Lake’s board
to hold special meeting Jan. 29
By JEFFERSON WEAVER
Staff Writer
The Lake Waccamaw Board of Commissioners meet in special session Jan. 29 to discuss a replacement for T. J. Barrett and the town’s Capital Improvement Plan.
Barrett died Jan. 10. He was a former police chief for the Lake as well as a member of the town board.
Barrett’s seat on the board comes up for election in 2009. The board is expected to appoint Daniel Hilburn to the post. Hilburn came in second in the 2005 race for the seat, gathering 137 ballots to Barrett’s 272.
The Capital Improvement Plan was funded by a $7,500 Rural Center grant. The study examines growth trends in the town, and possible needs in improvements to infrastructure and services. The plan’s emphasis is on water and sewer.
Town Manager Darren Currie said the review of the CIP will be more of an informal discussion between the board and an engineer. The emphasis of the plan will be on future water and sewer needs, Currie said.
“The engineer could just write a generic plan for the future,” Currie explained, “but instead, they’re going to look at growth trends and other issues so the plan can be tailored to the town of Lake Waccamaw, instead of just a plan taken from some other town.”
Water and sewer issues are fast becoming a headache for the lake and other small towns, Currie said. State and federal officials are trying to encourage the establishment of regional wastewater facilities, as opposed to small, 200-300,000-gallon plants.
The lake briefly discussed joining Bolton’s plans to attach to the Whiteville wastewater plant, but Currie said the town has to solve its problems with inflow and infiltration in town before considering another major project.
The town’s CIP was last updated in 2002. The Rural Center recommends revisiting capital improvement plans every five years or so. Currie said that the Rural Center announced recently that it had surplus grant funds which could be used for water and sewer CIP studies. Lake Waccamaw applied for and was awarded one of the $7,500 subgrants.
“It’s a good way to consider the town’s potential future needs,” Currie said, “and a good way to examine how the town might grow and change in the years to come.”
The board may also consider an appointment to the Lake Waccamaw ABC Commission.
The meeting will be held at Town Hall at 9:30 a.m.
