Seven Lakes Times

Barcodes are the most efficient method of identifying members of the Seven Lakes Landowners Association [SLLA] and moving them through the community's gates; but not everyone seems to be getting that message.

The newly-formed SLLA Security Committee is recommending that the Association move toward making barcodes mandatory; Security Director Steve Ritter shared that recommendation with the Board of Directors during their Monday, May 14 Work Session.

“Approximately one-third of our membership are without barcodes -- and that is a fairly substantial number,” Ritter explained. “I don’t understand why people are willing to sit behind two or three cars in the guest lane, when they can look to their right and see cars buzzing by in the barcode lane.”

Moving toward mandatory barcodes topped the list of recommendations from the Security Committee, which includes four retired law enforcement officers -- Ritter, former SLLA Director Chuck Mims, Mike Vasillo, and Don Harkey -- along with Southsider Brenda Massimo.

“We as a committee have looked at how these policies would fit in with our rules," Ritter said, "and whether we are doing what is right for our community and protecting all of our residents at the same time.”

“We are looking at access as how it pertains now as well as we grow. We are thinking forward to attack issues before they become issues,” he said.

Monday, May 14

• Seven Lakes Landowners Association – 9 am, work session. Seven Lakes North Clubhouse Game Room. Open to all landowners.

• National Active & Retired Federal Employees (NARFE) Sandhills Chapter 1895 – 10:30 am, monthly meeting, at Community Congregational Church, 141 N. Bennett St., Southern Pines. Chapter 1895 welcomes all Federal&Postal employees, FedRetirees, spouses/surviving spouses to meetings. Information about NARFE or meetings call: George or Julina LeVander (910) 895-9657; Sheila Lang (910) 448-0704, or Rose (Lin) Heimrick, (910) 295-4090.

• Seven Lakes Artists Group – 1 pm, meets every Monday at Seven Lakes Northside Clubhouse. All Local artists are welcome join the group.

• Weight Watchers Meeting – 5 pm-6 pm, at St. Mary Magdalene Episcopal Church, 1145 Seven Lakes Drive, Seven Lakes. Group leader Rachel Carr.

• Sandhills Photography Club – 7-9 pm, Photographer Edward Smith will discuss Nature Photography. Held at Christ Fellowship Church, Midland & Pee Dee Roads, Southern Pines. Website info: http://ncnaturephoto.com/bio.php Guests are welcome. For information, visit www.sandhillsphotoclub.org

Tuesday, May 15

• Vulnerable Adults and Elder Abuse – 10 am, Moore County Department of Social Services will present a program at the Senior Enrichment Center on abuse, neglect, and exploitation. Protecting vulnerable and elder adults is a community responsibility and it is imperative that communities work together to help reduce and prevent abuse, neglect and exploitation. Call 215-0900 to reserve a seat. Senior Enrichment Center, 8040 NC Highway 15-501, Pinehurst.

• Healing Service – 11 am, St. Mary Magdalene Episcopal Church. 1145 Seven Lakes Dr., Seven Lakes. Intercessory prayers for the sick & trouble, those in harms way, traveling, bereaved or deceased. Carol Burgess, Deacon. All are welcome.

• Moore County League of Women Voters  – Pat Corso, Executive Director of Moore County Partners in Progress, will be the speaker for the League of Women Voters of Moore County luncheon. Partners in Progress is a public/private partnership promoting economic development in Moore County. Meeting held at Table on the Green Restaurant, at Midland Country Club, 2206 Midland Road, Southern Pines. Check-in 11:30 am, meeting 11:45 am. Meeting open to the public as well as League members. Reservation required to attend. Calling Charlotte at 910-944-9611 to reserve. Cost is $12; a check payable to LWVMC.

• Moore County Board of Commissioners – 6:00 pm, at the Historic Courthouse, Carthage. Download agenda or full meeting packet.

It's nearly 1,000 boats on Lake Auman -- not nearly 2,000.

A story in this Friday's edition of The Times on a recent Seven Lakes West Landowners Association [SLWLA] Board Work Session reports that nearly 2,000 boats have been registered for use on Lake Auman this year.

During the Work Session, Lake & Dam Director Bruce Keyser reported the registration of 1,430 power boats and over 500 unpowered craft.

Thursday morning, after Friday's edition of The Times had gone to press, Keyser informed The Times via email that the number of power boats registered was actually 429. Keyser said he "forgot we start with 1000," referring to sticker numbers.

So, the total number of boats, power and non-power, is less than 1,000, rather than the nearly 2,000 that we reported.

The story below has been updated with the correct information. The Times regrets the error.

April 30 was the last day to register boats or trailers without paying a $25 fine, reported Lake and Dam Director Bruce Keyser during the Seven Lakes West Landowners Association [SLWLA] Board Work Session on Tuesday, May 8.

This year more than 500 non-power boats and 429 power boats have been registered. Those who have not registered their boats will be sent a reminder letter.

Lake patrol will begin on May 19, with boating rules being “strictly” enforced, said Keyser. Multiple violations of Lake rules may result in a fine, with the possibility of that boat being banned from use on the Lake.

Keyser reported that a fish and lake assessment study was completed on Friday, May 4 by Foster Lake and Dam Management. The results of that study should be back within the next few weeks.

The May 11 edition of The Seven Lakes Times is now available for download in pdf format.

You can download a high-quality PDF here, or, if you have a slower internet connection, download a smaller PDF here.

Highlights of this 40-page issue include:

- Foxfire is struggling with a budget in which expenses exceed revenues -- and the Village can't afford to repair the community tennis courts, among other things. Is a tax increase the answer?

- A Foxtail Villas homeowner wants the Council to take action to clean up that neighborhood.

- A bit more than one-third of registered voters turned out for Tuesday's primary election, and passed the Marriage Amendment by a convincing margin.

- Seven Lakes pastors held a special service on Sunday, May 6 to pray for Unity in Seven Lakes. You can read Rev Dudley Crawford's sermon in this edition.

- McLendon Hills wants to change fire districts, but the request has prompted the County to commission a study of the entire fire district system.

- The County Manager's budget proposes a bit more spending, but no increase in taxes.

- Seven Lakes West has registered more than 1400 power boats -- and another 500 non-power boats for the boating season on Lake Auman.

- An SLLA proposal to downsize the stables generated plenty of pushback -- particularly when critics figured out the usage numbers on which the proposal was based were pretty shaky.

- West End Presbyterian Church is celebrating its 100th birthday with a year-long series of events.

- Laura's looking for a very large dog on the loose; Don admits that the church itself could use a bit more unity Steven Hudson has some cost cutting ideas for the SLLA; and Times Editor Greg Hankins spoke to Kiwanis about where Seven Lakes has been, where we are, and why it may be hard to get from here to where we'd like to be.

Download the high-quality PDF edition (or, if you have a slower internet connection download a lower-quality pdf edition) and read it all this morning, pick up a copy at locations all over Seven Lakes this afternoon, or check your mailbox tomorrow.

North Carolina's Primary Election is Today, Tuesday, May 8. Polls are open until 7:30 pm.

Though the GOP Presidential nomination appears to have been already decided, voters on all sides of the political spectrum will still find plenty of options on the ballot.

Perhaps the most controversial choice voters will be asked to make involves a proposed amendment to the NC Constitution, Amendment One. It would add to the NC Constitution the following language: "Marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this State. This section does not prohibit a private party from entering into contracts with another private party; nor does this section prohibit courts from adjudicating the rights of private parties pursuant to such contracts."

The amendment, promoted by opponents of same-sex marriage, attempts to write into the Constitution a ban already present in the NC General Statutes, so that the ban could not be overturned by judicial or legislative action. You can find the official explanation of the Amendment here. You can find arguments in favor of Amendment One here; arguments against, here. Moore County's Board of Commissioners recently passed a resolution encouraging voters to weigh in on the measure. You can read the resolution here and read The Times' coverage of folks who spoke for and against that resolution here.

County Manager Cary McSwain is proposing a $131 million budget for Fiscal Year 2012-13, and no increase in the property tax rate.

McSwain presented the budget -- which reflects an increase of nearly two percent over this year's budget -- to the Board of Commissioners during their Tuesday, May 1 meeting.

Most of the requested $2.5 million year-to-year increase will be allocated to personnel costs, McSwain said, including the addition of four new detention officers and seven new paramedics. Funding for the latter will come from the Advanced Life Support [ALS] levy rather than the general property tax levy. However, the budget includes no increase in the two-cent ALS tax rate.

A request by the McLendon Hills Property Owners Association to be moved from their current Eagle Springs Fire District into the Seven Lakes First District has prompted the Commissioners to undertake a complete analysis of the County's Fire Districts -- something that hasn't been done in recent memory.

But that also means it may be a while before McLendon Hills homeowners get the lower insurance rates they were hoping to get by hopping districts.

McLendon Hills made the request during the Board's April 17 meeting; prompting a recommendation from Fire Marshal Ken Skipper that the County hire a consultant to conduct a formal countywide study of the issue.

During their Tuesday, May 1 meeting, the Commissioners unanimously agreed to have Skipper issue a Request For Proposal [RFP] for a comprehensive study of the fire service districts in Moore County. The project is expected to cost anywhere from $20,000 to $90,000.

With expenses expected to outpace revenue for Fiscal Year 2013, Foxfire Village Finance Director Leslie Frusco is looking for public input on how to best balance the budget.

“Our options are to take more money out of the existing Village funds, increase our revenue sources, or cut expenses,” she explained at the Citizen’s Budget Workshop held on Tuesday, May 1.

[A second Citizen’s Budget Workshop to collect public input on the proposed budget will be held this evening, Thursday, May 3 at 6:30 pm.]

The concerns pushing the cost side of the ledger are palpable: deferred road maintenance projects, debt service -- particularly on the Woodland Circle extension loan; and eroding amenities -- the proposed budget includes funding to demolish but not rebuild the community tennis courts. All that has Frusco taking a very hard look at the existing tax rate of 32 cents per $100 of valuation -- or $640 for a $200,000 home.

“When we throw out numbers and talk about things in budget work sessions -- and when we look at possible things the Village needs on a long-term basis, we try to transfer that into dollars,” Frusco explained. “For example, to renovate the tennis courts, estimates were between $70,000 and $80,000. A five cent tax increase funds that kind of project. It’s very easy to say we should do this or that, but it is important to realize that all of those ‘should dos’ come with a price tag that our current funding is not able to meet.”

A possible reduction in the number of community-owned horses at the stables drew a slew of criticism from a few dedicated riders during the Wednesday, April 25 meeting of the Seven Lakes Landowners Association [SLLA] Board of Directors.

Citing the need for better information on usage of the facility, Director Bob Racine, whose Recreation Committee had recommended the cutbacks to the herd recommended the Board delay taking action.

“When I’m wrong I will admit it," Racine explained. "In this case, we were wrong. We made a decision based on insufficient information. At this point, I recommend that no further action will be taken to reduce the number of animals or personnel until there has been a thorough review . . . I ask that you not make any assumptions. My mind is not made up to do anything.”

In early April, the Recreation Committee unanimously approved a recommendation to reduce by approximately half the number of horses at the stables. Fewer Association-owned horses would allow the vacant stalls to be rented to private owners, allowing the stables to produce additional revenue. The combination of rental fees and reduced expenses were expected to save the Association more than $30,000 annually.

Once the Recreation Committee's recommendation became public, closer scrutiny of the data on which that recommendation was based suggested the number of riders had been seriously underestimated.

Water is much on the minds of Moore County's Board of Commissioners these days, who have a proposal to tap the Town of Robbins' reservoir on the table and plenty of other options in the wings.

Public Works Director Randy Gould briefed the Commissioners during their Tuesday, April 17 meeting on three water-related efforts underway at Moore County Public Utilities [MCPU] :

• Progress on drilling three new wells to increase water supply in the county system.

• The prospects for using an old quarry and some talc mines in the Glendon area as a county reservoir.

• The possibility of commissioning a formal study of the aquifer that feeds Moore County wells, to better understand its capacity and value as a long-term water source.

The County recently received the deed to three new well sites, Gould reported, and test wells have been drilled in two of the sites. The results show that the wells have “very positive results,” with a yield of 90 to 150 gallons per minute.

A test on the third well is pending. Once it is complete, the next step will be developing a design for the production wells and wellsite treatment facilities. Gould estimated it would cost $1.7 million to bring the three wells into production.

“We don’t have it budgeted for this year,” said Gould. “But it is certainly something we want to proceed with . . . with the proper funding at the proper time.”