By Susan Thompson | Lake Panorama Times
Lane Rumelhart
Rumelhart graduated from Central in May 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in environmental science and minors in biology and business management. A couple of months before his college graduation, he was hired by JCG Land Services, where he provided land acquisition and relocation assistance services for public works, utility and transportation projects.
Three summer internships helped prepare Rumelhart for his LPA position. In 2016, he was a crew member at Springbrook State Park. He maintained trails and removed invasive species such as autumn olive and Tartarian honeysuckle from the oak forest.
In 2017, he worked for the Guthrie County Environmental Health office and did onsite sewage and septic tank inspections, water quality testing and GPS coordinate data gathering around Lake Panorama. In 2018, he interned with Vermeer Manufacturing as an environmental product specialist.
In this month’s Q&A, Rumelhart talks about his first five years working for the Lake Panorama Association and its members.
Q. You’re about to celebrate your fifth anniversary on the LPA staff. What are your thoughts on having been project manager for the Lake Panorama Association for five years?
A. Even though I’ve lived in Guthrie County my whole life, I never realized how out of touch I was with Lake Panorama before working here. The investment members have made in this community is remarkable. Part of my lack of knowledge came from being young and not fully integrated into the work force, but the other part comes from Lake Panorama’s exclusiveness. There’s a lot to be learned from that, some good things and some things worth improving.
I’ve learned how valuable the lake is to our local economy outside of the association’s boundaries. I am not talking about property taxes. I am talking about the many local contractors who depend on the business the lake provides. I work with a different combination of these folks every day and have seen firsthand what a difference it has made for a lot of families that don’t call Lake Panorama home. In fact, who knows if I would still be living in Guthrie County if it wasn’t for Lake Panorama.
Q. When you started, you had a specific list of items that would be your responsibility. How have things evolved in the last five years?
A. My scope of work has changed over the last five years. I now take a lead role on all of our major Lake Panorama Rural Improvement Zone (RIZ) projects. Some of the most notable RIZ projects that are either completed or nearing completion have been the Burchfield Creek riprap, Jones Cove culvert repair, South Shore riprap, 180th Trail Basin expansion, fuel tank replacement at the dredge dock, and starting RIZ’s cover crop program. I also have been part of many land and easement acquisitions.
On the LPA side, I’ve seen even more projects come to completion. Some of those included traffic studies at key intersections, new water crossings across Burchfield Cove and at Sunset Beach, integrating new camera systems with Security, getting new restrooms built at both Sunset and Shady beaches, and helping set up LPA’s new website. I helped with projects at Lake Panorama National, including pond improvements on the fifth hole and the removal of hundreds of ash trees at both golf courses. I’ve also have been involved with Friends of Lake Panorama, helping with the dog park, south shore enhancements, and new playground equipment at all three beaches.
I continue to handle several things that were in my original job description. These include the weekly Prompt bulletin and managing our vendors that clean the beaches and campground restrooms. I manage the campgrounds and help manage the hunting program. I continue to handle all building code related items, including approving permits and working with the building codes committee. I attend LPA board and water safety committee meetings. When members have a question about an LPA rule, I typically am the guy to go onsite and meet with them to discuss whatever is on their mind.
Q. With your wide range of responsibilities and daily tasks, what do you see as the most important aspects of your work for Lake Panorama property owners?
A. I think there are three areas that are the most important. First is making sure LPA building codes are followed. I have been nicknamed “dream crusher” by the LPA board. I hope members realize I don’t get out of bed every day and look forward to crushing dreams of those who want to build things outside of LPA’s codes. I do it because I understand the importance of upholding Lake Panorama’s aesthetic integrity. A few small tweaks to the current codes could really change the atmosphere here, and it’s my job to help the membership understand that. At the end of the day, we want to maintain strong property values.
Second is my work on RIZ projects. I give a lot of credit to John Rutledge and the RIZ board for building the foundation under RIZ long before I started. Much of the work we are doing now is “forward focused” to give the lake important resources for years to come. Our watershed is so large, we will always have to dredge. It is unfortunate, but reality. I am constantly looking at new basin projects with our engineer team, along with wetlands upstream to catch sediment. Along with land development projects, I enjoy interacting with nearby landowners to talk about water quality initiatives and create relationships that will better serve both the owner and Lake Panorama for years to come.
Third is supporting the strong invasive species protocols LPA has in place. Invasive species prevention is something the security team enforces, but I have helped that endeavor in several ways. We came up with a new protocol for used docks and lifts entering the water. Since that new protocol, I have personally inspected at least a half dozen structures with visible mussels present on used lifts. These lifts are required to go through a process to be considered again. I also partnered with a Minnesota company to test annually for larval zebra mussels, called veligers. This is done to help LPA plan if veligers ever are present in our water. These mussels could cause serious harm to infrastructure like the dam, dredge, golf course irrigation and the marina.
Q. When you started working for the LPA, you lived in an apartment in Waukee with a former wrestling teammate. How has your personal situation changed since then?
A. There have been a lot of changes since 2019. I now own a home in Guthrie Center. I was hired as the head coach of ACGC wrestling and start my fourth year there this November. My most recent and greatest change came when I married my best friend, Kelsi, on Aug. 24. Our favorite thing to do is travel. We have now been to some incredible places like Banff, Canada, Mount Rainier and Olympic National Park in Washington, and were in Switzerland and Italy for our honeymoon. When I am not working or traveling, I am on my farm preparing for deer season.
Q. Any final thoughts?
A. Having a career that is both rewarding and challenging is important to me. Lake Panorama has offered both of those things in my first five years. I value my working relationships with my coworkers and the relationships I have built with many members across the association. I want to continue to take on more responsibility in my next five years, and beyond. I don’t see a shortage of challenges coming in the future and look forward to taking on whatever comes my way.