Montreat Minute – May 2, 2025

May 2, 2025

Town Council Meeting Thursday, May 8, at 6:00pm

Circular seal for the Town of Montreat, North Carolina, featuring a brick archway labeled Montreat, trees, and the year 1967 in the center, with the town and state name around the edge.

The Montreat Town Council will meet for its monthly meeting next Thursday, May 8th, at 6:00pm in the Town Hall Community Room.The Public Forum precedes the Council Meeting, beginning at 5:30pm. Everyone is invited to attend. The agenda is available by CLICKING HERE.

The meeting will be live streamed. CLICK HERE for streaming information.

More Foreign Objects Found in Brush Piles- New Rules in Force

A close-up of several wooden planks and logs lying on the ground outdoors, with a wasp resting on the top plank. Some wood appears weathered and decayed, while grass and twigs are visible around the pile.
Wood boards with screws found in a brush pile yesterday

Unfortunately, foreign objects, including wood boards, metal and Styrofoam, have been found in curb-side brush piles. Last month, we reported that a metal bar was mixed into a brush pile and totally destroyed the $30,000 woodchipper the Town purchased last year. Even more alarming, metal rocketed out of the chipper and narrowly missed hitting Public Works Sanitation Worker, Drew Brown. Fortunately, the foreign materials were found this time and no damage was done to the new replacement chipper purchased two weeks ago.

Restating brush pickup standards, please:

  • Cut limbs to 6-foot lengths, not more than 6 inches in diameter
  • Stack all cut ends in one direction
  • Limit brush piles to 1 cubic yard in size (about the size of a small pickup truck load)
  • Do not include debris, boards, metal, invasive species, or other foreign material in with brush

Effective immediately, if foreign material is found in a resident’s brush pile, it will not be collected and the resident will be notified of the infraction. If multiple infractions occur, the resident will lose the privilege of brush pickup. If equipment is damaged due to foreign objects in the brush pile, the resident will be responsible for the cost of repair.

If you employ others to do yardwork, please inform them of the brush pickup standards. Thank you for abiding by the brush standards so we can continue this free privilege for residents.

Rain Barrels Offered by Buncombe County and RiverLink

A black rain barrel with an attached hose sits on concrete blocks beside a house, collecting water from a downspout. Yellow flowers and green plants surround the barrel.

Due to our proximity to the Upper Swannanoa Watershed, Montreat residents are eligible for a low cost rain barrel. This opportunity is made possible by Buncombe County’s Clean Water Fund grants and focused on communities that are near the Upper Swannanoa River. The barrels, provided by RiverLink, are 50 gallon Ivy Rain Barrels made in N.C. from recycled plastic. RiverLink is offering these rain barrels for $37.50 to Montreat and Black Mountain residents, about a quarter of the cost from traditional retail outlets.

Supplies are limited. Fill out this form before May 5th.

Buncombe County Wants Your Thoughts

A promotional graphic for Buncombe County with mountain scenery, the county seal, and text reading “Envision Buncombe / Visualiza Buncombe,” plus a message about recovery and resilience in English and Spanish.

As we know all too well, Tropical Storm Helene left its mark on Buncombe County and its municipalities. While the storm has passed, questions remain: How does a community recover stronger, better, more resilient? How are all voices heard to make sure no one is left behind? 

Before the storm devastated many parts of our community, Buncombe County Commissioners were working to shape strategic priorities for the next five-year Strategic Plan. In the wake of Helene, those priorities may look different.

Because of the storm, Buncombe County is launching Envision Buncombe—a community-wide opportunity to shape long-term recovery together. A brief survey has been developed to share your needs and priorities. Take the survey by CLICKING HERE. The survey takes only five minutes. It will help shape long-term plans for the area.

Hemlock Treatment Completed

A group of about twenty people stand outdoors on a dirt path, posing and smiling for a photo. Some hold a sign that reads Wenlock Restoration Initiative. They are dressed in outdoor gear and surrounded by lush greenery.

The Montreat Tree Board and the Hemlock Restoration Initiative (HRI) collaborated to protect some of our beloved hemlocks from the invasive Wooly Adelgid on April 29th.

After an educational session, 13 volunteers treated over 125 town trees along Assembly Drive under the close supervision of HRI specialists.

The project could not have been possible without the volunteers and donors, especially the support of Joe and Mary Standaert. If you missed this round, there will be more treatment days coming.

Did You Know?

Text on a blue and green gradient background reads Did you know? with a large question mark behind the words.
A vintage postcard illustration of Geneva Hall in Montreat, North Carolina, showing a large yellow building with white trim, surrounded by tall pine trees, under a blue sky with scattered clouds.
Geneva Hall, constructed in 1913 to house missionaries

If you spent much time in Montreat during the summers from 1944-1982, you probably remember the missionary families who were here for training before departing for the mission field. Their commissioning ceremony, held on the closing night of the World Missions Conference, was a highlight of the summer. You probably also ventured into the World Missions Building (now the Way Out), where each room offered exhibits depicting life in the various mission fields of the PCUS.

Missionaries had been coming to Montreat since the first ecumenical Mission Conference, held in 1901. Beginning in 1907, the Mission conferences were sponsored by the PCUS and missionaries on furlough attended every year, offering insightful lectures to attendees and conducting small classes for future missionaries.  Geneva Hall was constructed in 1913 particularly to house missionaries and other church workers. During World War II more missionaries than ever attended since they had been forced to return home (especially those in Asia). 

Beginning in 1944, the missionary orientation program coalesced in Montreat and became more formal. In 1945, an important addition was a course in phonetics and linguistics. The armed forces had discovered that the science of language study was a critical element to teaching specific languages to individuals in a relatively short amount of time. That year, in a 17-day program, the appointees spent two hours each day studying phonetics, two hours focusing on the language of their target country, and an additional hour in more general orientation.  Within a few years the Institute grew to six weeks, and then to seven, with greatly expanded content.

The World Mission Conference in the early 1960’s attracted over 1,000 people. Gradually, though, registration dropped; only 408 people registered in 1980. The format of the conference began to shift, focusing more on world issues and less on the role of missionaries. Fewer missionaries at home on furlough attended. The old format of the conference simply didn’t work and reunification in 1983 dictated significant reassessment across all the work of the church. Missionary training was relocated to different cities around the US and the commissioning ceremony shifted to the annual meeting of the General Assembly.

Thanks to the Presbyterian Heritage Center, especially Nancy Midgette, for this glimpse from the past. Stop by the PHC for additional Montreat missionary history and so much more. Have an idea for a future “Did You Know?”? Let Nancy know at midgette@elon.edu.

Updates and Reminders

A hand is writing the word REMINDERS in black marker, with a red underline, on a white background.
  • Professional Municipal Clerks Week, May 4 -10, Help Celebrate Town Clerk Angie Murphy!
  • Landcare will be meeting on Wednesday, May 7th at 9:00 a.m. in Town Hall. Agenda and Streaming Instructions can be found here
  • Interesting news about the Montreat Minute: The weekly Town newsletter was first published in September of 2018. Since then, more than 300 issues of the MM have been published. The newsletter gets into the digital mailboxes of nearly 1,200 people. Thank you for reading it and let us know if you have any story suggestions.
  • 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 Redalerts, an emergency communications system used a number of times during the hurricane and wildfires? To learn more about Code Red or 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 info@townofmontreat.org and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

Have a great weekend!