Montreat Minute 02/12/2021

Mayor’s Meeting Summary of Last Night’s Town Council Meeting

Greetings Montreaters,

Once again, we had to resort to a virtual Town Council meeting for guests. The Council and several staff met at the Town Hall for the meeting. We streamed the meeting on Zoom. But if you missed it, we recorded it and posted it to our Youtube channel. CLICK HERE to watch the recording.

Here’s a summary of tonight’s meeting:

  • I called the meeting to order with all Commissioners present. We approved the minutes of the January meeting.
  • Public Works Director Barry Creasman gave an update on the Texas Road bank remediation project, up near the entrance to the pool. The contractor submitted a preliminary plan, which is quite similar to the solution used on Greybeard Trail. After some discussion, Barry was asked to talk to the contractor about other more aesthetic designs. Barry will report back.

Please CLICK HERE to read more…


Monarch Butterfly Pledge

As you may have read in the Mayor’s meeting summary above, the Mayor signed a Monarch Pledge Day proclamation, which was adopted by the Town Council last night. Sponsored by the National Wildlife Federation, the initiative is intended to raise awareness in communities and motivate residents to create habitats for the monarch butterfly and pollinators, and to educate residents about how they can make a difference at home and in their community.

Montreat already has a ‘jump start’ with the pocket park and rain garden at the Town Hall. Pollinator loving plants were added to the mix last year. And, the volunteer Town Hall gardeners, the ‘Gardeners of Weedin’”, will be initiating a fund raiser to create a unique butterfly garden in the pocket park.

To read the Mayor’s Proclamation, CLICK HERE. To learn more about Monarchs and how to attract them to your own garden, CLICK HERE.


Police Dispatch Services Changes

Beginning February 22nd, Montreat will no longer be receiving dispatch service support from Black Mountain. Instead, our dispatch services, including both emergency and non-emergency services, will be provided by Buncombe County. The change was brought upon due to a decision by Black Mountain to cease providing their own services, which Montreat contracted for, but instead contract with Buncombe County.

For all practical purposes, it will be a “seamless” change for Montreaters, except for one factor: the non-emergency telephone number. Continue to dial 911 for emergency services. But non-emergency calls should be directed to 828/250-6670 instead of 828-419-9350. Please make this change in your own personal records. Note that the old number is printed on the annual calendar, the Cottager Directory and even some refrigerator magnets that were previously distributed. Again, please make this change in your records. Backup police services, which have been provided by the Town of Black Mountain, will continue- as will our backup for Black Mountain. Although Montreat did not ask for the change, we will benefit with annual financial savings of more than $10,000 per year.


Updates and Reminders

  • We are grateful to our Public Works team for their excellent response to the snowfalls the last two Sundays. They were plowing and treating our roads in the early hours of the morning. We are fortunate to have such a dedicated crew.
  • The Montreat Tree Board will meet on Tuesday, February 23, 2021 at 9:30am. The location/method of meeting will be announced at a later time.
  • The Montreat Landcare Committee will meet on Wednesday, March 3 at 9:00am via Zoom.
  • The Town Council will meet for the annual planning retreat, Day 1, on Wednesday, March 3, from 1:00pm to 5:00pm at the Town Hall. Due to COVID restrictions, no visitors will be able to attend. However, it will be broadcast and recorded. Watch the website for additional information about accessing the broadcast.

Questions?

Do you have Town-related questions you would like answered? If so, please send them to Angela Murphy at [email protected] and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

Stay well and have a great weekend.