New Leader of Smla Readies for Challenges

By Mason Adams mason.adams@roanoke.com (540) 981-3149

Over the past two years, Bruce Dungan has guided the Smith Mountain Lake Association as it has delved into the worlds of state legislation and commercial development.

Now, as dictated by tradition and the association’s bylaws, his tenure as president has ended. His successor, Bob Camicia, was elected by the association’s board Thursday.

Camicia, 64, was born and raised in Kentucky. He spent a career working with marketing and corporate strategy in the telecommunications industry before retiring and moving to Smith Mountain Lake in 2002.

As the new SMLA president, Camicia faces a number of challenges over the next couple of years:

n Water quality: All of the streams that empty into Smith Mountain Lake have been designated as “impaired” by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.

n Boating safety: A 2005 wreck that killed a Moneta couple drew attention to the issue, and the association has worked to develop and pass state legislation requiring boating safety classes and a nighttime speed limit.

n Development: Growth on the north side of the lake, around Moneta and Westlake, has exploded over the past decade, and more has been approved for the near future.

n Relicensing: Appalachian Power Co. is in the process of renewing its license to run Smith Mountain Lake. Lake governments and advocacy groups have been trying to use the opportunity to get the power company to address erosion and other key issues.

Camicia said maintaining the natural beauty of the lake is one of his priorities.

“Bedford, Franklin and Pittsylvania counties have some of the most diverse and beautiful country around,” Camicia said. “And if there’s one thing that’ll mess up the beauty and ecology, it’s the uncontrolled and unrestricted developments ongoing in the area. I’m not against development, but we want to ensure we’ve got a continually growing area while maintaining why we live here — the beauty, the viewsheds and the streams.”

The SMLA was formed in 1967 by businessmen and homeowners intent on preserving the lake’s environmental and economic attributes. It has since grown to include about 1,400 families for a total of about 3,000 members.

The SMLA initially focused its efforts on water quality and other aspects of the lake environment, but it has expanded its scope to other issues.

Camicia’s background seems to fit the association’s growing role. He has served on the Tri-County Lake Administrative Commission and is vice chairman of the Upper Roanoke River Roundtable. He has also worked closely with development, as he represents the fast-growing Gills Creek District on the Franklin County Planning Commission.

That experience fits with the SMLA’s recent practice of evaluating development projects and, in some cases, endorsing them. The association encourages developers to meet with the community and pitch their ideas well before anything gets to county boards. If a development meets the SMLA board’s criteria, it will receive an endorsement during public hearings.

The practice began during Dungan’s tenure as president, and he said the criteria used by the board to decide whether to endorse a development will evolve to keep up with new trends and practices.

“We know there’s going to be development — we just want it to be done right,” Dungan said.

In addition to the association’s growing role with developers, it has also started to work more with state legislators. In response to the 2005 boating wreck that killed a Moneta couple and their dog, the SMLA established a water safety task force. It made a number of recommendations that were incorporated into General Assembly bills last year.

Though most of that legislation failed, Dungan sees it as the first step to an increased presence in Richmond for the SMLA.

In fact, Dungan will break with tradition by remaining on the SMLA’s board after completing his term as president. He will serve as the association’s liaison to Richmond.

“We’re very pleased he’s going to be staying,” Camicia said. “Traditionally our presidents ride off into the sunset, totally drained by that point in time.”

Dungan, 66, will focus for now on two bills.

The first, sponsored by Del. Kathy Byron, R-Campbell County, would require in-state residents to take safety courses before they can drive a boat.

In addition, Del. Allen Dudley, R-Rocky Mount, has proposed legislation that would set a speed limit of 35 mph on Smith Mountain Lake between sunset and sunrise.

The association’s members want both speed limits and mandatory boater education, Camicia said.

“The feedback that we got from doing surveys last year was pretty doggone definitive about it,” Camicia said.

The SMLA’s board of directors voted Thursday to support both bills.

(c) 2007 Roanoke Times & World News. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.