The town of Lake Waccamaw has been a busy place over the last few weeks, and at Tuesday night’s meeting, decisions were made for more improvements to come over the next several months. The board honored the Lake’s time capsule committee, updated the Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan, and renewed their contract with the Cape Fear Council of Governments (COG). Leaders also moved on to the second task for the dam project and gave the approval for the town manager to consult with an architectural firm for future Town Hall location.
Time Capsule Committee
Independence Day was a huge celebration in Columbus County, and Lake Waccamaw had the privilege of opening the town’s 1976 time capsule at a ceremony at Town Hall on July 4, 2026. A committee was formed to oversee the events for that day and to help place a new time capsule at the Lake Waccamaw Depot Museum to be opened on July 4, 2076.
The board honored Karl Bracey, Beverly Coy, Rosemary Dorsey, Karen Russell Hall, Becky Lane, Ginger Littrell, Theresa McKeithan, Sylvia Patton, Nancy Council Rix, Angela Tyler, Janet Tyler, and Tric Zyzyk for their hard work and commitment to making the historical event a success.
A special viewing of the items from the erected time capsule will be on July 19 from 3-5 p.m. at the museum.
Mitigation Plan and COG Contract
Several municipalities in the region have adopted the Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan for natural disasters, and the Lake made a resolution to utilize these set measures put in place to help them make decisions in the face of danger to help keep citizens safe.
A Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan (RHMP) is essential for reducing risks associated with natural and human-caused disasters. It involves a collaborative approach among local, state, and tribal governments to identify vulnerabilities and develop strategies to minimize the impact of disasters on communities.
The plan is reviewed and updated every five years.
The Town of Lake Waccamaw also voted to renew their contract with the Cape Fear Council of Governments. The COG administers transportation planning, grants, HUD grants, data collection, housing programs, and more. These programs are made possible through partnerships between North Carolina regional councils and federal and state agencies.
They are a gateway for towns and cities to access resources for their communities when making decisions about the area’s needs.
Recently, the COG has helped secure grants, help the planning board construct the town’s Pedestrian Plan, and rewrite and update ordinances for Lake Waccamaw.
Dam Project in Second Phase
The long-awaited Dam Project is now in its second phase as of Tuesday night. Town Manager Darren Currie was given the green light to allow Schnabel Engineering to seek assistance from McKim and Creed to perform topographic and bathymetry surveys at the dam.
Drought conditions have lowered the water levels in the area, making it an ideal time for the services to be performed.
Commissioner Terry Littrell served on the previous board that got the ball rolling with the reconstruction of the dam, and he had some concerns about possible delays in this phase of the project.
Town Manager Darren Currie assured the board that he is making heavy emphasis to Schnabel on the importance of the surveys being conducted right away.
“They are very aware that we are in a very dry period, and this is the time go on it,” said Currie. “The last conversation I had with them, it was stated they could possibly be started before the end of July with some of the processes here.”
Town Hall Project in Negotiations
Town Hall is moving to Church Street in the area, and leaders gave Currie the approval to begin negotiations with Oakley Collier Architects, PA after reviewing the company’s qualifications. The firm will be handling the design and renovation of the new building.
The evaluation process for the picking the qualified agency to fit the town’s needs was described as “rigorous,” and the recommendation written by Currie said that the company “demonstrated expertise” with “exceptional technical and fiscal capability” and was “in alignment with community standards.”
