Lake Lure mayoral candidate told to leave dam bridge while documenting repairs

Two years after Helene, the town is preparing to celebrate the dam’s 100th anniversary while questions persist about pedestrian access, construction funding and a replacement timeline.

LAKE LURE, N.C. — Mayoral candidate John Edmonds Kozma was walking on the bridge across the Lake Lure Dam on Sept. 25 when a person told him to leave, a video reviewed by WCAB News shows. Kozma, a Republican running as a write-in candidate, has used videos to document his visits and ask questions about the dam’s repairs, funding and future.

The town’s dam history webpage says “pedestrians are not permitted on the bridge above the dam.” It cites safety and security, but the page does not identify an ordinance authorizing that restriction.

North Carolina law addresses how pedestrians may walk along a highway when there is no sidewalk. Under G.S. 20-174(d), they must, when practicable, use the far left side of the roadway or shoulder, face approaching traffic and yield to it.

There were no police in the video; the person who told him to leave appeared to be a construction worker.

The town announced a separate, temporary closure of the dam road on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Dec. 15 for sewer line work. Its notice says the road will be open on weekends and outside those weekday hours.

The news comes as NCDOT voted to delay the bridge funding in June.

The access question is unfolding as Lake Lure marks two years since Hurricane Helene and prepares to celebrate the dam’s 100th anniversary Sept. 30. Mayor Carol Pritchett’s September message highlights the reopened marina, boardwalk and trails. It did not address Kozma’s encounter or cite a pedestrian ordinance.

The town appears to have backdated its recent records as it relates to the dam in press releases reviewed by WCAB News. For example, the first time the phrase "Dam Failure Impact Analysis" was used was five days ago, a day after a report about the recent release of water downstream from flooding. In a press release on Sept. 29, the town said that it started the process in 2025. It's unclear if it was called something else at that time.

The dam’s future presents a larger question. Town records show $16.5 million in state funding for replacement and federal awards for engineering and design. The town says the existing dam does not meet modern safety standards, estimates replacement will take at least 10 years depending on funding, and identifies construction funding as the next step. It has not published a firm construction start or completion date in those updates.

As WCAB News previously reported, contract engineers expect a new dam may cost more than $175 million.

As the town celebrates what the dam made possible, residents deserve the governing document for the bridge restriction, Kozma said. That includes a clear account of what remains to be funded by taxpayers before its replacement can be built.

Pritchett, listed as unaffiliated, has been mayor since 2019. Kathy Tanner, also unaffiliated, is running as a write-in candidate for mayor. Kozma recently became a Republican, switching from Democrat, according to public records. The municipal race is nonpartisan under state law, according to the NC State Board of Elections. A candidate forum is scheduled for Oct. 1 at Bills Creek Community Center.

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If you have further information about this story or a news tip, email Annie Dance, Annie@WCABNews.com