A loosely organized group of Westsiders will attempt to gather the 200 or so signatures required to call for a special meeting of the Seven Lakes West Landowners Association [SLWLA] for a vote of the membership on whether Longleaf Drive across Lake Auman Dam should be reopened for vehicular traffic.
Meanwhile, the SLWLA Board of Directors yesterday mailed a letter [click here to download a copy] to the Association membership asking for input on the permanent closure of the road, prior to an expected final Board vote on the matter, scheduled for Tuesday, October 26 [see story here] .
A special meeting vote would be binding; the member input asked for in the Board's letter would be advisory in nature.
Special meeting petition
Mike Gorenflo presented the two-page Special Meeting petition [download a copy here] to three or four dozen residents gathered Tuesday night, October 5, in the Great Room of the West Side Park Community Center. There was clearly a diversity of opinion in the room; but, by the end of the meeting, more than thirty of those attending had signed the petition, and a dozen others had volunteered to help round up signatures.
The SLWLA bylaws provide for the calling of a special meeting at the written request of one-tenth of the membership, which would be roughly 172 lots. Gorenflo suggested during the meeting that the group should try to collect at least 250 signatures, because some will likely be ruled invalid for technical reasons. The bylaws provide no special instructions for the conduct of special meetings, which may mean that such a meeting would be conducted in essentially the same way as an annual meeting, with ballots mailed to the membership, which would be eligible to vote by mail, in person, or by proxy.
The last time SLWLA members successfully called for a special meeting was prior to the construction of the West Side Park Community Center, when those opposed to the project mounted a successful petition drive. But, in that instance, a disagreement between petition organizers and the Board concerning interpretation of the bylaws led to dueling special meetings, one Board sanctioned and the other convened by the opposition.
The Petition
The Dam Road petition [download a copy here] outlines a multi-part process that begins with a special meeting vote on this question:
Shall the Dam Road be reopened for member and resident traffic subject to a (posted and reasonably enforced) speed limit of twenty (20) miles per hour and valid transponder/bar code sticker gated access and for all emergency vehicles (specifically including, but not limited to, fire trucks, ambulances, and police vehicles) only? (members to vote: yes or no)
For the purpose of this question, the “Dam Road” shall be that part of Longleaf Drive in Seven Lakes West that extends between Morris Drive and McDonald point.
The petition attempts to prevent the Board from taking further action on the status of the Dam Road -- and Directors, speaking in their official capacity -- from making statements on the subject prior to the special meeting. Gorenflo said the intention was not to censor individual opinion, but to prevent the Board from spending Association funds to advocate any point of view.
If the membership votes to reopen the road, the petition instructs the Board to create a seven-member Dam Road Re-Opening Committee that will investigate what will be required to re-open the road. The committee is instructed to investigate at least the following elements: "further dam remediation (if needed), appropriate dam condition monitoring, road remediation (construction requirements and costs), traffic/speed/use controls, appropriate agreements for use by emergency vehicles, and budgetary considerations (including escrows for future remediation, if/when necessary)," as well as, if it desires, pursuing a second engineering opinion to add to that of the SLWLA's Dam Engineer Dr. Dan Marks.
The petition restricts the membership of the committee to members who have owned property in the community for at least three years -- i.e., before the closure of the road across the dam. Those who have served on the dam committee, the lake committee, or the Board of Directors in the last five years would not be eligible to serve on the Dam Road Re-Opening Committee. Gorenflo said this stipulation was included to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest.
With a minimum of $25,000 for a budget and six months to complete its work, the committee will present to Board with a recommendation for reopening the dam road, which, after sixty days for public study and comment, will be put to the membership in a second public meeting. If approved, the recommendation will be implemented. If rejected, the matter will be returned to the committee for more work, a new recommendation, and another vote.
One meeting attendee pointed out that this could create an endless loop, in which the committee brings forth recommendation after recommendation, each rejected in turn by the membership. While acknowledging the possibility, Gorenflo said he doubted the process would devolve to that point before the community found another way to resolve the issue.
Why a special meeting?
Addressing the need for a special meeting petition, Gorenflo said the twenty-eight day window before the Board is expected to take a final vote on permanent closure of the road over Lake Auman Dam is not enough time to gather second opinions from other engineers or assemble other data that might convince a majority of the Board to vote against closure.
He also said he didn't believe the community could get a fair estimate of the cost of restoring the roadway across the dam if the Board of Directors produces the estimate, noting that Board members have already mentioned estimates as high as $1 million, which he said were inflated.
In addition, Gorenflo said, it is unlikely that the Board of Directors will themselves call a special meeting to have a referendum on the matter.
Directors object
After Gorenflo's presentation of the petition, those in attendance asked a number of questions about its content and about the road closure and status of the dam.
SLWLA Legal Director Ed Silberhorn told the group that "what's been said tonight is highly misleading." In particular, he objected to statements by Gorenflo and others that suggested Dam Engineer Dan Marks had not clearly recommended closure of the dam.
Noting that Marks is "the pre-eminent expert in the state" Silberhorn said Marks recommendation that the dam be closed "is in writing." He added that it is "reckless and misleading to say that Dr. Marks has not recommended the road be closed."
[Editor's note — In fact, in his final report to the state Dam Safety Engineer on the Lake Auman Dam remediation, Marks recommended that the "Certification of Approval to Impound" -- the state's final approval of the repairs -- "be granted only with the following stipulation: That section of Longleaf Drive in the Community of Seven Lakes West that transverses the crest of Lake Auman dam shall remain closed to vehicular traffic of all kinds, except for un-licensed vehicles capable of transporting a maximum of two people. Furthermore, no future consideration shall be given to the opening of this section of roadway (resuming the use of this section of roadway for vehicular traffic) regardless of any plans to design and/or construct any type of high-strength roadway pavement design section."
In other words, Marks asked the state to force the permanent closure of the dam road.
The state Dam Safety Engineer, in turn, turned away that request, while suggesting the Association "consider" Marks' advice. The state's "Final Approval to Impound" includes the following paragraph: " In addition it is noted that the design engineer has recommended the portion of Longleaf Drive that traverses the crest of the dam embankment remain closed to vehicular traffic in order to insure the integrity of repairs to the dam. Though we do not consider road closure a requirement for continued operation of this dam, you as the dam owner may wish to consider the design engineers' recommendation in this matter.
Watch for additional Times reporting on Mark's recommendation and the state's response.]
Silberhorn said the liability insurance to cover the dam, if the road were reopened, could cost $40,000 per year -- and that would cover only liability, not the rebuilding of the dam. In any case, he said, "Lake Auman Dam is the biggest high hazard earthen dam in the state of NC. The State will not let us rebuild it if it fails."
Noting that the Board is cooperating in resident Jim Johnson's attempt to get a second engineering opinion on reopening the dam, Silberhorn said he "was elected to make a prudent decision after listening to the facts."
SLWLA President Ron Shepard pointed to recent dam failures as evidence that dams can and do fail, negatively impacting the value of surrounding property and costing millions to replace.
Signatories and volunteers sought
Westside landowners who are current in their dues payments and otherwise eligible to vote in Association elections are eligible to sign the special meeting petition. Gorenflo noted during Tuesday night's meeting that only one signature is allowed for each lot owned, just as each lot has only one vote in Assocaition elections.
For additional information the special meeting petition drive, to sign the petition, or to solicit additional signatures, contact Mike Gorenflo at 910-673-1325 (office) or 910-673-5593 (home). A printable version of the petition may be downloaded here.
