Montreat Minute 1/24/25

Town Hall to Reopen Tuesday
The Town Hall will reopen on Tuesday, January 28th, four months and one day after the hurricane flooded the east end of the building. Repairs have been made to the interior, while repairs to the pocket park and landscaping will be done in the spring.
Administrative staff will continue to be in the Public Works building until Tuesday. Until then, they will be organizing offices and other spaces in the Town Hall, so please call 828/669-8002, x1, to make an appointment, ensuring they are available.
Watch for news about a re-opening event.
Thank You for Your Donations but…

In October, we launched a campaign to raise relief funds to help recover from Hurricane Helene. Montreaters, friends, and total strangers generously responded. Nearly $229,000 was raised. Those funds, along with $250,000 of budgeted funds for the Texas Road Bridge replacement, were used to make repairs to roads, bridges, culverts, water lines and to collect fallen trees and other debris. We spent $20,000 in overtime to the public works and police department employees who were working significant overtime hours. Literally miles of water lines have been replaced at a cost of $181,000. Thus far, more than $500,000 has been spent on recovery efforts
Unfortunately, despite all that has been done, much remains. Engineers have identified six major projects requiring significant engineering and major rebuilding and remediation work. Additionally, we received a quote of nearly $400,000 to repair roads. In total, engineers estimate that the cost of repairs and remediation will reach $10 million. We have secured a no interest loan, $250,000 in grants, and are seeking FEMA and NC Emergency Management reimbursement. However, we are not sure how much will be repaid, not to mention cash flow issues prior to reimbursement. Town Council and staff are working diligently on other funding avenues.
Therefore, we are humbly asking Montreaters, friends and others to dig deep once again to help us recover and restore our beautiful town. CLICK HERE to learn how to make a tax-deductible gift. And thank you for your donations and prayers.
Please Be Aware

Everyone is aware that portions of Montreat (primarily in the vicinity of Flat Creek) are in designated floodplains. Because of this, the Town of Montreat participates in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), a voluntary regulatory program where participating communities regulate manmade changes to floodplain areas in exchange for property owners in the community being eligible to purchase federally backed flood insurance. Participation in the NFIP and regulation of floodplains also expands federal disaster and financial assistance to the local governments and its property owners.
Floodplain regulations control all manmade changes in floodplain areas, no matter how small or seemingly insubstantial. Should a community not enforce its floodplain regulations in the regulatory floodplain, it will be at risk of losing its ability to participate in the NFIP. As Montreat continues recovery and rebuilding following Helene, everyone in Montreat (including visitors, Town staff, residents, community organizations and partners, and all other community members) must be cognizant of making any manmade changes, no matter how seemingly insignificant, in the floodplain. This includes activities such as grading, replacing lost dirt/sand/other material, and replacing bridges, fences, and other structures.
For questions or more information, please contact Kayla DiCristina, Montreat Zoning Administrator, at [email protected] or 828-669-8002, x3. To view a map of the Montreat and surrounding area floodplains, CLICK HERE.
Updates and Reminders

- The Montreat Post Office is expected to reopen soon. Please watch for a Special Montreat Minute announcing the re-opening.
- Do you receive your own copy of the Montreat Minute or know someone who doesn’t? Sign up for the Sunshine List to receive the Montreat Minute and stay “in the know” about the Town’s happenings. CLICK HERE to sign up for the list!
- Do you receive Montreat Code Red alerts, an emergency communications system used a number of times during the hurricane? If you would like to be added to the list, CLICK HERE.
Questions or Comments?
Do you have Town-related questions or comments to offer? If so, please send them to Angie Murphy at [email protected] and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
Have a great weekend!