After 1,571 days, finally the dam gates started rising today at 3:00 pm. Our dam is done and our lake is refilling!

Today was a big day. Pardon the long post, but it seems appropriate on a day like today to mark the moment.

The gates on the Lake Dunlap dam started rising today, following a planned procedure that will step them up over time, and brings to a formal close the process that we all started 1,571 days ago when the dam collapsed on May 14, 2019.

The video captured that day has been seen all over the world. There has been interest in our incredibly unique project from all over the US, but also Europe and South America.

Speaking for me personally, as I watched the gates rise ever so slowly for the first time that was not a test, I felt an incredible sense of relief.

There has not been one of those 1,571 days when I did not devote some part of my day to our dam, our lake, or our situation. I am not unique in this. J Harmon has been on this from the start and he and I have spoken almost daily for most of those many days. After I came on as part of the project leadership, he and I began to recruit others to help formulate plans as the Lake Dunlap Advisory Board. Several of those ultimately became part of the WCID board and technical advisory team. All of us made the commitment to get this done. We were all in, all of us.

We had so many mountains to climb. In the earliest days we were learning just as fast as we could. It was a lot and we did not always get it right, but we persevered till we did at every step.

We had to have a plan. We did that.

Then we needed to create a WCID - a branch of government with taxing authority. No small lift. We did that.

Then we needed to win elections in two counties and a city independently. So many ways we could have fallen short. But we did that.

Then we needed to raise the money — $40 million. We did that, too.

And then we finally could start working to actually restore the dam. That part alone has taken nearly 2 ½ years.

Today, 1,571 days after we lost our lake, we can finally say, yes, we saw that part through to the end, too!

All of the many people who have devoted so much time to making this happen feel that sense of relief. All of us were all in. Everyone stepped up when called. It was like nothing I have ever been a part of. We live in a truly amazing community.

Everything needed to make this happen from GBRA, from Zachary, from the WCID, and from all of you that live on this lake and voted for A, B, and C — all that all fell into place.

And now, we have a functional dam again.

Today is a very big deal.

It took so many people to make this happen, and there were so many points that most communities would have given up. But we didn't.

Thanks to all of you who voted to make this happen by taxing yourselves to get our lake back. That is an incredible and enduring commitment. Keeping you in the forefront of our thinking is the WCID's most important job.

Thanks to the PLDA who stepped up to build this plan, holding town meetings, working diligently to get the facts into the hands of the taxpayers and residents, and working with a group of civic leaders on the Lake Dunlap Advisory Board, all of whom are still engaged at one level or another. That transparency and inclusiveness set the tone for us to win the election.

Thanks to our Neighborhood Captains who worked in the middle of COVID to get information out to residents in small-group "BYO lawn chair" meetings and strive to factually answer questions their neighbors had.

Thanks to the our WCID board, who have devoted three years and counting toward this. Several of those board members have been part of this effort from the earliest days.

Thanks to GBRA for believing in our plan, and to the Texas Water Development Board for giving us a near-zero interest rate.

Thanks to Zachary for delivering our new amazing modern dam. It is built to last for generations.

Now what we need is rain.

That is the last thing holding us back. Even if rain eludes us, with time, the water will return.

I was lucky to be in the control house today when the moment came to raise the gates once and for all. There were a couple of small crowds gathered below the dam and on Lakeside pass, looking through the fence to also mark the moment our dam was back.

The readout in the control room showed the gates slowly rising in 1/10 ft increments. (The command to raise the gates actually came from GBRA's offices in Seguin! No one had to touch anything in the control room at the dam.)

And just like that, not like the bang when it dewatered explosively, but more with the whir of a well-tuned machine — the Lake Dunlap dam is back!

Larry Johnson

1,461 days.

Today is May 14, 2023. It’s been 1,461 days.

Four years to the day.  That’s how long Lake Dunlap residents have been waiting and working to restore their lake.

Four long years since the center gate of the old Lake Dunlap Dam broke free of its hinges May 14th, 2019. More than 693 million gallons of water drained out of the lake in a matter of hours.  Video of the breach was captured and immediately went viral.

On the ground, residents were stunned to see what was once a lovely lake for watersports and fishing turn into a treacherous mud-filled river channel peppered with craggy stumps and debris.

There were tears. And there was anger. And then there was determination.

It’s been nearly three years since waterfront owners voted by over 90 percent in favor of creating a Water Control and Improvement District, which provided the mechanism to allow property owners to share the cost of the new dam among themselves.  With an agreement with the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority in hand that ensured that hydroelectric revenues would offset nearly half the cost, the plan was complete.   Voters approved the plan on Novenber 3, 2020, as well as the issuance of $40 million in bonds to finance the project, and not long after, the Texas Water Development Board agreed to provide the funds at a near zero interest rate.

Zachry Construction was selected as the general contractor, and work began to restore the dam on May 14, 2021, exactly two years to the day after it failed on May 14, 2019.

And here we are, now two more years later on another anniversary of the breach — and the work to replace the dam is nearly finished.

The dam is visibly a completely new and modern dam, and it’s clear to any observer that work on it is nearly finished.

While it’s not possible to know the exact date the water will be back with certainty, it is clear that it won’t be much longer. 

The Lake Dunlap WCID reports that the dam should be complete by the end of July, 2023, and the water restored within about 3 weeks after that.  This summer.

A good estimate for “water back,” the date that everyone living on Lake Dunlap wants to know, is that that day is likely to be within the next 90 days.

I can hardly wait. I’m counting those last days down ... and hoping luck falls our way!

1000 Days and Counting ...

Important things take time, I guess. Today marks a true milestone —- it's been 1,000 days since we lost our dam and our lake on May 14, 2019 — and that means 1,000 days that we have all been dealing with our lake crisis.

We've come a long long way. Many doubted we'd make it as far as we have, but here we are! The new dam is being built, and it is something incredible to see. Solving this issue has brought us together in extraordinary ways, and I hope we can continue that.

Best estimates tell us we still have 461 days yet to go, but we are making the journey! There is a lot left to do, but if our mutual experience has us anything, it is that working together we can solve insurmountable problems. I know we will finish this journey like we started it — with hope and with determination to make our own future,

I've never been more proud to be part of a community than I have with our Lake Dunlap waterfront owners.

It's more than a lifestyle — this community has a “can-do” attitude that has proven to be up to every dimension of this task!

So many people have come together, bringing their unique skills and talents, to get us this far.

1,000 days.

Wow. It has been a long journey, but speaking for me, I am so ready to get the rest of this done!

Jump in the way-back machine to see the news coverage of that day. Much more news history is accessible from the Press tab at the top of the page!

Press Clippings

And here we go! Welcome to 2021!

It’s been ten weeks since our last post, November 4, 2020. One reason it has been so long is that an important goal for me, post-election, was to take some time to return my personal focus to hearth and home, and tackle the growing list of chores and honey-dos that accumulated in the run-up to the election. And then, of course, came the holidays —but, now, we’re back!

Lake Dunlap WCID For the Lake Dunlap WCID Board of Directors, the goal during this time has been to focus on getting the project up and running. There has not been a lot of updating to do as that unfolded, but many important pieces needed to start work have been done, such as the selection of Zachry Construction as the general contractor announced recently by the GBRA.

The WCID will manage its own communications, and early indications from WCID President, Doug Harrison, make clear that his position is that there is little or no need for continued regular communications, nor a WCID presence online, in emails, or on social media. I continue to strongly support transparency and consistent and open communications, which have been our lodestars from the earliest days of the effort, and will work to keep these values in focus for the board. I believe most board members also feel that an open line of communications is our best course.

The WCID Board, on which I am a member and the Board Secretary, is meeting on the topic of communications, Tuesday, Jan 29th. There will be more to know after that. The meeting will be virtual due to COVID, and the notice, agenda, and login info is here.

As long as COVID remains an issue, all government meetings in Texas will be virtual. I encourage interested taxpayers to attend WCID meetings when they can as the best way to stay on top of what the board is up to. By Texas law, all meetings are open to the public, and the first agenda item for every meeting provides the board a chance to hear public comments. You do not need to sign up in advance to make comments. All you need to do is to attend and declare your intent to speak when the chair asks if there are any members of the public who wish to address the board when the meeting starts.

GBRA Going forward, the main action on the dam will be managed and communicated by the GBRA, as overseeing and managing the dam reconstruction is their part of the project. The WCID will follow public announcements that come from them, and the hope is that they will keep our community informed as needed.

LakeDunlap.org With the election behind us, and the project moving into the construction phases, this site, LakeDunlap.org, is in the midst of a refresh that will reframe the site as more of an historical resource that will capture the big picture story of our community’s response to the dam failure on May 14, 2019.

We will be making posts here from time to time about things of general interest to Lake Dunlap residents, especially those on the waterfront, and plan to share public information and publicly available updates as they are available. We also intend to take pictures and video of the construction progress at least weekly. One idea we are kicking around is to continue our video series over time and invite key people to weigh in on or interpret what we will be seeing unfold down at the dam as construction progresses.

Your suggestions are important! Please let me know your thoughts via drljohnson@gmail.com or through the contact link above.

LJ

Lake Dunlap Election Results Are In!

Early Returns. November 3, 2020

Dear Neighbors,

We did it! We'll keep this email short, as there is some celebrating to do! There was a delay in the early results in Comal County, but all results are now in.

We WON! Here are the (unofficial) results of the early voting & mail-ins:

Comal FOR AGAINST
Prop A 88.61% 11.39%
Prop B 79.35% 20.65%
Prop C 77.49% 22.51%

All board members were elected

Guadalupe FOR AGAINST
Prop A 91.60% 8.40%
Prop B 89.29% 10.71%
Prop C 89.85% 10.15%

All board members were elected

We're getting our lake back!! What an amazing journey this last 18 months has been!

Sincerely,

Larry

Election Day. November 3rd.

Election Day. November 3, 2020

Dear Neighbors,

We are almost there! Today is the day we will all look back to as the day we got the impossible done. All the polling places are open from 7 am to 7 pm today. Here are the polling locations for Guadalupe County and for Comal County.

"November 3rd"
In this video, we look at what winning today will mean to the residents of this lake. We all remember May 14, 2019, when the Lake Dunlap dam failed and the lake drained in a matter of hours. (For the beginning of this story, see May 14, 2019)

We want to replace that date forever with November 3, 2020, when the culmination of thousands of hours of volunteer effort was put before voters for approval. A story of resilience and passion.

It's always been a race in many ways, and has been from the very beginning. A race to understand what issues we faced, a race to find a path forward, and then a race to create the WCID and qualify for the May 2 election. When COVID moved the election to November, it became a race to get the bid process built (now underway), and then for funding (in place).

Now we are in the ultimate race of all of them to win both counties independently so that we can rebuild our dam and our lake. We're so close. Every step of the way has brought unexpected challenges, and this election is no different.

That is the story that underlies this video, which we call November 3rd. I think it is an important one. We have been pulling together hard to win this, and this story shows why we are making this journey.

We can see the finish line from here!

Five Reasons to Vote FOR Lake Dunlap

We have the engineering in hand. The design is right.
We have the bids in hand. The costs are in line with projections.
We have the money ready to go - at zero percent!
We have everything we need to build this dam in place.
The last step is your FOR vote! Help us get this done!

More Video links:

YouTube Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0YbYFfBGTA&list=PLIAo8waUbpopC1_krLURjUli_-76SNLTJ
The playlist plays all the Lake Dunlap videos in sequence. It runs just ten minutes but evokes so many memories!

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIyRd6v3mQnUDNuROWSkCiQ

Select any of the videos you want to see on the Lake Dunlap YouTube Channel!

Let's get this done!!

Sincerely,

Larry

Vote ABC!

Countdown Tuesday: 7 days till Nov 3rd

Lake Dunlap Election Update
October 27, 2020

It's Countdown Tuesday! Just 7 days till November 3rd ...

Dear Neighbors.

Wow!! It is hard to believe we're down to the final week! There is a lot going on as we round this final turn, and if you have not already voted, we encourage you to take advantage of in-person early voting if you can. It continues through 7:00 pm Friday.

Now, let's get into it!


The Construction Bids are in!!
As we announced a few weeks ago, GBRA has been in the process of soliciting bids from major construction companies to do the work required to restore our dam. At 2:00 pm today, GBRA opened the construction bids for our dam!

The bids range from $32.4 million to $35.7 million, all of them from really capable construction firms. Those numbers are definitely in line with our projections of cost, and even a bit better!

The bidders, Thalle Construction Company, Zachary Construction, and Archer Western Construction, all enjoy highly regarded reputations for being up to the kind of difficult work our dam is going to require. Of course, these bids are contingent on us bringing home the election — but it's great to finally have hard numbers for the final unknown in our tax calculations.

Along with the outstanding news we got last week about receiving approval for a zero-percent loan to cover the cost of construction, now we have hard data to back up our estimates for the tax rate. Even the high bid will still allow us to keep the tax rate at or below 20 cents per $100 valuation. If the lowest bid wins the contract, it could be even lower, but I can say with confidence that it will not be higher - we have everything we need, save one crucial thing! And if you have not yet voted, well — that's you!

We need everyone who has not yet cast their vote to make a plan to do so, and to vote FOR Props A, B, and C!

While we're working hard here at the campaign to get out the vote this final week, a team composed of engineers and other experts from GBRA and the WCID will be reviewing the bids over the next couple of weeks and ranking each company against a range of factors — one of which is how soon the water can come back up! We could see construction start as early as January, folks! This is a really big deal!

Early voting continues thru 7 pm Friday!

New Campaign Video!
We know we are getting close because the final video of the campaign is ready! This one outlines the arc of our common story — the reasons we want this plan to pass, what the plan will do, how to vote — and most importantly, why we need all of us to vote!

It's 90 seconds of pure Lake Dunlap love. Enjoy! And please share like crazy!! Believe it or not, there are still people who haven't voted!

New Video: "Vote. Vote! Vote Now!"
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIyRd6v3mQnUDNuROWSkCiQ

Early Voting ends Friday at 7pm!

We've had a great turnout for early voting overall, and ten more days remain! As of the close of polls yesterday, we had 604 of our 1162 registered voters vote early — that is a whopping 52% turnout so far!

In Guadalupe County, our turnout has been nearly 63%; in Comal County, we are at just under 40% for turnout.

These are GREAT numbers! Any registered voter (including children of voting age and tenants) that is registered at an address within the new WCID will be able to vote on the approval of the District, the associated propositions, and the board of directors. (The rule of thumb is that if the property touches the lake it is in the District; if it doesn't, it is not).

Campaign Update
Since last week, we have made even more progress working to reach voters in Comal County. A lot has been going on, including what we are calling the Hot Dog Polls held at both Westshore Colony and at Hawthorne Riverside. We had a couple of amazing gourmet hot dog vendors on site serving up free dogs in exchange for registered voters at the apartments sharing how they voted on props A, B, and C.

The results were hard to misinterpret — we were able to talk to 25% of the registered voters at each complex and 100% of those samples voted FOR! FOR! FOR! Seriously. 100%! We have one more polling event on Wednesday and we hope to confirm those really good numbers with a different sample of Comal County voters.

If you have already voted, thank you. If you are planning to vote either in early voting or on the 3rd, please snap a selfie and post it to one of the Lake Dunlap Facebook groups!

Bottom Line: If you haven't yet voted, please go vote, and vote early if you can!
If you have voted, thank you!! Let's win this!!

Notes on the McQueeney and Lake Placid WCID elections
We got some questions yesterday after KENS 5 aired a nice piece about the McQueeney WCID election. In case others are wondering, each of the three upper lakes has created their own WCID, with Lakes McQueeney and Placid following plans very similar to those Dunlap developed for our dam. The Districts are separate entities and do not physically overlap at all.

Each plan is based on the same idea we had, which is to ask the waterfront owners to tax themselves to pay for the reconstruction. To be clear though, when we vote here, we just are voting for our dam, and when the folks downstream vote, they are only voting for their own dams. While the propositions sound similar (they also are voting A, B, and C!) because we are all WCIDs, the projects are all a bit different and all are independent of each other.

That said, let's all wish them well on election day too! No one knows better than us that having your dam fail is a terrible thing!

That's it for now!  Stay tuned — please go vote, and vote early if you can!

Sincerely,

Dr. Larry Johnson

Vote ABC! Vote the Slate!

Vote Early!

Five clear benefits of restoring our lake

• Clean, safe, and fun year-round recreation opportunities for everyone.

• Restored economic vitality for property owners and local businesses

• A safe, affordable, modern dam that will last for generations to come.

• Ecologically sound habitats for all our lake residents, including our fish and wildlife

• Enough clean, renewable hydroelectric energy to supply over 1,500 homes

Countdown Tuesday: 14 days till Nov 3rd

Lake Dunlap Election Update
October 20, 2020

It's Countdown Tuesday! Just 14 days till November 3rd ... we have had 382 early voters!

Dear Neighbors.

It is hard to believe we have just fourteen days to go! There is a lot going on, and if you have not already voted, we encourage you to take advantage of in-person early voting if you can. (If you do, please post a selfie of you and your "I voted" sticker on social media.)

Now, let's get into it!

New Campaign Video!
This week we look forward to what winning on November 3 will mean to the residents of this lake. It's a race in many ways, and has been from the very beginning. A race to understand what issues we faced, a race to find a path forward, and then a race to create the WCID and qualify for the May 2 election. When COVID moved the election to November, it became a race to get the bid process built (now underway), and then for funding (in place).

Now we are in the ultimate race of all of them to win both counties independently so that we can rebuild our dam and our lake. We're so close. Every step of the way has brought unexpected challenges, and this election is no different.

That is the story that underlies this video which we call November 3rd, and I think it is an important one. We have been pulling together hard to win this, and it shows in this story about why we are making this journey. We can see the finish line.

Take a few moments to watch the new video — you'll be glad! Please also comment on YouTube or Facebook, and share it and our other videos broadly!! All of them are already on the main FB groups, so you can add your comments and share the video from there if you like, or post using the links below. More videos will be coming each week till we win this!

Video: "November 3rd"
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIyRd6v3mQnUDNuROWSkCiQ

The first week of Early Voting is now behind us!

We've had a great turnout for early voting overall, and ten more days remain! As of the close of polls yesterday, we had 382 of our 1162 registered voters vote early — that is 32.9% turnout so far!

Looking just a bit deeper, the county results are more in line with our demographics in the two counties, however, and the trend of seniors to vote early in greater numbers. In Guadalupe County, our turnout has been a whopping 43%, while in Comal County, we are at just a 21% turnout after the first week.

Any registered voter (including children of voting age and tenants) that is registered at an address within the new WCID will be able to vote on the approval of the District, the associated propositions, and the board of directors. (The rule of thumb is that if the property touches the lake it is in the District; if it doesn't, it is not).

Campaign Update
Since the last email just a week ago, we have made a lot of progress working to reach voters in Comal County. Our strategy all along with the apartments was to go strong from mid-October to Election Day, and that is what we are doing. A lot is going on. We have contacted every voter in Comal County with a personal letter this week, and it's working! Yesterday we had the biggest single-day turnout of residential voters yet — these are the homeowners on Kuehler and Rio Drive, as well as Lake Front Ave, among others. If you are part of that group that voted recently, thank you! Encourage all your neighbors to do the same!

Each apartment dweller in the district has also gotten a couple of letters in the last 10 days, one focused on the community development aspects of this plan, and its environmental and safety benefits — and another that focused on what having our own WCID will mean for local control of lake issues. It's become clear that for these voters, those are the major positives of this campaign. They are less focused restoring the lake and more about making the lake safer and healthier, especially for their kids. They love the idea of stocking it with more fish. The more of them I and others on the campaign meet, the more we see each other as neighbors. I am convinced that that is how we can win this — as neighbors.

We had a very nice and well-attended music event at Westshore Colony Apartments last week, and about 10 of the Captains and other project leaders were able to listen and dialog with residents there in a very productive way. One of our Captains, Alli Ramsey, entertained us with some very nice music. We will be back at Westshore on Thursday with a Food Truck, passing out free Chicago-Style gourmet hotdogs and cold beverages, and talking with residents again. The management has been very supportive there, and has been very helpful in promoting both events directly to residents.

On Saturday, we plan to do a similar event poolside at the Hawthorne Riverside apartments, this time with a NYC-style hot dog cart that will give away 100 hot dogs and a lot of campaign materials. We also have strong management support there, and we look forward to it being fun and productive.

We are also planning a big event for Wednesday, Oct 28th that will be open to all the apartments that we plan to hold almost next door to them at the River's Edge. By the end of these four major outreach events, I think we will have a pretty good handle on where we stand with those voters. I am increasingly optimistic, but also really focused on making sure we do every single thing we can to rach and listen to them, and of course, to win this! As that baseball icon, Yogi Berra, put it, "IT AIN'T OVER TILL IT'S OVER!" We're keeping this thing in play to the end.

We'll keep you posted on both what we learn this week, what more we can do, and how you can help as we round that final turn.

If you have already voted, please snap a selfie and post it (or get your kids to post it :) to one of the Lake Dunlap Facebook groups!

Voting for the WCID Propositions
Unless you have been vacationing off the grid for the last few weeks, we hope you already know we need each of the three propositions to pass — Vote FOR A, B, and C! All three. Now you just need to know where they are on the ballots! The WCID Propositions and Board elections are at the very end of the ballot.

You will need to scroll down or keep pressing next to see them.

Voting for the Board of Directors
The five original members of the temporary WCID board are all running for the official board this election, with no opposition or write-ins. A common misconception is that you must vote for just one board candidate. That is incorrect. As the ballot notes, you can vote for none, one, two, three, four, or all five of the candidates. The Board of Directors election is the very last item on the ballot.

(Full disclosure: I am a candidate for the WCID Board, running under my full name, Laurence F Johnson)

Bottom Line: Please go vote, and vote early if you can! Let's win this!! When you do, post a picture of your "I Voted "sticker online!

Hey there! We need your videos and pictures, all over Facebook!!!
We'd love to keep a steady stream of these memories out there, so please help us and post as many as you can all this coming week and right up to Nov 3rd. One thing we can say for sure, these kinds of posts are working for us!

That's it for now!  Stay tuned — please go vote, and vote early if you can!

Sincerely,

Dr. Larry Johnson

VoteABC! VotetheSlate!

Vote Early!

Five clear benefits of restoring our lake

• Clean, safe, and fun year-round recreation opportunities for everyone.

• Restored economic vitality for property owners and local businesses

• A safe, affordable, modern dam that will last for generations to come.

• Ecologically sound habitats for all our lake residents, including our fish and wildlife

• Enough clean, renewable hydroelectric energy to supply over 1,500 homes

Countdown Tuesday: 21 days till Nov 3rd

Lake Dunlap Election Update
October 13, 2020

It's Countdown Tuesday! 21 days till November 3rd ... and early voting started this morning!

Dear Neighbors.

It is hard to believe we are just three weeks away from the vote! There is a lot going on, and since Early Voting started as of 8am today (!!!), let's start by encouraging all of you to vote early if you can. If you do, please post a selfie of you and your "I voted" sticker on social media! Let's get into it!

New Campaign Video!
This week we have one simple message for our campaign video — vote A, B, and C. All three.

There are many reasons to vote for restoring our lake, but one of the most important to me is to honor all the volunteers working so hard in front of and behind the scenes to make it happen, and they have been for months, some almost every day for 18 months! There so many dedicated and smart people among our neighbors. Getting to know all of them has been the best part of being involved in the campaign!

Take a few moments to watch this short new video — you'll be glad! — and then please comment on YouTube or Facebook, and share it and our other videos broadly!! All of them are already on the main FB groups, so you can add your comments and share the video from there if you like, or post using the links below. More videos will be coming each week till we win this!

Video: "Vote. Now."
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIyRd6v3mQnUDNuROWSkCiQ

Wow! Early Voting Has Already Started!

With the close of voter registration behind us, the election turns today to three weeks of early in-person voting.

Any registered voter (including children of voting age and tenants) that is registered at an address within the new WCID will be able to vote on the approval of the District, the associated propositions, and the board of directors. (The rule of thumb is that if the property touches the lake it is in the District; if it doesn't, it is not).

You will receive the appropriate ballot when you appear at the polling station based on the address on your voter registration. Here are the early voting locations and times for Guadalupe County and also for Comal County.

• Here is a link to the sample Guadalupe County ballot with the WCID sections highlighted so you can know what to expect. When you vote, however, you will most likely be using a voting machine and will vote by touch screen. We are at the end of the ballot, so keep pressing that NEXT button till you see them!

• Here is a link to the two sample Comal County ballots ( Precinct 302 / Precinct 304 ) so you can know what to expect. When you vote, however, you will most likely be using a voting machine and will vote by touch screen. We are at the end of these ballots. Keep pressing that NEXT button till you see them!

Voting for the WCID Propositions
Unless you have been vacationing off the grid for the last few weeks, we hope you already know we need each of the three propositions to pass — A, B, and C! All three. Now you just need to know where they are on the ballots!

• The WCID propositions are located on pages 1 and 2 of the Guadalupe ballot

• The WCID propositions are on page 2 of the Comal Ballots, Precinct 302 and Precinct 304

You will need to scroll down or keep pressing next to see them. Basically, the WCID elections are at the very end of the ballot.

Voting for the Board of Directors
The five original members of the temporary WCID board are all running for the official board this election, with no opposition or write-ins. A common misconception is that you must vote for just one board candidate. That is incorrect. As the ballot notes, you can vote for none, one, two, three, four, or all five of the candidates. The Board of Directors election is the very last item on Page 2 of the ballot.

(Full disclosure: I am a candidate for the WCID Board, running under my full name, Laurence F Johnson)

Bottom Line: Please go vote, and vote early if you can! Let's win this!! When you do, post a picture of your "I Voted "sticker online!

Hey there! We need your videos and pictures, all over Facebook!!!
It's time for a little fun! We'd love to generate a social media swell of amazing memories about you, your family times, fun lakeside events, fishing and boating times, and of course lots of amazing kids, dogs, wildlife, sunsets — heck even kittens!! If you have videos or pictures of something special to you and your family, please post them to any or all of the Lake Dunlap-related Facebook groups.

We'd love to keep a steady stream of these memories out there, so please help us and post as many as you can all this coming week and right up to Nov 3rd. One thing we can say for sure, those kinds of posts are working for us!

That's it for now!  Stay tuned — please go vote, and vote early if you can!

Sincerely,

Dr. Larry Johnson

VoteABC! VotetheSlate!

Vote Early!

Countdown Tuesday: 28 days till Nov 3rd

Lake Dunlap Election Update
October 6, 2020

It's Countdown Tuesday! 28 days till November 3rd ... and just one week till early voting starts!

Dear Neighbors,

Wow!  It is hard to believe we are just four weeks away from getting our lake back. November 3rd is right around the corner!  Just one week from today, early voting starts!   We're soooooo close!

Today's update is about the election efforts overall, some very nice news stories that just came out, early voting, our new YouTube channel, and more!

Newest Campaign Video focuses on the Float-a-Palooza!
Those who watched or participated will want to see this video for sure!  Our crew was on-site at Schumann's Beach on Saturday to capture the excitement and enthusiasm of those who came to show support for the Lake Dunlap restoration, and Props A, B, and C! The video is called "Dunlap Navy," and it shows how much people care about this lake, what it means to them and their families, and at the same time, how different things are now than they were before May 14, 2016.  It's totally worth the watch!!  
See the new video on YouTube!

Campaign Assessment, 4 weeks out
At this point, the campaign is feeling pretty good about voter sentiment across the district.  We hope to win by a large margin in Guadalupe County, and our efforts in Comal County are bearing fruit as well.  Our neighborhood captains have walked every street in the district, and the number of signs we have out is a testament to their efforts.  We plan to continue those efforts right up through election day, Nov 3. 

As many of you know, there are two large apartment complexes on the upstream end of the lake in Comal County that are also voters in the district.  Our assessment of the support there is that we do have significant and growing support among those residents.  We are communicating with each of the apartment complexes in the district on a regular basis, and have made considerable progress reaching those voters, both with direct mail, personal contacts, outreach to management, and planned events. 

We recently filmed a special video that we are pushing out directly to the apartment dwellers this week along with a special letter to each registered voter  — view that video here.   We plan to continue to focus on this part of the electorate right up to election day and are working hard on getting our supporters there to the polls.

We'd like to increase our contacts at all the apartments if we can.  If you have a family member, friend, or colleague living in either Westshore Colony or Riverside Hawthorne, we'd love to have the chance to visit informally with them. You can share my contact info either with them or theirs with me if that is OK — my mobile (some of you have it on speed dial now :) is 512-740-6205.  Texts are best, or simply reply to this email.  My Facebook is Larry Johnson if that is easier for them.

Bottom Line:  We definitely feel optimistic, but know we can't allow ourselves to get overconfident.  We still need every FOR vote we can muster, especially in Comal County.  There are 28 days to go, and we plan to use every one of them to win this! 

Want to help?  Let us know by replying to this email.

Make your Voting Plan! 
Related to all that, and the effort to get out the vote, it's time to start making your voting plan — early voting starts one week from today on Oct 13!  Learn all you need to know about the voting calendar, the ballots, or any other aspect of the election on the lakedunlap.org website. 

Here are direct links to the calendars, times, and locations for early voting in both counties:  

• Guadalupe County

• Comal County

Studies have shown that people who make a voting plan are four times as likely to actually vote! And we need every one of yours! Please do not stay home thinking we have this. We need all of you!

Great KENS 5 story about the Float-a-Palooza and our efforts overall
The Float-a-Palooza last Saturday was a lot of fun! We did not get a solid count, but we easily had 50 people participating on the water and another 30 or so cheering on from the shore along the route. We got a lot of great images and videos for our next campaign video, plus some excellent coverage of the event and the project overall from KENS 5 news reporter Vanessa Croix, who has been covering this story from the earliest days. See the KENS 5 report here.

Front Page of the Community Impact monthly
We also had a great above-the-fold, front-page story published this week in the Community Impact by reporter Laura Canterberry. Her report was very comprehensive and covered all aspects of the timeline and the election — I highly recommend it! Here is the link!

Campaign YouTube Channel
We've decided to begin collecting the campaign videos on YouTube to make it easier to get to them. See all our videos here on our brand new Lake Dunlap Campaign YouTube Channel! Please subscribe to see them as they come out each week!

Next Steps Our team has been hard at work on new elements for the campaign to Restore Lake Dunlap, and there is much more coming over the next four critical weeks. There is one goal. Win this!

Please encourage your neighbors and lakeside friends to subscribe to this weekly update. It takes just a few seconds on LakeDunlap.org — if they just complete the Subscribe box at the bottom of any page, we'll make sure they start getting these updates right away!

That's it for now, I guess. Questions? Hit reply and send 'em along. Much more coming over the next 28(!!) days!

Sincerely,

Larry Johnson

Five clear benefits of restoring our lake

• Clean, safe, and fun year-round recreation opportunities for everyone.

• Restored economic vitality for property owners and local businesses

• A safe, affordable, modern dam that will last for generations to come.

• Ecologically sound habitats for all our lake residents, including our fish and wildlife

• Enough clean, renewable hydroelectric energy to supply over 1,500 homes

#VoteABC!!