Mayor’s Summary of the June 12 Council Meeting

July 16, 2018

Greetings friends,

The June Council meeting combined social time with business. Here are the highlights of the meeting:

  • The Town Council hosted a “Welcome to Summer” reception prior to the Public Forum. Tasty food was served as Montreaters, both permanent and seasonal, took time to catch up with one another and greet those arriving for the summer. It was a fun time being with everyone. We promise more opportunities like this.
  • Public Forum questions/comments included lots of suggestions on Town Hall design, appreciation for Town staff during the recent flooding (they did a super job!), a question about road repair after the flood(see below), thanks to the Black Mountain Fire Department for their great work on the burning of the house on the new Town Hall property, and more. We really appreciate people’s questions and comments and encourage everyone to attend the Public Forums at 6:30 preceding the Council meeting.
  • Town Administrator Alex Carmichael gave an overview of the impact from Hurricane Alberto flooding. Primary damage was to roads and drainage culverts. Town staff is working on fixing the damage, but it will take some time due to the amount and extent. FEMA and State disaster response personnel have surveyed the damage. It appears that we will be completely reimbursed for the cost of repairs. Fortunately, no one was injured during the flooding.
  • Alex also displayed a flood evacuation route map in the event of a severe enough situation calling for evacuation. CLICK HERE for a copy of the map.
  • The Town Hall continued to cause a lot of discussion at the meeting. Several highlights:
    • The Request for Qualifications for a design/build firm was publicly distributed earlier this month. It will remain open until July 11, when we’ll review the submissions and, hopefully, begin the formal selection process.
    • We will also be hiring a part-time project manager to oversee the project and our interests.
    • As you may know, the new Town Hall property is not in the boundaries of Montreat. We have been working with Black Mountain and our state legislators to de-annex the property from Black Mountain and annex it to Montreat. We’ve made excellent progress and we’re hoping it will be resolved and made a part of Montreat before the legislature recesses for the year.
  • The Texas Road Bridge Aesthetics Committee continues to meet in its planning for the pedestrian bridge renovation. Please check the Town website for meeting dates and, of course, meetings are open to the public.
  • The major topic of discussion was the Montreat 2018-2019 Town budget, which begins on July 1. I’m happy to tell you that tax rates and water rates will not increase, for the eighth year in a row. Revenues/Expenses for the General Fund are nearly $1.9 million and, of course, we have a balanced budget.
  • Several other points of interest:
    • Richard Dubose, President of MRA, reported on the damage to Robert Lake Park, which may run as high as $100,000. He is optimistic that one portion of the playground will be open by the end of the month.
    • Bulk items/White goods pick up is scheduled for Tuesday, July 10
    • Stay tuned for news about a new Montreat Town website.
  • What’s going on in Montreat? Do you know? Sign up for the Sunshine List to get periodic emails about the Town of Montreat’s happenings. Email here to be added to the list!

Please let me know if you have any questions or topics you’d like to discuss. Write me at [email protected]or call me at 828/669-3852. I’d love to hear from you. Have a safe and fun 4th of July.

Thanks for your trust in us,

Mayor Tim Helms on behalf of the Town Council

Here is a listing of the formal actions taken by the Commission at the meeting:

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