The county has the option to lease the area around Black Bear and add additional amenities for recreation.

“It is likely that an annual operation cost could be in the $50,000 to $75,000 range when maintenance and staffing are included,” said Wooten in a memo to the commissioners.

The county would be able to charge for the camping, but an employee would need to be hired to make sure the site is managed properly, he added.

These plans are conceptual and subject to change and there are more details to be worked out. Duke Energy representatives met with McDowell County in October to review the engineering plans and discuss a schedule for construction.

At this moment, Duke is in the engineering design phase and will begin permitting in the latter part of 2020. Construction could begin in 2021 and be completed by the end of 2022, if not sooner.

“It’s a large property and it’s a large project and we have tried to schedule this out so we meet those deadlines,” said Christy Churchill, project manager with Duke. “Duke Energy and McDowell County will need to consider coordination of construction activities to realize synergies and cost savings in contractor mobilization and closure downtime of access area.”