• Draft will be available for examination before next meeting, when it may be up for a vote.

By JEFFERSON WEAVER
Staff Writer

Lake Waccamaw town commissioners may approve the long-awaited pier ordinance at the next town board meeting.

Town Manager Darren Currie said the board spent much of last week’s workshop going over the latest proposal, a simplified version assembled by Currie and Code Enforcement director Kenny Davis.

“We basically gutted the old (proposed) ordinance and narrowed it down to the state building and electrical codes,” Currie said. “That’s what we have to meet under state law anyway, and that was the easiest route.”

The 2004 death of a child at Lake Waccamaw led to a reevaluation of building rules on lakes across the state. The boy was electrocuted due to faulty wiring on a private pier.

While State Parks personnel are responsible for patrolling and managing the lake, the state ruled that towns and communities that allow lakefront construction must ensure all over-water structures meet building and wiring codes.

The role of the Park Rangers was one of the issues resolved at the workshop, Currie said. Lake Waccamaw State Park Superintendent Chris Helms participated in the workshop and helped clarify the Parks’ duties.

“Basically they act as zoning officers,” he explained. Park rangers issue pier permits, inspect piers and docks for proper placement and environmental compliance, and perform a limited safety inspection, Currie explained.

“They aren’t certified as building inspectors,” Currie explained. “I guess they could be if they so desired, but that responsibility falls on the town. They look for additions, expansions – things like that.”
A few details must still be worked out, Currie said, but those will likely be completed by the next meeting.

The town likely will charge a $40 fee to pier owners, with inspections occurring every other year, Currie said. The fee will be added to the water bill of pier and dock owners, and broken down over the 24-month span.

“We also hope we can get the state to reduce their inspection fee by that same amount,” Currie said, “so owners won’t really feel the new fee.”

The draft ordinance will be available at the town’s website, lakewaccamaw.com, and at the town office prior to the meeting.

“We want to get this cleared up and taken care of,” Currie said. “I think the town, the board, just about everybody is ready to get this in place.”