Lake is new county surveyor

Oct. 26—Howard County has a new surveyor.

Greg Lake, a longtime Surveyor's Office employee, was chosen to be the next county surveyor by Howard County Republican Committee members Monday at a party caucus.

Lake is filling a vacancy left by Dave Duncan, who resigned and retired at the end of September. Lake was the only candidate to declare candidacy for the vacancy, according to a Howard County Republican Party news release. He was sworn-in on Tuesday.

Lake joined the Surveyor's Office in 2004. Most recently, he has served as chief deputy surveyor and stormwater administrator.

"Greg has immense knowledge from his years of service as chief deputy surveyor and in county government that will undoubtedly contribute to his success in this position," GOP Chairwoman Jennifer Jack said in a statement. "Greg will make this transition seamless and continue the excellent work of the surveyor's office."

In a brief interview with the Tribune, Lake said he decided to run for the office to continue the work the office has done for the last 18 years, including performing more frequent maintenance on the county's open ditches and more proactive oversight of the county's regulated drains.

"It started with [former county surveyor] Jake Grimme, he's the one who hired me, who started improving how we function with the oversight of regulated drains," Lake said. "We've implemented several programs throughout that time period, and I just want to see that improvement continue."

Lake will serve as surveyor for at least through 2024, when Duncan's four-year term will end.

Lake, though, has ambitions to serve as surveyor for longer than that, telling the Tribune he plans on running for the Republican nomination come next year.

The Howard County Surveyor's Office has been busy with large-scale projects in the last few years.

In 2019, the county constructed a $1.1 million water basin just south of the Ivy Hills subdivision to capture and retain water before it enters the housing addition. During times of heavy rain, it was not surprising for the subdivision to experience flooding, and in some cases, white-water rapids.

Equipped with $3 million of American Rescue Plan money, the Surveyor's Office and the Howard County Drainage Board have embarked on a handful of drain reconstruction projects, including reconstructing the Martha Burge and the Windwood Park drains.

Tyler Juranovich can be reached at 765-454-8577, by email at [email protected] or on Twitter at @tylerjuranovich.