreici has been posting daily updates on the town Website and Facebook. Hard copies are placed in the Post Office and at the Resource Center at Ingles daily FEMA Representatives Natalia Santana-Pollard and Jeff Monroe were introduced. Ms. Santana-Pollard shared that she was devastated by ourl loss. She thanked FEMA representatives are stationed at the Ingles Resource Center to offer She advised that FEMA Representatives will be going door-to-door to provide assistance to those who may not be able to get to the resource center. She reviewed the process and advised that she would work with Laura Krejci sO all of She addressed myths and explained the facts related to the process. She noted that individuals can apply using the FEMA app, online, or by phone. There is a deadline (60 days) to apply, but this may be extended. Mayor Pritchett thanked FEMA representatives for their support. She thanked the Town Staff for their hard work. everyone for being present. individual assistance. the forms can be placed on the website. isasterasistance.gor. Assistance available in multiple languages. III. Discuss Schnabel Work Order 11" repairs to the dam referenced earlier. IV. Amend 2024 Schedule Work order #11 from Schnabel Engineering was approved to support the emergency Commissioner Jim Proctor made a motion to amend the town council meeting schedule for the rest of the year, changing the meeting location to the Lake Lure Inn. The dates and times remain the same, Commissioner Patrick Bryant Seconded and they all voted in favor. V. Public Comment: Commissioner Doster advised that all Boards were going to take a pause for the rest of the calendar year. The Board of Adjustment will meet as needed and the. ABC Board will continue to Commissioner. DiOrio advised that there would also be a suspension ofv water and Mayor Pritchett thanked those in attendance and asked everyone to remain courteous as we addressed the public comments. She noted the progress that has 1. Mike Wood: from Lake Lure Village Resort (LIVR) asked if there was an environmental impact study oft the debris in the lake. He expressed concern regarding the chemicals. Commissioner DiOrio stated that we are in stabilization at this point and noted that there are contaminants on the lake. There was a discussion regarding the possibility of utilizing LIVR to remove debris. 2. Debra Gardner from Firefly Cove asked if there was still a no flush order in place and how long will that last. Mr. Lindsey confirmed that there was still a no flush order in place. He explained that the goal is to repair the lift station and 3. Beth Foster from LLVR advised that she was the Resort's board secretary. She explained that their Board needed to: meet to consider the: request to use LIVR to 4. Jeff Giesler, General Manager for Rumbling Bald on Lake Lure thanked the Town and stated that he thought the response has been wonderful. He added that Rumbling Bald was here to help in any way. Mayor thanked Mr. Geisler and 5. Frederick Gable stated that the' Town had done an amazing. job. He asked what level of filters we have for the water when the boil advisory is lifted. Commissioner. DiOrio noted that lake water should not be infilling into the wells and there should be no contamination. Mr. Lindsey reiterated that tests were being completed and the boil advisory would be lifted when results come back good. He advised that DEQ: is working with us to ensure that water is healthy for consumption and noted that the water herel has been very clean historically. 6. Chuck Stokes from Mark' Twain Drive, provided a letter with questions. He noted that his was among the first eight properties on the lake at MarkTwain Drive. He stated that those first eight properties are good but there is a lot of support operations. sewer bills for the rest of the calendar year. been made since the storm has been incredible repair line within the next two weeks. retrieve the debris from the lake before responding. Rumbling Bald for their partnership. boat] house destruction and the silt has built up. He asked that the town keep the Mark' Twain neighborhood involved ini this process. He asked it boat houses will have tol be destroyed when the silt and debris is removed? The Mayor noted that some things are still unknown but the' Town commits to keeping 7. Anthony Stoffel from Homestead Drive asked what the process was to get approval for entering private property? ChiefWaycaster confirmed that the Town would get permission to access private property but noted that time is of the essence. There was a lengthy discussion regarding the debris, working with DEQ, 8. Rick Jackson, owner of Riverside Stables stated that he has been in business since the 80s. Hei thanked God that everyone ini the: room was still. He shared that he was sad for all the loss. He and his wife have lost everything they own.' There was a lengthy discussion about how the lake was lowered prior to the storm. Commissioner Proctor explained the process for lowering and raising the lake and advised that the lake levels should not change more than 2: feet per day either way, ideally just 1 foot per day to protect the integrity of the dam. 9. Jamie Wood from LIVRj provided partial list of what may be in the debris that is in the lake.There was a discussion about a concern of the debris catching fire. Chief Waycaster explained that most oft the lumber has been saturated to the point thati it 10.Dave Marsic from Lure woods Manor noted that he had an easement with Town for dredging and would like to revisit this for removal of debris from the lake. 11.Suzanne Eddy from! Bottomless Pool advised that the Pool Creek Bridge 12. Brandy Neil from LIVR shared a security concernf following an interaction with contractors driving in at truck. They came: into the neighborhood and they had no prior notice. She asked for communication with their board before anyone entered their neighborhood. Ms. Bradley advised that this issue has been addressed. people informed. and utilizing the National Guard to assist with the process. is not going to reach its ignition point. needed to be repaired due to erosion. VI. Adjourned: Commissioner Jim Proctor made a motion to adjourn the meeting, Commissioner Dave DiOrio seconded and they all voted ini favor, the meeting ended at 7:15 p.m. Attest: Caai Carol C. Pritchett, Mayor Elba. A. Willette, Town Clerk