Weekly Update - Dec. 4th, 2023
Save Lake Chatuge - Weekly Update - December 4th, 2023
Welcome to our first Save Lake Chatuge Weekly Update, this is where we will curate the groups activity to share the progress being made week over week. As with the entire Save Lake Chatuge project, this forum is how we consolidate our voices behind one unifying message.
If you have content or notes you would like to contribute to the Weekly Update, submit it at savelakechatuge@gmail.com. If you have friends that would like to get added to our email distribution, send them as well.
Our Change.ORG Petition now has over 470 signatures - keep sharing!
LOCAL OUTREACH
Over the last few weeks many of you have provided valuable content and information. We’ve provided the website and relevant information to the following individuals and agencies. Additionally, we’ve reached out to several regional news & radio outlets to ensure the public continues to be informed and that our political stakeholders provide the leadership and assist with funding to save Lake Chatuge and our economy.
Listed below are the organizations and individuals who this information has been provided to.
Area Chambers of Commerce
Lake Chatuge Chamber of Commerce (Towns County)
706-896-4966
Julie Payne, President
Blairsville Union County Chamber of Commerce
877-745-5789
Steve Rowe, President
706-745-5789
president@blairsvillechamber.com
Crystal Fairless
Director Operations & Marketing
706-745-5789
crystal@blairsvillechamber.com
Sheila Freeman
Information Specialist
706-745-5789
Clay County Chamber
828-389-3704
Jim Rich
Executive Director
director@claychambernc.com
laura@claycountychambernc.com
facebook.com/claychambernc
Cherokee County Chamber
828-837-2242
Sherry Raines, Executive Director
director@cherokeecountychamber.com
Tina Hill, Executive Assistant
info@cherokeecountychamber.com
Area Newspapers
Towns County Herald
706-896-4454
Email: tcherald@windstream.net
Email Shawn Jarrard: editor@nganews.com
Clay County Progress
Becky Long, publisher: publisher@claycountyprogress.com, 828-389-8431
Gary Corsair, advertising: ads@claycountyprogress.com, 828-389-8431
Submit articles and photographs by 5 p.m. Monday. E-mail to:news@claycountyprogress.com
Cherokee Scout
828-837-5122
David Brown, Publisher
dbrown@cherokeescout.com
Matthew Osborne
North Carolina News(Union County
706-745-6343
Kenneth West-Owner/Publisher
Shawn Jarrad-Editor
Area Radio
WGUL
706-379-9770
Jeff Batten, Owner
jbatten@battencommunications.com
RAY CATENA’S UPDATE ON BEECH COVE
Ray Catena has done a fantastic job of assembling a list of properties and respective owners in the Beech Cove neighborhood. This information is a necessary asset in the request for proposal phase with commercial applicators.
We commend Ray for his effort. Please take the initiative to organize this information about YOUR neighborhood. If provided to us, we will include it in our RFPs as well as here. It’s up to you to protect the value of your property and community.
Ray’s email
Hello everyone, For the latest updates on our invasive weed Parrot Feather please check weekly on the website: SAVELAKECHATUGE.ORG. Regarding Chemical spraying for our section of the Lake is progressing at this time with contacting all of our neighbors. It takes awhile to contact everyone. I will explain a portion of our progress so far.
I have split the area into Section "A' and "B".
Section A is the following Addresses: (according to Towns County tax records and people that I have spoke to)
A-1: 783 Beech Cove Dr, Donna Papazian
A-2: 773 Beech Cove Dr, Donna Papazian
A-3: 759 Beech Cove Dr, Keith (New Owner) (Donna please get Keith's contact information)
A-4: 737 Beech Cove Dr, Estelle Schwartz
A-5: 735 Beech Cove Dr, Steven Santolla
A-6: *** Beech Cove Dr, Melinda Chevalier (Need e-mail address)
A-7: 731 Beech Cove Dr. Melinda Chevalier
A-8: 711 Beech Cove Dr, Carole Stevens
A-9: 695 Beech Cove Dr, Debra Akin
A-10:665 Beech Cove Dr, Donna & Dorothy Greenig (Need e-mail address)
A-11:687 Beech Cove Dr, Heather Jones
A-12:611 Beech Cove Dr, Chris Yates
A-13:585 Beech Cove Dr, Chris Yates
A-14:579 Beech Cove Dr, Ray Catena
A-15:577 Beech Cove Dr, Brian Maccurrach
A-16:*** Beech Cove Dr, Giovanni Riccardi
A-17:569 Beech Cove Dr, Thomas Parker
A-18:565 Beech Cove Dr, Jerry Parker
A-19:802 Beech Cove Dr, Keith Daniel
A-20:803 Beech Cove Dr, Charles Rouse (Currently have not established contact but anticipate soon)
A-21:815 Beech Cove Road, David Cottongim & Mike Lesser
A-22:827 Beech Cove Road, James Garrett
A-23:855 Beech Cove Road, George & Deborah Hanna
So far either I or other neighbors on our list have advised that they would like to go forward with spraying the water area adjacent to these properties. TVA does not plan to have a plan until summer of 2024, but does not include our dock/lake frontage areas. I am currently in negotiations with several companies that were furnished by the TVA as state of Georgia approved aquatic applicators. We will split the bill according to Towns county records for lake frontage. The spraying will begin in February 2024 to November 2024 which comprises of ten monthly applications. I will attempt to have the individual owner to pay the company directly. I apologize for any mistakes, please e-mail me or text me at 561-348-0461. For all the addresses above i have a e-mail address and contact telephone number. Of the 23 property owners at this time 22 have stated that they are interested in moving forward. I hope to speak to someone on the Rouse property this week. I will follow with an additional e-mail for the residences to the east of this cove. As always if anyone knows of any neighbors, especially west of the Hanna's please contact them and forward me their information. Also if Anyone wants to be added or deleted from this list please let me know.
Thank You, Ray
TVA UPDATES
This week when meeting with the commercial applicator SOLitude, we learned that the TVA has contracted them for large-scale ongoing treatment for aquatic plants in other reservoirs that they own.
Click this link to see TVA’s aquatic weeds treatment schedule for 2023
Our question is, why can’t we have the same treatment?
HIRING A COMMERCIAL APPLICATOR
Over the last several weeks we have spoken to the three TVA approved “commercial applicators” listed below. The TVA is and has been incorporating the application of aquatic herbicide to targeted areas on a monthly basis on other lakes for some time. In an attempt to understand the magnitude of this issue and the cost of treatment, we’ve suggested that they base their pricing on treatment for all areas south of the Anderson Bridge on Highway 76 into Fodder Creek. We realize that not all of this area may be currently infected, but it will provide a clear delineation area for the companies to provide the most competitive pricing. The area and cost can be adjusted as we learn more. This is why Ray’s approach of curating his neighborhood’s specific property information is so beneficial. Remember that theTVA owns 128 miles of the Lake Chatuge shoreline and much of that area is shallow and susceptible to infection.
Please join in with your information!!
Next steps with applicators is to schedule “site visits” for them to come and see our lake, and provide a comprehensive estimate for an annual treatment.
PROOF OF PARTICIPATION
While researching this topic, the following article was discovered. This is proof of concept for our cause. A grassroots effort made politicians and the TVA action a plan for treatment. They know how to treat this issue, it’s up to us to make sure that our political stakeholders know that we know. This article is from 2014, and as of 2023 Guntersville is still on the TVA’s treatment schedule.
TVA Officially Announces Plan To Fully Treat Invasive Weeds In Guntersville Reservoir
Posted: Mar 21, 2014 / 04:20 PM CDT Updated: Mar 21, 2014 / 06:56 PM CDT
This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.
MARSHALL COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT) — The TVA officially announced its plan to temporarily manage the invasive weeds in the Guntersville Reservoir.
Marshall County Commission Chair James Hutcheson says this is a big accomplishment for the area and it’s something officials in Marshall and Jackson Counties have been working to do. “We’ve all been working with the TVA for the past two years to try to get them to come back in, and resume the weed control in the reservoir,” Hutcheson says.
Since 2010 the TVA required property owners to pay for weed control in the private portions of the reservoir, and the TVA controlled weeds in the public areas.
Officials say they want to cut back on the lake weeds, but not eliminate the plant life completely.
With this new agreement the TVA says it will fully fund a healthy balance of weeds throughout the entire reservoir for three years. “Eventually they want the county, the city and the stake holders to take back over,” Hutcheson says.
After those three years, the TVA plans to reduce funding by one third, so by 2019 all the treatments for the commercial and residential areas will be fully managed and funded by a local board made up of local representatives who have an interest in the lake. “This will give us time to set up some kind of funding mechanism, work with TVA,” Hutcheson says.
Hutcheson says one benefit in creating a balance of the invasive weeds will be that it will help keep property taxes on water-front land from decreasing, which in turn will keep those taxes steady.
Commissioners say being able to create a board and work on a long-term solution to keep that balance in the reservoir is a great opportunity. “I’m very elated that they have agreed to come in and do this,” Hutcheson says.
The TVA will resume treating the entire reservoir this summer.
The local board to eventually take over is in the process of being created.
The TVA will continue to treat the public areas of the reservoir once that board fully takes over.