The rain of Oct. 4, 2015 is an event many South Carolinians will never forget. The historic rains broke many local dams in the state, especially in the Midlands. Months later, as weed-choked craters represent what once were beautiful lakes, the property owners are beginning to decide how to recover.
One Columbia area homeowners association, which owned a dam which was ruptured by the flood, recently voted to tax its members to fund the building of a new dam, and three more are due to vote on similar proposals on Aug. 23. In this report, Arcadia Lakes Mayor Mark Huguley and Jimmy Adams, president of the Cary Lake Homeowners Association, talk about the flood’s effect on some lakeside dwellers, the importance of area lakes in addition to their beauty, and their feelings about the upcoming vote.
A few weeks ago, we spoke with another group about creating a special tax district. Peter Chesney is a councilman of Arcadia Lakes and chairman of the Cary Lake Homeowners Association, the body who owns the Cary dam.
“I came out of my home at about 8 o’clock in the morning of October 4th and the water was 10ft. [high],” he recalls, “and within about a half hour of that the dam burst and trees were going past my garden at, I don’t know, about 10 to 20 mph.”
Since then, the State newspaper reports Cary Lake residents have used an improvised road to enter and exit the neighborhood while HOA board members mull over options on how to move forward. Adding to that, South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control say dam owners are unlikely to have access to neither FEMA aid nor the Community Development Block Grant given to the state by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.
“We are faced with about $1 million to rebuild the dam, and there are several ways that could be achieved.”
One option the Cary Lake HOA had but did not exercise was to put a levy of $20,000 to $30,000 on each property owner, though it is hugely unpopular, says Chesney. A levy would allow the Cary Lake HOA to collect funds from residents to repair the dam or take further actions to secure money from homeowners; all it has to do is notify residents of the impending levy.
Another option is to apply for a commercial loan. Chesney says it’s impractical, “we don’t have any security. We only own the lake bed and what’s left of the dam.” Without any collateral to put up against the loan, the interest would skyrocket.
Instead, the Cary Lake HOA is looking into creating a special tax district like other neighborhoods have done. A special tax district creates a zone, in this case one that includes the homes around Cary Lake, and applies a millage to the property taxes of homes within that zone. Those funds then pay the principal of whatever loan the HOA obtains. The security in this sense is the millage.
Getting there is a process. In order to create the special tax district, a map has to be drawn and then signatures collected of all the people in that map. In turn, the map then goes to Richland County for approval, which it has been, and then it goes to the election commission. An election is set up for residents of the special district, and, if passed, the millage can take effect.
“It’s a fair system because it means that everybody has to contribute. Nobody can drop out because if you don’t pay your homeowners taxes then the county can put a lien on your property.”
Cary Lake residents voted unanimously August 22 in favor of the measure and now are waiting for Richland County to give it final approval.
As for the loan, Chesney says they are in talks with the Small Business Administration to receive a 30-year loan, with the lake bed as collateral and the millage as security.
