Carolina Trace News

Please direct your questions to: CTA Laurel Thicket Representative

CTA News! March, 2025

The CTA Board of Directors met on Wednesday, March 5, 2025. Fifteen of the eighteen POAs were represented. Included in this news brief are actions taken and information shared at that meeting as well as other pertinent community announcements.

Finance

Year End 2024 Financials: The CTA Finance Committee will host a presentation on April 5 for board members of all POAs to review the unaudited 2024 Financials. (The audited financials will be completed once the external Certified Public Accountant has a chance to review). The Finance Forum will be held from 10 a.m. to 12 noon at the Carolina Trace Country Club.

Security & Safety Committee (S&S)

E-sticker Sales Schedule: Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Gatehouse. Credit or debit only.
Gate Sentry Usage on the Rise: As of the end of February, 87.8% of the owners of all improved lots were using Gate Sentry. If property owners in need of assistance in signing up should contact [email protected]. In addition to easily requesting passes for visitors and contractors, owners also receive real-time updates on road and gate conditions.
Community-Minded Committee Members Sought: If you can help on Security & Safety Committee in any way, please let Tom King ([email protected]) or Jeff Wennberg ([email protected]) know. CTA is also looking for a few individuals who can be trained to troubleshoot minor issues with the back gates. This does not require any mechanical or electrical experience, just the willingness to visit one of those gates when called.
The Ins and Outs of the Unmanned Gates: Visitors and contractors continue to come through the unmanned gates and brazenly drive in through the exit gate if it is open. This is trespassing, but hard to prosecute for a variety of reasons. Please remind your guests and contractors to enter CT only through the front gate (51 Traceway South, or ”6300 NC-87, 27332”). Contractors observed accessing CT through the back gates could lose their privileges to work in CT.
North Gate Breaches: Due to an uptick of vandalism to the lift gate arm by overnight trespassers, S&S reset the gate timers so that the faster lift arm will be in use from 5 a.m. – 9 p.m., and then the swing gates (which are more difficult to breach) will be in operation 9 p.m. – 5 a.m.
Gatehouse Procedures: S&S recognizes the challenges that are being experienced due to gatehouse procedures that have been forgotten or abandoned with changes in personnel. A full review of previously approved policies is underway. S&S volunteers meet with the management of our gatehouse contractor twice a month to review processes and issues. Your patience is appreciated. There’s more than meets the eye to create smooth gatehouse operations. It’s not simply “opening a gate.”

Trace Lake & Dam Committee (TLDC)

Hydrilla Treatment for 2025: TLDC will meet with Club management this month to discuss the Lake Trace hydrilla treatment plan.
Lake Trace Bathymetric Study Update: The results of the 2024 Bathymetric Study conducted last fall by the NC State Department of Aquatic Plant Management are available for review at this link. One key takeaway is that Hydrilla is no longer the dominant submersed aquatic plant in Lake Trace. Management efforts during the 2024 growing season seem to have been very successful. However, due to Hydrilla’s aggressive growth habits that interfere with recreational activities as well as the ecological function of aquatic systems, it is important to continue executing a management plan for the growing seasons to follow. TLDC committee members met with CTCC management, who underscored their commitment to managing hydrilla growth in Lake Trace in the coming years.
Duck Nests Delay: Delivery of the duck nests to the POAs and waterfront property owners who expressed interest has been pushed to the end of March. The delay is due to the construction of “predator guards” to help keep the nests safe.
Lake Level Update: The dam valve was closed on February 17. The Club reports that, absent the threat of a major rain-producing storm, another lowering of Lake Trace is not expected in 2025.

Community questions or concerns about Lake Trace or the country club’s management of the lake should be directed only to Bill Huggins, chair of the committee, at this email address: [email protected]. Bill is CTA’s sole liaison with the country club regarding Lake Trace and the dam.

Trace Roads and Maintenance (TRAM)

Thanks for Watching Out: TRAM thanks residents for being cautious while contractors were busy on Traceway in February. Asphalt cracks were sealed and most of the culvert work that has been planned since late fall 2024 was completed. The “waterfall” culvert at Traceway North and Country Club Drive will be completed within the next week or so.
Additional Road Work Coming: Carolina Water Service excavated a portion of Traceway North to isolate and repair a large water main break in late February. Their contractors will return soon to repave that area. CTA will update the POAs as soon as that work is scheduled.
Coming Soon: Certain areas of Traceway will receive a crusher run application to the roadside. These locations are marked with white paint. Sealcoating of Traceway South and the main entrance will be scheduled, as well as line striping for all of Traceway.
Wildfire Concerns: CTA delegates continue to express concerns about wildfire risks within Carolina Trace. CTA hopes to have someone from the CT Volunteer Fire Department provide the community with additional resources. A paper on the subject has been created by Amanda (Wilkins) Bratcher, Extension Agent for the Lee County Agricultural-Horticultural NC Cooperative Extension, and is available at this link. POA leadership can also visit https://www.resistwildfirenc.org/index.htmto learn more about the Resist Wildfire grants and view the deadlines for applications.
Eyes/Ears Needed: CT residents are asked to report any issues regarding the condition of Traceway (such as potholes, cracked/crumbling asphalt, etc.) to the TRAM committee at [email protected]. Thanks!

Utilities:

Internet Update: TING Fiber Internet has completed their analysis of the CT community. They see good potential but much research will need to be done to help secure funding for the projected $1.5 million build-out cost. The state grant that is funding TING’s expansion into Lee County and City of Sanford is tapped out. CTA will look into bringing this community’s need and interest before the County Board of Commissioners. Stay tuned!
CWS Rates Continue to Rise: CWS recently mailed out the previously approved rate increase, which will take effect in April. CWS expects to seek another 3-year rate increase from the NC Utilities Commission in June.
CWS Boil Notices: When a boil-notice is in effect, CWS sends alerts to only those customers or neighborhoods that were affected by low water pressure. If you are concerned that you didn’t get a boil notice when others in Trace did, it’s most likely due to your service not being affected in this manner. When in doubt, check in with Jeff Wennberg.
CWS Infrastructure Issues (main breaks, sewer issues): Continue to report these to the 800# on your CWS invoice and to CT Utilities Committee volunteer Jeff Wennberg, [email protected] CTA continues to press CWS to improve its communications with residents. CTA needs this information to support any comments to state regulators that CWS is not fulfilling its commitment to proactively improve the infrastructure here.

Coming Soon:

CTA 2024 Annual Report: A draft of the CTA annual report for 2024, as required by the CTA bylaws, is being reviewed by the Board and should be approved for distribution to POAs at the April 2 meeting.
CWS-CT Community Town Hall: The CTA Board has approved the hosting of an in-person CT community town hall with CWS to discuss their next round of proposed rate hikes. POAs will be updated when the date has been set.

Volunteers – Thanks and a Request:

There are opportunities for qualified Subject Matter Experts as well as anyone willing to join the hard-working group of volunteers overseeing the CTA infrastructure.
CTA will be restructuring its committees and spreading tasks among more volunteers to encourage greater collaboration. Contact CTA officers at https://www.carolinatrace.org/p/CTA-Officers-2 or your POA’s CTA director for more information.

Keeping Informed:

The approved February 5, 2025 CTA Board Meeting Minutes packet has been uploaded to the website - https://www.carolinatrace.org/p/CTA-Board-Meeting-Minutes
Message Center Slides – If you miss an announcement while driving through the gates, you can read them at the CTA website at www.carolinatrace.org
Sign Up for “Code Red” Alerts: Lee County’s Office of Emergency Management operates an alert system for weather and other concerns affecting Lee County residents. Sign up for these free alerts at https://leecountync.gov/departments/emergency_management/index.php
Questions or Concerns? Your POA's CTA Director can help and is in the best position to point you in the direction of the correct volunteer if they can’t. Remember that CTA exists to keep the infrastructure common to all 18 POAs in good condition (Traceway North and South, gatehouse, gates, and landscaping of non-POA common areas). CTA’s budget and policies are set by delegates from each of the 18 POAs. Each POA is responsible for its own infrastructure, amenities, regulations, and lot assessments.

CTA News! January 8, 2025

Welcome to 2025’s first issue of the CTA News! CTA publishes the CTA News monthly via email to share updates to the POAs in a timely and accurate manner.

Due to the New Year’s holiday, the CTA Board of Directors met on Tues., January 7, 2025. Sixteen of the eighteen POAs were represented. Included in this news brief are actions taken and information shared at that meeting as well as other pertinent community announcements.

Finance

January 2025 Finance Forum Covers POA, CTA Insurance Coverages: Does your POA have proper insurance coverage? Don’t be underinsured or missing coverage. POA Board members are invited to attend an Insurance Coverages Forum at 10 a.m. on Saturday, January 18 at CTCC. CTA’s insurance broker, Scott Wheeler, SFI Group, will discuss current coverage as well as coverages that POAs may want to consider. RSVP to either the CTA Secretary ([email protected]) or Treasurer ([email protected]) by January 15.
Year End Finance Reports: The initial YE 2024 report was presented by the treasurer. Due to a combination of circumstances (moving CTA’s reserves to higher interest-bearing accounts and some initiatives that did not fit into the fiscal year), the treasurer was able to move a little over $100,000 to CTA’s reserves.

Finance volunteers were busy working for CTA in 2024 by presenting robust financial controls as well as putting CTA’s financial protocols and procedures back in compliance with its Bylaws. The full report will be part of the January 7 minutes when they are approved and published following the February Board meeting.

Security & Safety Committee (S&S)

CTA welcomes acting committee chair, Tom King! Tom is the newly elected vice president and in the coming weeks CTA will place a new committee chair into this role to provide much-need continuity. If you can help on S&S in any way, please let Tom know ([email protected]).
The Ins and Outs of the North Gate: Visitors and contractors continue to come to the North Gate and brazenly drive through the exit gate if it is open. This is trespassing, but hard to prosecute for a variety of reasons. Please remind your guests and contractors to enter CT through the front gate (51 Traceway South, or NC-87 and Traceway S). Contractors caught accessing CT through the back gates or tailgating behind residents could lose their privileges to work in CT.
Gatehouse Computers Upgrades: Tom was able to take advantage of year-end computer sales in order to upgrade the old and maxed out computers in use at the gatehouse.
CERT Basic Course Offered: Any resident of Carolina Trace is welcome to join CT’s Community Emergency Response Team (“CERT”). Read more about CERT at this link. The next training for CERT is on these dates in January 2025: 10, 11, 17 and 18. Check out the CTA calendar for exact times.

Trace Lake & Dam Committee (TLDC)

Lake Lowering: By the time you read this, CTCC should have opened the dam valve to allow for a partial lowering of Lake Trace between now and February 17. Depending on the weather, residents should see the water level drop 2-3 feet from its normal level to allow for repairs to docks and seawalls. POAs and property owners are asked to schedule work needed to fit in with this time frame.
Duck Nests Installation – February: Property Owners who offered to have a duck nest on their property should see installation occur in the next month. If you would like a nest at your residence, please contact Bill ([email protected]).
Lake Debris Removal: If you see large debris that may appear from recent storms near the shoreline, let Bill Huggins know ([email protected]) so it can be evaluated for removal.
Community questions or concerns about Lake Trace or the country club’s management of the lake should be directed only to Bill Huggins, chair of the committee, at this email address: [email protected]. Bill is CTA’s sole liaison with the country club regarding Lake Trace and the dam.

Traceway Roads and Maintenance (TRAM)

Culvert Work Set to Begin January 13: Weather permitting. Watch message centers and emails for how this may impact your travel on Traceway (minimal). Four culverts will be repaired: on the north side: the “waterfall” culvert at the intersection of Country Club Drive and Traceway and the culvert at the Lake 8 green, and on the south side of Traceway, the first culvert past Lakewood and the first culvert past South Landing.
Snow Removal: The Board considered whether it would make sense to bid out one big contract for snow removal on all streets within CT if/when we experience heavy snow. This will be discussed further, and Directors have most likely jinxed any snowfall in the coming weeks just by bringing up the issue.
Eyes/Ears Needed: CT residents are asked to report any issues regarding the condition of Traceway (such as potholes, cracked/crumbling asphalt, etc.) to the TRAM committee at [email protected]. Thanks!

Census News

CTA’s bylaws require POAs to report each year on the number of lots that are developed or undeveloped to support calculation of the percentage of CTA’s expenses that should be apportioned to each POA. Over the years, some POAs waived collection of assessments from lots that were combined or that the POA concluded were unbuildable. Some POAs did not include these lots in their census reports to CTA, contrary to the CTA bylaw requirements.
The CTA Board adopted a resolution at its January meeting affirming that POAs must report all of their lots to CTA, and that going forward the total number of lots reported by the POA must not vary from the POA’s total lot count as of December 31, 2023. CTA reminds POA leadership that, in accordance with North Carolina court decisions, they may only reduce or waive assessments to lot owners if the POA’s bylaws or covenants specifically authorize such reductions. Waiving or reducing assessments for certain lot owners increases the financial burden on all other lot owners. It is very likely that most, if not all, POAs are constrained by their bylaws or covenants to collect assessments on all lots, with no exclusion for lots that are combined or considered unbuildable.

Utilities

CWS infrastructure issues (main breaks, sewer issues): Continue to report these to the 800# on your CWS invoice and to CT Utilities Committee volunteer Jeff Wennberg, [email protected] CTA continues to press CWS to improve its communications with residents. CTA needs this information to support any comments to state regulators that CWS is not fulfilling its commitment to proactively improve the infrastructure here.
Your Voices Are Needed! Property owners are needed to volunteer to attend the North Carolina Utilities Commission’s (“NCUC”) rate case deliberations for CWS in 2025. We expect CWS will apply for another 3-year rate increase this year and ratepayer voices need to be heard. Contact Jeff Wennberg for details.

Volunteers - Thanks and a Request:

The CTA Board and its committee chairs extend thanks to all volunteers who spent countless hours working on behalf of the community in 2024. Volunteers perform a variety of tasks (large and small) to help reduce the costs of running CTA, which is responsible for the six miles of Traceway, many culverts, landscaping of common areas, the gatehouse, gates, and all contractors.
There are opportunities for qualified Subject Matter Experts as well as anyone willing to join the hard-working group of volunteers overseeing the CTA infrastructure.
Security & Safety needs a few volunteers to be trained on resetting gates when the “fail safe” is activated. This reset protocol takes five minutes to learn. If you live near the south or north gates, please let Tom King know so you can be put on the call list to help ([email protected]). Security & Safety could also use a few more committee members. Those interested in community security should consider being part of this group. Many tasks and issues overseen by the committee do not require security experience.
CTA will be restructuring its committees and spreading tasks among more volunteers to encourage greater collaboration. Contact CTA officers at https://www.carolinatrace.org/p/CTA-Officers-2 or your POA’s CTA director for more information.

Community Calendar - Open to All CT Residents

January 10, 11, 17 & 18 – Basic CERT Training. Check out the CTA calendar for exact times.

January 18, 10 a.m. – POA/CTA Insurance Coverages Forum. Open to all POA Board members. RSVP to the CTA treasurer ([email protected]) or secretary ([email protected]) by January 15.

January 21, 6 p.m. – CERT Community Program, CTVFD – Developing a Family Emergency Operation Guide. Open to all!

The approved December 4, 2024 CTA Board Meeting Minutes packet has been uploaded to the website -

https://www.carolinatrace.org/p/CTA-Board-Meeting-Minutes

CTA News! December 4, 2024

The CTA Board of Directors meeting was held Wed., December 4, 2024. Thirteen of the eighteen POAs were represented. Included in this news brief are actions taken and information shared at that meeting as well as other pertinent community announcements.

Nominations Report (2025 Officer Elections): The Board elected the following individuals as CTA officers for the 2025 term: president- Jeff Wennberg (LWPOA), vice president - Tom King (HWPOA), secretary – Sharon Sheldon (NSPOA), treasurer – Randi Constant (NSPOA). CTA thanks outgoing officers Joe Zanga and Jody Jackett and CTA directors Jennifer Williams (ENPOA) and Tom Boerger (VTPOA) for their volunteer service for this community.

2025 is Calling You! Committee chairs/ members are needed for 2025! There are opportunities for qualified Subject Matter Experts as well as anyone willing to join the hard-working group of volunteers overseeing the CTA infrastructure. CTA will be restructuring its committees and spreading tasks among more volunteers to encourage greater collaboration. Contact CTA officers at https://www.carolinatrace.org/p/CTA-Officers-2 or your POA’s CTA director for more information.

Corporate Transparency Act Filing Temporarily Suspended: CTA has been keeping the POA Boards updated on the need for the CTA and the POAs to comply with this Act. On December 3, a Federal Judge issued a nationwide injunction to suspend enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act pending further judicial review.

This decision means that no corporations will have to submit a Beneficial Ownership Information Report (BOIR) by the now-suspended January 1, 2025 filing deadline, and individuals do not have to obtain FinCEN IDs in anticipation of including them in BOIRs.

Until further court action, neither the CTA nor any of the POAs needs to file a BOIR, collect FinCEN IDs from officers and directors, or take any other action in response to the Corporate Transparency Act. This also means that at this time, CTA and the POAs will not have to address the consequences of any officer or board director that does not comply with FinCEN regulations. Other court cases challenging the Act remain pending so stay tuned.

Finance

Census Update: The CTA directors are considering a Board resolution regarding what to do about POAs that have allowed property owners to combine lots with the intent of reducing assessments. CTA’s bylaws do not allow a POA to reduce the assessments it owes to CTA if the POA allows a lot owner to combine lots or if the POA declares a lot “unbuildable.” It is very likely that most, if not all, POAs are also constrained by their bylaws or covenants to collect assessments even if lots are combined or considered unbuildable. The Board will discuss how it should address accounting for combined lots at its January 7 meeting.

January 2025 Finance Forum Covers POA, CTA Insurance Coverages: POA Board members are invited to attend a January 18, 2025 Insurance Coverages Forum at 10 a.m. at CTCC (2100 Country Club Drive). The community’s insurance broker, Scott Wheeler, SFI Group, will be on hand to discuss current coverage as well as coverages that POAs may appreciate considering. RSVP to either the CTA Secretary ([email protected]) or Treasurer ([email protected]).

2024 Budget Line Item Overages: The treasurer provided budget overruns for specific line items by TRAM and Security and Safety committees. The Board voted to allow the overages to appear in red (as budget line deficits) as CTA nears year end to provide the difference between originally approved budgets vs actual spending. This should help inform the upcoming year.

Year End Finance Reports: The year-end finance reports will be presented in full for Board review at the January 2025 meeting.

Security & Safety Committee (S&S)

Security-Specific Email Reminder: To help improve communications regarding security issues in the community, the committee now has a specific email address for those concerns: [email protected]

Gate Sentry Update: Gate Sentry has implemented a free upgrade to include an “Events” function. Access your web portal (portal.gatesentry.com) to see how you can enter multiple guests for one event or upload a list of guests for an event, and set parameters as to how you want to be alerted as guests arrive at the main gate. This functionality is only available by using the Gate Sentry web portal. Residents who choose not to use Gate Sentry and are planning to have more than 5 outside guests for an event should visit the gatehouse and discuss with staff how they can create passes for everyone on your guest list.

CERT Basic Course Offered: Any resident of Carolina Trace is welcome to join CT’s Community Emergency Response Team (“CERT”). Read more about CERT at this link. The next training for CERT is on these dates in January 2025: 10, 11, 17 and 18. Check out the CTA calendar for exact times.

Sign Up for “Code Red” Alerts: Lee County’s Office of Emergency Management operates an alert system for weather and other concerns affecting Lee County residents. Sign up for these free alerts at https://leecountync.gov/departments/emergency_management/index.php

Trace Lake & Dam Committee (TLDC)

Lake Lowering in 2025: The exact date(s) for this is pending; POAs will be updated as soon as the information is clarified via a meeting between the TLDC chair and the CTCC General Manager

Traceway Roads and Maintenance (TRAM)

Culvert Work Set to Begin Dec. 16: Watch message centers and emails for how this may impact your travel on Traceway (minimal). Four culverts will be repaired: on the north side: the “waterfall” culvert at the intersection of Country Club Drive and Traceway and the culvert at the Lake 8 green, and on the south side of Traceway, the first Lakewood culvert and the first South Landing culvert.

Eyes/Ears Needed: CT residents are asked to report any issues regarding the condition of Traceway (such as potholes, cracked/crumbling asphalt, etc.) to the TRAM committee at [email protected]. Thanks!

Utilities:

The Carolina Trace Community mourns the loss of its longtime (18+ years) Utility volunteer with the death of Vince Roy on November 25. Vince attained a great age of 93 and was a tireless representative of CT’s interests with the Carolina Water Service (CWS) and the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC).

CWS infrastructure issues (main breaks, sewer issues): Continue to report these to the 800# on your invoice and to CT Utilities Committee volunteer Jeff Wennberg, [email protected] CTA continues to press CWS to improve its communications with residents. CTA needs this information to support any comments to state regulators that CWS is not fulfilling its commitment to proactively improve the infrastructure here.

Your Voices Are Needed! CTA’s utility volunteers will begin attending NCUC’s quarterly meetings in 2025. To volunteer to be a part of this effort to make voices heard, all property owners are welcome to be included. One or two people representing several thousand is not as impactful as a crowd representing our community. Contact Jeff Wennberg for details.

Community Calendar – Open to All CT Residents:

January 10, 11, 17 & 18 – Basic CERT Training. Check out the CTA calendar for exact times.

January 18, 2025, 10 a.m. – POA/CTA Insurance Coverages Forum. Open to all POA Board members. RSVP to the CTA treasurer ([email protected]) or secretary ([email protected]).

Housekeeping

The approved November 6, 2024 CTA Board Meeting Minutes packet has been uploaded to the website -

https://www.carolinatrace.org/p/CTA-Board-Meeting-Minutes

Message Center Slides – If you miss an announcement while driving through the gates, you can read them at the CTA website at www.carolinatrace.org

Thanks for reading to the end!

Community Hotline: Call 919.499.2722 OR the Gatehouse line, option 2. The hotline will provide the status of roads, gates, and utilities.

Questions or Concerns? Your POA's CTA Director can help and is in the best position to point you in the direction of the correct volunteer if they can’t. Remember that CTA exists to keep the infrastructure common to all 18 POAs in good condition (Traceway North and South, gatehouse, gates, and landscaping of non-POA common areas). CTA budget and policies are set by delegates from each of the 18 POAs. Each POA is responsible for its own infrastructure, amenities, regulations, and lot assessments.

Thank you to all 2024 volunteers! As 2024 winds down, CTA wishes to thank all volunteers who have put in many hours working on behalf of the Carolina Trace Community.

CTA News! November 6, 2024

The CTA Board of Directors meeting was held Wed., November 6, 2024. Fourteen of the eighteen POAs were represented. Included in this news brief are actions taken and information shared at that meeting as well as other pertinent community announcements.

Nominations Report (2025 Officer Elections): The nominations committee has put forth the following candidates for CTA officers for the 2025 term: president- Jeff Wennberg (LWPOA), vice president - Tom King (HWPOA), secretary – Sharon Sheldon (NSPOA), treasurer – Randi Constant (NSPOA). The board will vote on these candidates at its December meeting. Nominations from the board are also welcome between now and the December 4 meeting.

Committee chairs and committee members are also needed. The ongoing lack of volunteers – both worker bees and qualified Subject Matter Experts – continues to strain the small but hard-working group of volunteers overseeing the CTA infrastructure. Contact CTA officers at https://www.carolinatrace.org/p/CTA-Officers-2 or your POA’s CTA director for more information.

Community Standards: CTA, in agreement with Escalante Golf (owner of Lake Trace) issues the following reminders for all Carolina Trace residents, from an ecological and community safety standpoint:

Watercraft Policy/No Gasoline Engines, Limits on HP, No Wake Lake – Updates to this policy to ensure peaceful enjoyment of the lake have been posted at the CTA website. Residents are reminded of the tree stumps and other debris spotted on the lakebed during the recent lake lowering. These items could be hazardous to swimming/diving/higher speed watercraft.
Dumping of Debris into the Lake - POAs with lakefront properties are reminded to advise residents that intentional dumping of yard and landscaping debris into any of the waters within Carolina Trace is prohibited, and a violation of NC law.
Open Burning – All open burning on CTA common property is prohibited by CTA. Individual property owners are governed by their specific POA’s covenants and restrictions. Questions about safe use of fire pits, etc., should be directed to your POA board. Board members recommended all POAs look into participation in NC’s "Firewise Program" - https://www.resistwildfirenc.org/grants.htm#, a program run by the NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services that provides free roadside debris removal service with the intent of mitigating wildfire risks.

Corporate Transparency Act Filing Deadline is January 1, 2025 – CTA has been keeping the POA Boards updated on the need for CTA and the POAs to comply with this Act. All Boards must file the paperwork for their specific POA board and its leadership. Individual Board members must apply for a FinCEN ID number as a condition to serving on our volunteer Boards. CTA continues to monitor this Federal reporting requirement but as of now, CTA and the POAs must submit their first reports with FinCEN by January 1, 2025. For more information, contact your POA Board leadership. Information on obtaining a FinCEN ID is available at fincenid.fincen.gov.

Finance

Census Update: The 2024 census numbers, POA reports of developed and undeveloped lots and used for 2025 assessment calculations, show an uptick of lots “not in good standing” within the POAs. This of course, causes an increase in assessments for all other lots when some lot owners are not paying their share to their POAs. It was reiterated that CTA’s bylaws recognize two types of lots within Carolina Trace: improved and unimproved. Contact your POA for additional information.
Finance Forum to meet quarterly: Following a successful gathering of POA leadership at an October 10 Finance Forum, this group has decided to meet quarterly for the purposes of sharing information on assessment collections, lien procedures, etc. The next meeting will be sometime in January 2025.

Security & Safety Committee (S&S)

Security-Specific Email Reminder: To help improve communications regarding security issues in the community, the committee now has a specific email address for those concerns: [email protected]
South Gate Barrier/Lift Gate Update: Work on this access point has been completed.
CERT Basic Course Offered: Any resident of Carolina Trace is welcome to join CT’s Community Emergency Response Team (“CERT”). Read more about CERT at this link. The next training for CERT is on these dates in January 2025: 10, 11, 17 and 18. Check out the CTA calendar for exact times.
Sign Up for “Code Red” Alerts: Lee County’s Office of Emergency Management operates an alert system for weather and other concerns affecting Lee County residents. Sign up for these free alerts at https://leecountync.gov/departments/emergency_management/index.php

Trace Lake & Dam Committee (TLDC)

Community questions or concerns about Lake Trace or the country club’s management of the lake should be directed only to Bill Huggins, chair of the committee, at this email address: [email protected]. Bill is CTA’s sole liaison with the country club regarding Lake Trace and the dam.
Lake Lowering in 2025: CTCC Management has agreed to lower the lake (2-3 feet) at some point after the first of the new year to allow for seawall and dock work.
Bathymetric Study Update: In early November, NC State University was onsite conducting another mapping of Lake Trace. This includes vegetative study, sediment measurements, and consideration of adding flow meters to the lake. Flow meters measure the amount of incoming lake sediment and its velocity from its sources (storm water runoff and the Upper Little River).

Traceway Roads and Maintenance (TRAM)

Culvert Work Rescheduled: The culvert work scheduled for October was rescheduled to December due to the contractor’s need to support work in Western North Carolina. Watch for message centers and emails for how this may impact your travel on Traceway (minimal) once work begins. Four culverts will be repaired: on the north side, the waterfall culvert at the intersection of Country Club Drive and Traceway, the culvert at the Lake 8 hole, and on the south side of Traceway, the first Lakewood culvert and the first South Landing culvert.
Eyes/Ears Needed: CT residents are asked to report any issues regarding the condition of Traceway (such as potholes, cracked/crumbling asphalt, etc.) to the TRAM committee at [email protected]. Thanks!

Utilities:

CWS infrastructure issues (main breaks, sewer issues): Continue to report these to the 800# on your invoice and to CT Utilities Committee volunteer Jeff Wennberg, [email protected] CTA continues to press CWS to improve its communications with residents. CTA needs this information to support any comments to state regulators that CWS is not fulfilling its commitment to proactively improve the infrastructure here.
Your Voices Are Needed! CTA’s utility volunteers will begin attending NCPUC’s quarterly meetings in 2025. To volunteer to be a part of this effort to make voices heard, all property owners are welcome to be included. One or two people representing several thousand is not as impactful as a crowd representing our community. Contact Vince Roy for details ([email protected]).

Carolina Trace Volunteer Fire Department:

November Fire Hydrant Testing: Fire Hydrant testing is being conducted in CT this month. Please do not park near or block access to fire hydrants.

Community Calendar – Open to All CT Residents:

January 2025 TBD – POA Treasurer’s Forum. Open to all POA Board members.
January 10, 11, 17 & 18 – Basic CERT Training

Housekeeping

The approved October 2, 2024 CTA Board Meeting Minutes packet has been uploaded to the website: https://www.carolinatrace.org/p/CTA-Board-Meeting-Minutes