Gorenflo has invited folks to meet at his office this afternoon, Tuesday, September 21, at 6:00 pm, to discuss the issue. He's drafted a letter asking the Board to declare the closing of the dam road a "material matter," which would trigger a 60-day public comment period before the decision is finalized.Several members of the Board -- including Adam Wimberly, Ed Silberhorn, Karen Milligan, and Joe Sikes -- argued during the Board's Tuesday, September 14 Work Session that the road closing should be made a material matter. But the Board ultimately voted 6-to-2 to follow the recommendation of its Dam Committee and permanently close the road, contingent on a ratifying vote at its September 28 evening work session.
The Committee's rationale for the closure turned less on engineering or technical issues than on fear of future liability, should the dam ever fail. Dam Engineer Dr. Dan Marks recommended the road remain closed, and state engineers indicated the Association "may wish to consider" taking its engineer's advice. That advice represents a sword hanging over the collective head of the community, committee member Paul Kirst said, making it impossible to reopen the road without incurring crippling liability should the dam ever fail and cause property damage or loss of life.
That interpretation is all wet, Gorenflo told The Times.
If the Association hires an appropriately qualified engineer to design a road over the dam, obtains the necessary state approvals, and builds the road as designed, it will incur no more liability, should the dam fail, than it currently has, Gorenflo said.
Noting in his letter to the Board that the decision to close or reopen the road touches every aspect of community life, from budgeting to security and recreation, Gorenflo argues that the membership deserves a greater opportunity for input before the Board's September 14 decision is made final.
"I do not purport to know the wants of the majority of the community," he writes, "but feel that this issue clearly warrants an opportunity for the majority to make themselves clearly known."
The office of Gorenflo, Bierbaum, and Campbell is off North Trade Street in the Seven Lakes Business Village, directly across from the former Carolina Golf Association office.
