Lake Swannanoa Loan Agreement Signed

The is one step closer to fruition with the passage two resolutions at Wednesday night’s council meeting. One is a loan agreement between Jefferson Township, the Lake Swannanoa Homeowners’ Association (LSHA) and the Swannanoa Sentinel Society (SSS). The other is a resolution for a loan from the state to the LSHA in the amount of up to $1.2 million to fund rehabilitation of the dam.

“No matter where you sit on this issue, every councilperson has read thousands of pages and heard hours and hours of opinions on this issue,” said council president Rick Yocum in discussing the decision. “We just want you to know, we got it. We heard it, we understand it, we appreciate it. This is a business decision, not a personal one for any of us.”

The loan agreement states that the township will assess properties that “derive benefit from the improvements to the South Dam in the same manner as assessments are made for local improvements.” The assessments will be collected by the township and used to pay off the loan. that is plaguing homeowners in the lake. Public hearings will continue on this question.

“I don’t care if it takes one hearing or six or more,” Yocum said. “We will take as much time as we need for everyone to be heard on this issue.”

“It seems to me that it is time for all of this to come to an end. Let’s try to put vitriol aside and trust the people that we elected,” said  lake resident Dan Mullen. “No one ever knows what is completely right or wrong, but it’s time for all of us to join together and come to the best resolution possible.”