BY JOHN A. NAGY
SLI Reporter
Lake Auman may be growing in popularity with Seven Lakes West community members, but activities were still far from exceeding capacity last summer, according to a new study.
The community’s Lake Committee conducted a drone-based survey of the use of the lake last summer between the July 4 and Labor Day holiday weekends. Thrice-daily flights of the drone recorded activity on the lake, at the beach and in parking lots adjoining Johnson Point, according to data presented to the Board of Directors at its Feb. 22 meeting.
Steve Short, committee chairman, said the computerized data recorded by the drone provided a raft of information useful as the board evaluates activity on the 1,000-acre lake, which serves as the centerpiece for the community.
“Under no circumstance is the lake experiencing overcrowding,” Short said during his presentation.
The study noted that, of the approximately 559 boats that had access to Lake Auman last summer, there was never a point recorded where the power boat population on the lake exceeded 10 percent of the total.
Drones flew each day between July 4 and Labor Day at 9:45 a.m., 2:15 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. Data included the number of boats and the activities they were engaged in, such as cruising, fishing or skiing. Short said cruising was the top activity, followed by tubing during the July 4 holiday weekend and fishing during the Labor Day holiday weekend.
Aerial images of the expanded Johnson Point beach also showed sufficient capacity.
One of the few areas of concern pinpointed by the drone flights was the increasing use of the lake by residents bringing boats to Johnson Point and then parking their trailers. This indicates the lake’s popularity with a growing number of residents who don’t own waterfront property.
“Boats from lakefront owners are going to be a constant,” Short said. As more homes get built on interior lots, though, those owners with boats will be coming to Johnson Point, the only shared location where a boat can enter Lake Auman.
Short said the community may need to look deeper at the issue of trailer parking, especially on busy weekends, if the trend continues to grow.
Looking ahead at lake management issues, Short said it is working with the contractor Estate Management Services Inc. on a couple of maintenance issues for Lake Auman. The first will be a nuisance vegetation treatment along some shorelines, likely beginning in April. Short said nuisance weeds are likely being brought in by water fowl from outside the area, as opposed to coming in on the bottoms of other boats.
In addition to vegetation control, the Lake Committee is working with EMSI on a sediment removal project for a number of coves. Sediment has built up in these inlets over the last 40 years or so to the point where, without some clearing out, property owners will be able to walk across them and boat traffic will become impossible.
“I don’t think anybody in this community wants that,” Short said.
Areas pinpointed by a study show the need for dredging around Otter and Vanore drives.
The cove sediment removal program would occur over a period of years. Sediment removed from the coves would either be dumped in the deeper part of the lake or added to Pine Island, allowing that to be built up.
“Once a cove is dredged, it should be good for 20 to 30 years,” Short said.
In other business during its Feb. 22 meeting, the Seven Lakes West Board of Directors:
* appointed board member Jim Greaves to take over as treasurer. Former board treasurer Lois Ann Eisel stepped down for health reasons last month and passed away several days later.
* heard a presentation from the board’s Communications Committee regarding the recent resident survey on communication methods. The survey received 395 responses. Most respondents were over the age of 65.
Most of the respondents — 89 percent — said they read the weekly “e-blast” emails that go out. Similar numbers indicated they’re effective and should continue.
Responses were considerably lower for the Seven Lakes West website and a TV monitor that broadcasts updates inside the mail house. Just 19 percent of respondents said they read the website, while just 21 percent said they used the TV monitor.
The board of directors received criticism last year when it took down a digital message board for community members to communicate. The message board is not expected to return after some said it fostered too many negative comments, squabbles and rumors.
* approved the appointment of a temporary study group for 90 days to study the issue of reserve fund balances within the board’s budget and offer guidance. The study group members will include Stan Makson, Stephanie Carter, Bob Connelly, Dennis Sheridan, Ray Equi and Don Smith.
Committee members will also be asked to focus on understanding and communicating reserve fund balances.
Contact John Nagy at (910) 693-2507 or john@thepilot.com.
