By Susan Thompson | Lake Panorama Times
Lane Rumelhart
Q. It seems LPA members are constantly improving their properties. How does that show up in the number of building and land disturbing permits LPA issued in 2025?
A. Building permits are a little down this year. We currently have 60 approved permits for the year, with a few others that may get approved before the new year. Of the 60 approved, we’ve had three demolitions, two boat house remodels, three fences, two gazebos, six detached garages, 11 storage sheds, 14 decks, nine home additions and 12 new homes.
The LPA has approved 38 land disturbing permits so far in 2025. These projects included new landscaping, clearing and driveways. In addition, the lake being lowered this fall led to many shoreline improvement projects.
Q. What work needs to be done by the LPA maintenance crew in the fall to prepare for winter?
A. The maintenance crew has been doing their annual fall preparation work. Tree and shrub removal along main roads has taken place. This is done because overcrowded roads get shaded in and won’t allow snow to melt as easily. Road shoulders are being mowed down as tall grass can create mini snow fences, resulting in drifts during blizzards. Once winter does arrive, the crew will use their plow trucks to remove snow and sand the roads.
Docks have been pulled at the beaches, the south shore and community areas. Winter buoys have replaced the regular season buoys. One benefit of the lake draw down this fall was our guys were able to get visuals of some of the shallow areas and adjust a few locations of the buoys for more accurate locations next spring.
Q. What about the LPA water department, are there things that need to be done to prepare for winter?
A. The water department winterized the bathrooms at all three beaches, the water lines to the dog park, both restroom facilities at the campgrounds, and the on-course bathrooms at both golf courses. The team always prepares for winter by going through inventory ahead of freezing temperatures to make sure parts are on hand for any possible water leaks. There also are many members who head south for the winter who call to have their water shut off until they return next spring. The water crew also has taken on a large project along Chimra Road to replace about 1,000 feet of water main to reroute around the new Port development project.
Q. Do things slow down in the LPA office during the winter months, or is the office staff busy year round?
A. January will find John Rutledge, the LPA general manager, monitoring issues being discussed in the Iowa Legislature that could have an impact on the LPA. I will continue to work on a plethora of things, starting with a simplified version of LPA’s building codes. We are in the process of revising the codes to create a less “wordy” version that still holds all of the same rules in place. Right now, the codes are more than 40 pages long. The goal is to simplify the codes to about 25 pages.
Hunters will continue to help LPA manage our deer population until Jan. 10, and we will keep checking in those deer until the season is over.
The two Lake Panorama Rural Improvement Zone (RIZ) projects now underway — West Fork Wetland and 180th Trail Basin — will continue to run until we get more than a couple inches of frost in the ground. We have several other RIZ projects we hope to get permitted over the winter with bids sought after permits are finalized so we can get rolling on the actual projects in the spring. One of those projects is a silt basin for Horseshoe Cove. Our goal is to begin construction on that in mid-2026.
Building permit requests for new homes typically start to come in during January and February as members plan to build that year. I will work through the waitlists on the campgrounds to make sure any empty spots are filled. I will review and edit member information such as the member update that gets mailed, the LPA website, and boating handouts for the 2026 season.
Lastly, there may be fewer member questions and concerns during the winter season, but the office staff will continue to respond as those pop up through the winter months.
Q. The repair work at the dam is complete, and the lake water level came back up nicely. What’s your take on how the process leading up to the lake lowering worked this year?
A. The expedited rush to get boats and lifts off the water went really well. Phil Watson’s team at Panorama Marine cycled many boats through their new facility and got everyone winterized in great time. The three barge companies all worked very well together to service the membership. We had to work together to find creative solutions for a few members with nuanced dock and lift setups. Overall, it went really smoothly, and we don’t see a need to change the strategy implemented this time for future drawdowns.