By Mayor Boston Page, Jr.
Being asked to report on the state of the town provides an opportunity for me to review events of 2015 but also those that have occurred in recent years. These changes have severely impacted us all, and more importantly, they have presented us with unprecedented challenges.
Nothing would please me more than to paint a picture of a progressive, economically sound, vibrant and thriving community that would be a model for small towns across our great nation. Unfortunately, this is not the case and in the words that follow, while trying not to sound too negative, I will attempt to explain in more depth.
Government regulation coupled with a diminished tax base and general lack of funding basically forced Lake View to divest itself of our water & sewer departments that were in dire need of replacement and/or massive costly repairs. Grand Strand Water & Sewer has acquired these assets and they have already made several much needed improvements. This will no doubt prove to be a wise move for the Town of Lake View in years to come.
Our town has lost its only grocery store and several other businesses that served us well and were an integral part of our daily activity. These business closings have had a tremendous adverse effect on our citizens as well as the further reduction in our tax base. In addition, in recent years, our only manufacturing facility closed resulting in a very significant reduction of tax revenue. It should be remembered that any loss of tax revenue in a small town has a much more severe impact than in larger municipalities. The Mayor and Council have been working diligently to secure a suitable site for a new grocery store in hopes that it will provide an incentive for a new investor to locate here. To date, we have been unsuccessful in this endeavor.
There is an ongoing effort to find a manufacturer that will locate in the old Heritage Sportswear building and provide numerous new jobs. It goes without saying, that this would be the single most important accomplishment for the Town of Lake View. The Dillon County Development Board has presented us with several proposals in recent years, none of which came to fruition.
More recently, my office dealt directly with a potential manufacturer that would have been a good fit for our town but this did not work out. Going forward, we will continue to work with the Development Board and do everything within our power to bring an industry to Lake View.
On a more positive note, we are continuing to improve our walking track park with the recent addition of new playground equipment. This facility was constructed primarily with funds derived from a grant and is currently free of debt. A new phone system at the Town Office has been installed to replace an outdated system that was purchased in the 1980’s. This would be somewhat trivial to large municipalities, but is a much needed improvement to our small office.
We are fortunate to have a new Town Clerk, Mrs. Sara Elvington, who is working tirelessly to keep our town office functioning smoothly. We encourage our citizens to contact her with any questions or issues you might have relating to town business.
On September 25, 2015, we submitted proposals for several new projects for Lake View to our County Administrator. These new projects, or a portion of them, will be funded primarily with unused Capital Sales Tax Project funds allocated to “Lake View Infrastructure” currently being held by the County. Our new proposed projects are as follows:
1.    Walking track improvement – new bathrooms, lighting, paved parking
2.    Recreation park – new canteen/bathrooms, paving, rebuild ball fields
3.    Construct a new town office
There is one very bright spot in the picture that is Lake View. The town in currently free of debt, which will serve us well as the demand for improvements to our infrastructure become necessary in the days ahead.
In conclusion, I think it suffices to say that the State of Lake View has seen better days but we will remain optimistic, trusting in God to provide us with the strength and wisdom to do what is right and to keep focused on the best interests of our Town.