The Highlands Town Board meeting on Thursday evening, Aug. 15 saw a cause for celebration – the long-awaited dredging of Mirror Lake finally got a definitive timeline and the board approved its first phase to start later this year.
In addition, there were concerns raised over alleged misconduct by construction workers in the Mount Lori area, and there was yet more discussion over short-term rentals (STRs), and the board ran through updates on other town issues like the new playground and the Houston House property.
Mirror Lake dredging
Volunteer Pat Gleeson with the Mirror Lake Improvement Committee said the first phase of the dredging would involve “a swathe or dredge of 250 yards upstream and then downstream from the Mirror Lake Bridge,” which would take out the small islands and shallowness on the stretches there.
Phase 2 would create more channels, including one down Cullasaja Road to the bridge. Phase 3 would “continue where Phase 1 left off” and Gleeson said if there’s enough money, the project would go “as far as we can up Big Pine Acres and downstream to the dam itself.”
Gleeson said water testing had been approved by the state and went over the various permitting and design work being done ahead of the project’s planned start, including dealings with dredging contractor River Sand Inc., and finishing design drawings and easements for property owners along the lake.
He said there would be a public notice for the removal of the kayaks and canoes by the lakebed – which Gleeson joked had been termed the “Mirror Lake Yacht Club.” He said there would be a sign posted to this effect.
Then, he said, the project would start in earnest.
“River Sand Inc. told me this afternoon that they have one job they’re gonna finish up in the next 30 days, then they would like to begin dredging in Mirror Lake, in late September or early October,” Gleeson said.
Then, the board voted unanimously to approve the contract with engineering firm McGill Associates for the project. They stressed that other phases of the project could take longer and involve separate contracts to approve in the next few years.
Troubles with contractors
There were several members of the Mount Lori Homeowners Association in attendance.
HOA president Diandra Mundy performed a rap song stating that they’d come there to voice concerns over the construction company’s conduct on their road.
HOA member Bob Smith went into more detail on the problems the company had allegedly caused with stormwater runoff on Mount Lori Road.
“Back in 2023, the building began grading and cutting the driveways on those lots,” he said. “That dramatically altered the way stormwater runoff had driven down Mount Lori since it was constructed. It created multiple problems for us.”
Prior to the company’s work on the street, the lots were full of vegetation and leaves. That meant when it rained, the rainwater drained and was spread over the mountainside. The cutting of the lots is “going to force a lot of water down Mount Lori Drive,” which wasn’t set up to take that volume of water, Smith said.
“All the water from those lots have to come down this side,” he said. “It’s clogged up our drains on the east side, back onto the streets.”
HOA member Carol Drake raised objections with workers’ conduct around the neighborhood. She claimed workers had made noise long past reasonable working hours and said their language had bothered her. She also alleged seeing some workers using the bathroom in bushes near her house.
In response to this, Mayor Patrick Taylor said they would be looking at hiring someone to more closely enforce fines and penalties against contractors who are breaking rules or causing trouble.
Commissioner Jeff Weller said he was in favor of escalating the fines against the company and others if offenses continued to escalate.
Commissioner John Dotson said they should consider performance bonds for contractors. “If we have to go out and clean the roads or whatever we have to do – that needs to come out of their pockets.”
STR debate continues
Mac McCarley, an attorney for the Highlands Neighborhood Coalition, spoke out about the Planning Board’s decision last month to shoot down a proposed rule to amortize short-term rentals (STRs) in some parts of town. The Highlands Neighborhood Coalition is against letting STRs operating in town.
McCarley said the Planning Board’s decision shouldn’t have made its decision by taking into account things like potential litigation or cost – he said they should’ve decided based on land use rules and policies.
The commissioners spoke briefly about the issue, pondering if there was some way to add a ballot referendum for citizens to vote on amortizing the vacation rentals.
They eventually decided to hold a special town hall meeting on the issue, which they set for Thursday, Sept. 5 at 7 p.m. They voted to confirm that town hall 4-1. Weller was the only one to vote against holding a meeting on the issue – Weller said at past meetings that he thought the current rules on STRs were good enough.
Other business
In addition, Commissioner Brian Stiehler provided an update on fundraising for the new playground. He said they’d raised $900,000 of the $1.6 million needed and would be rolling out a website for PayPal donations this week.
There was some talk about what trees might be good to plant for the Oak Street redevelopment project.
Then Stiehler spoke on the Houston House property, as he and Weller had talked with the Boys and Girls Club, who want to establish a facility in the building, which at one point housed an after-school program.
“That’s something we can all agree the community needs,” he said. “I hope the town would be a major player in that.”
Stiehler said the Boys and Girls Club wanted a topographical survey to look at the property, which they asked the town to pay for. Town manager Josh Ward said this would cost $1,300. The board voted unanimously to move forward on the survey.
In his mayor’s report, Taylor said there were two new police officers sworn in recently: Hunter Hudson, who has a past in the National Guard, and Diego Perez, who has a four-year degree in criminal justice.
The next Board of Commissioners meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 19 at 7 p.m. at the Highlands Community Building at 71 Poplar Street.