Happy Holidays to all at ILE!!
First of all, allow me to start with an apology. My apologies for the delay in sending out the
Newsletter. I will save any excuses except for perhaps my being distracted by the beauty of the
changing leaves. I hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday with family and friends as well as
a chance to relax.
● Let me take a minute to make another mention of what has happened in our community in
regards to the damages and the vote we had for pursuing the possibility of a loan with the
SBA. In August of 2021, Hurricane Fred came through our area as a tropical storm. We
suffered extremely heavy rains and flooding in the area. While we were not as hard hit as
other areas, there was some significant damage to our community. Rainbow Lake dam
experienced a sinkhole that threatens the integrity of the dam. Indian Lake dam suffered a
landslide near the base behind one of the retaining walls. Other areas of our community
suffered landslides and wash outs that required attention such as the area of the access
road off of Tellico Ln, an area of Indian Lake Rd across from Everett Bedenbaugh’s
property (section 4 lot 30) and a few other areas of the roads.
We have addressed some of the road areas that were washed out and repaired them as
well as temporary reinforcement of the sinkhole at Rainbow Lake dam. We had a service
run a camera up the pipe at Rainbow Lake dam and have determined that the pipe needs
to be repaired as well as the standpipe in Rainbow Lake needs to be replaced. We are
looking at a couple of options that would be more cost effective as well. We have been
working with various engineering companies to address the landslides at Indian Lake dam
and the other across from section 4 lot 30.
Several members of the Board have been working tirelessly with FEMA and the SBA for
assistance with relief money to mitigate our community’s expense. While we do not
qualify for grant money, we may in fact be eligible for a loan from the SBA at an extremely
low interest rate that we would most likely be able to pay back with our current budget.
Our insurance does not cover damages of this type. As you may imagine, working with
any government entity is challenging and has taken a tremendous amount of work from
our treasurer and secretary as well as other Board members as they juggle work, life and
of course, the holiday season. The SBA would not move forward with outlining the terms
of the loan, etc., without the knowledge that our community would approve us moving
forward with it. Yes. The proverbial chicken and egg!
While we are still waiting on engineers to outline the final costs, we are faced with a very
rough estimate of $300,000 for the repairs. In addition, we are still looking at the need in
the relatively near future to move forward with the repairs on Indian Lake dam that have
been in the works for years. Once again, bureaucracy is at play. I think I speak for us all
when I say that a special assessment in our community is something that we all want to
avoid and the good news is that we have been saving our pennies in light of the
anticipated dam repairs and are in good standing for that, but the new damages are
impacting our potential budget.
By pursuing a potential loan from the SBA, we are hoping to mitigate a need for any other
special assessment. We will continue to keep you informed as things progress and will
work hard to do so much more proactively. I wish that we had more concrete information
from the sources working on this, such as our engineering firms, the government, etc.,
but we will do the best we can.
I want to be sure to thank (once again) all the members of the community that have
volunteered to assist with the multitude of tasks that need to be done around here. A
special thank you to all our Board members for serving the community. Remember that
we are all volunteers and many of us are still working our full-time jobs, as well as
maintaining our personal lives, and without those volunteers much would go undone.
Honestly, I had no idea of how much work goes into maintaining an HOA. It goes well
beyond just having someone maintain the grounds! Our Treasurer and Secretary, as well
as others, have put in a tremendous amount of time and effort that I would not be able to
do on my own. Actually, our by-laws allow for those positions to be paid positions, but
both individuals refuse to accept compensation for their time.
● While the Omicron variant seems to be impacting society, I am hopeful that we will be able
to emerge from our homes this spring and enjoy more time together with parties and
other activities! Once again, if you would like to serve as a social director or other
capacity, we would love to have you!
● Since my last letter, we have four new homeowners:
o Debra Stephens from PIsgah Forest has purchased a lot at the end of Pathkiller.
o Randall Ward from Murfreesboro, TN has purchased a lot at the intersection of
Hiwassee Rd. and Indian Lake Rd.
o Timothy & Frances Beckman from Angier, NC have purchased a lot on Toxaway
Trail.
o Jean Corson from Naples, FL has purchased a house on Toxaway Trail.
Please welcome them all to our community.
● I am frequently asked about resources in the area for things such as carpentry, plumbing,
landscaping and the like. If you have anyone that you have worked with that you can
recommend, please let us know for the website. In addition, many of us have been using
the platform Nextdoor that is terrific for information sharing.
● In that same vein, there is so much to do here, especially in the spring, summer and fall! If
you have ideas of fun activities or places that you might recommend, please let us know
for the website! There are many happenings in the surrounding area that I think we would
all be interested in such as vendor fairs, music festivals and the like. Please share!
● Be aware that the bears in our area do not technically hibernate. They do slow their
activity and sleep more, but emerge to look for food. Be mindful of any food items such as
bird feeders and pet food that would draw them to your home. As well as garbage!
Please put garbage in containers that would deter animals as any debris they might strew
about would be your responsibility.
● Some great news! Comporium is in the process of putting in Fiber to our community!
Evidently, they have received some grant money from the state to do this and are under a
deadline to have it done by the end of the summer. A very special thank you to Rich
Firebaugh on this! We are so fortunate that Rich has experience with writing Easements
for this purpose and he spent a great deal of time going back and forth with Comporium
to insure that our community is protected in this process should they disrupt the roads or
other utilities.
● You will soon see a “Book Nook” down by the Lake Side Park! One of the members of our
community has built this for us all to use for exchanging books with one another. Be sure
to stop by and enjoy it!
● As I have mentioned, we are always looking for volunteers to help out and be a part of
things. In that regard, next year we will be holding elections for the Board as several folks
will be rotating off. While many of them may be willing to serve again, there is a strong
possibility of vacancies. Please consider serving and being a part of shaping the future of
our community.
Thank you again for your participation in our community! I was especially encouraged when we
were able to secure a vote of more than ⅔ for the SBA loan. I had been told that achieving that has
been impossible in the past and extremely unlikely that it would happen, but you all stepped up and
participated! Asking questions for clarification was welcomed (and my fault for not including the
details ahead of time.) I look forward to the spring and the opportunity to enjoy our beautiful
surroundings.
Hedgie Bartol
President, ILE