Big issues face Lake Wylie. “There’s nothing too small” for Allison Love, either.

There are issues coming due any day, issues that may take months and issues, frankly, Allison Love probably can’t do anything about.

But she’s listening.

“It’s not a position,” Love told constituents Wednesday night at a meet and greet in Lake Wylie. “It’s a job. There’s nothing too small to call me about.”

Love was sworn in Jan. 3 to a four-year term representing Lake Wylie and Clover on York County Council. The next day she was listening to the wide range of concerns residents brought to a sit-down at Bagel Boat.

Tommy Haughton has worked with utilities in his River Hills neighborhood, even traveling to Columbia for past rate increase hearings by Carolina Water Service. He was eager to hear about the ongoing possibility of the county purchasing or replacing the private utility serving Lake Wylie.

“A lot of people in River Hills are really concerned about the water,” he said.

A service contract between the county and utility was to come due as 2017 arrived, but last year county leaders negotiated a six-month extension to further explore options.

“I’m really glad that they got the six-month extension,” Love said. “What that did is delay it until I could get here.”

Love has been gathering water and sewer rate data from surrounding areas, and is even hearing from customers of the same company just across the state line in North Carolina. She wants to leverage as much information as she can before she and Council make a decision.

“I believe in looking at every option and every solution,” Love said.

While she expects to update the community by month’s end on the county’s progress, the new Council member said she isn’t “100 percent sure that we have the right answer yet.” She does, though, expect plenty of activity in coming weeks.

“Something’s going to happen,” Love said.

Frank Keefe, who owns Bagel Boat, said he’d like to see more done to promote and bring in new business.

“We really don’t have any light commerce in Lake Wylie,” he said.

Which is part of a larger issue most all residents in attendance noted. If there are few jobs in Lake Wylie, he said, roads will remain slammed with people driving to and from them elsewhere.

“How are you going to reduce traffic if everybody has to drive to and from here?” Keefe said.

Haughton brought similar concerns.

“Everybody is concerned about the traffic,” he said. “I’m not sure what can be done about it.”

Love only sees so much the county can do. While road improvements through Pennies for Progress or and other programs can help with traffic in places, something as large and traffic-relieving as another bridge across the lake likely would have to be a state or regional transportation project.

“I don’t know that there is a solution for what we see here,” Love said.

The main reason she ran for Council was growth pressure, as land development near her home and elsewhere brought traffic and related problems. Love said “the over-everything that comes with over-development” is a problem, and one she intends to address through land use planning.

She vowed to be responsive to calls for help, something multiple residents Wednesday said isn’t always the case as issues can ping pong between government agencies without someone taking responsibility. Like when Rodney Robinson had issues with his Autumn Cove home, where residents say drainage and other problems have arisen.

“They don’t care,” Robinson said. “They just don’t care.”

Love is the first district representative voted to a four-year term, as voters in the fall upped terms from two years. She expects the added time to be full of topics to tackle in Lake Wylie.

“It’s not a little village,” Keefe said. “It’s getting bigger and bigger and bigger.”

This story was originally published January 5, 2017 at 6:29 PM with the headline "Big issues face Lake Wylie. “There’s nothing too small” for Allison Love, either.."