Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 12, 1995                   TAG: 9507120074
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: RICHARD FOSTER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LYNCHBURG                                LENGTH: Medium

FEMA SAYS TIMBER LAKE AID UNLIKELY

The Federal Emergency Management Agency told representatives of the Timberlake Homeowners Association on Tuesday that, on preliminary review, the association is not eligible for federal aid to replace its dam, which burst three weeks ago during a day of heavy rains.

Two people died in the aftermath of the dam's bursting, which sent millions of gallons of water streaming out of the lake and onto roads and bridges downstream. The disaster left Timber Lake a muddy crater.

"It was a serious disappointment to us," Bud Koiner, the homeowners association president, said at a meeting Tuesday night. The homeowners association had hoped FEMA would provide 75 percent of the estimated $1.5 to $2 million they need to replace the dam.

The homeowners association is taking donations and selling T-shirts, but so far it has raised less than $10,000.

A key problem for getting aid was that the lake was not part of a watershed improvement district, a state-designated governing body that can levy taxes for the upkeep and maintenance of a body of water, its dam and wetlands.

The association had applied to the Robert E. Lee Soil and Water Conservation Board to create such an entity, but was turned down earlier this year. They are asking the board to reconsider the decision, but that probably won't help with the federal funds, said Bud Colbert, who is chairman of the homeowners committee studying options for financing the dam's reconstruction.

At this point, he said, forming a watershed improvement district would just help supplement other funds being raised. The taxes would not pay to replace the dam.

Whether state funds will be forthcoming is unclear. Campbell County supervisor Jimmy Mays, who represents the Timber Lake area, said Virginia Department of Transportation officials have said they may contribute to the dam construction, because having a dam in Timber Lake prevents flood damage to state-maintained roads and bridges downstream.

FEMA aid isn't completely out of the picture yet, either. Mays and homeowners say government representatives still are exploring other aid options for which the dam may qualify. But one of the criteria for that aid is that the dam must provide a government service.

Charles Falwell, a former homeowners association president, said he thinks the dam fits the bill. "We may be a private lake, but we serve a public need, holding back water from Turkeyfoot Road and U.S. 460. If we can convince the legislators of that, then I think we can get some help."

Mays said state and federal efforts to find aid to rebuild the dam have restored his faith in government: "Everybody likes to bash the government nowadays, but these are hard-working people and they are doing every thing they can to help. We may not qualify for it in the end, but they're looking under every rock."

Also at the meeting Tuesday, the association announced that it has hired the Lynchburg-based engineering company of Hurt and Proffitt Inc. to design the new dam. A report listing specifications for the new dam is due in six weeks.