Montreat Minute 9/6/2019

Council Meeting:  September 12

The September Town Council meeting will be held on Thursday, September 12 at 7:00pm in the Walkup Building. A significant agenda item is appointing a new Commissioner to fill the seat vacated by Bill Gilliland last month. As usual, the meeting will be preceded by the Public Forum at 6:30. CLICK HERE for a copy of the agendas. The Public Forum and Council Meeting will be broadcast live on the Town’s Face Book page: https://www.facebook.com/TownofMontreat Please come. All are invited.

Town Hall Progress Update

Contractors continue to make progress on our new Town Hall. Since last reported, the stone on the foundation has been nearly completed (and looks great, don’t you think?) and the concrete slabs have been poured for the front and back porches. Work has been completed in preparation for the pouring of the rest of the floor slab, which should begin, weather permitting, on Monday. Once the slab is poured and cured, framing will begin. Next week, the Town Hall Working Committee (Commissioners Fouche and Widmer, Town Administrator Alex Carmichael, and Owner’s Representative Rick Giles) will be meeting with the contractor, architect and decorator to make exterior paint and other selections.

We’re Number 1!

Ann Vinson, Tree Board Chairperson, recently learned that the North Carolina Urban Forest Council has selected the Town of Montreat as the recipient of the Tree City USA 2019 Award for the entire state of North Carolina! Ann will be receiving the award on behalf of the Town on September 26 at the Urban Forest Council’s annual meeting. Congratulations to those involved with the Tree Board, Town staff and everyone who cares about our Montreat trees. More to come after the award ceremony.

Bad News for Ash Trees

As many have noticed, several Ash trees were removed from around the Moore Center and in front of Assembly Inn. These removals were due to an infestation of the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB). While Ash trees are not as common in Montreat as other tree varieties, they do exist on both public and private property. EAB moves quickly and, unfortunately, there is no effective treatment for the insect. If you see signs of dying leaves and abnormal decay to the tree, call a local tree service or arborist for an evaluation and action plan. Infested trees are endangerments to homes, other property and passersby. Plan on having diseased trees removed quickly.

That’s it for now. Have a great weekend