Montreat Minute – June 13, 2025
Mayor’s Summary of the June 12, 2025 Town Council Meeting
Hello Fellow Montreaters,
It turned out to be a beautiful evening after the rainfall and we had a good crowd for tonight’s meeting. My meeting summary follows below. Remember that the official minutes will be in next month’s agenda packet. And, you can view tonight’s meeting recording by CLICKING HERE.
Public Forum
- Elizabeth Hamilton acknowledged the efforts of the Tree Board and volunteers in its efforts in the recent hemlock restoration. A hearty group of volunteers treated hemlocks in the Town right-of-way along Assembly Drive. Donor gifts bought the treatment supplies to save our hemlocks. George Sawyer, Chair of Landcare, in turn thanked Elizabeth for her work organizing this special effort.
To read more, CLICK HERE
Clean Water!
Once again, we are pleased to report that Montreat has good, clean drinking water as assessed by required water testing and reporting standards. The 2024 Annual Drinking Water Quality Report may be accessed by CLICKING HERE. Please read the report to find out the sources of our water, what the EPA wants us to know about drinking water, characteristics of our water, and much more.
As you may know, there are some peculiarities about Montreat water. Here’s the background: Every summer and other popular seasons when the Town population increases, water demand increases as well. With the increase comes a unique aspect to our water: air bubbles, which create initial “milkiness” to the water. An explanation follows, but first a quick primer on how the water system works.
Our water comes from 11 wells situated throughout the Town, from down by the gate all the way up to the extra territorial jurisdiction (ETJ) off Greybeard Trail. Water is treated from each well then distributed either directly to homes and other dwellings/buildings or pumped into storage tanks located on Appalachian Way and Harmony Lane. The tanks provide water when demand increases. When populations increase in the summer and other popular seasons, significantly more water is drawn through the system. Pumps work overtime, with air getting in the water caused by the pumping action. Because demand is great, the bubbles do not have an opportunity to dissipate, and they end up in your water glass. Within seconds they disappear, but not without first causing a bit of consternation.
But as mentioned earlier, our water quality is high and those bubbles won’t hurt you. Our water is tested monthly by an independent laboratory, with results reported to the State and Montreat governments. What happens with the air bubbles is simply unique to our situation and has no effect upon water quality.
Please know that it is our independent well water system that allowed the town to have water within 10 days of Hurricane Helene, with the water boil advisory lifted a week later. Surrounding communities including Black Mountain, Asheville, Woodfin, and Weaverville were without water for as long as two months.
Many thanks to our staff responsible for water and water quality, especially Jarod McIntosh and Barry Creasman.
MPD Offering CPR Class
The Montreat Police Department is offering a free CPR class for Montreaters on July 10th from 9-11am in the Town Hall Community Room. The class will be taught by Montreat police officer Justyn Whitson, who is certified by the American Heart Association (AHA) to teach Basic Life Support, Advanced Cardiac Life Support, and Pediatric Advanced Life Support classes.
If you have not updated your CPR training in at least five years, take the course to learn the new updated CPR procedures.
Although the class is free, if you want to be certified, there is a $20 fee for certification, which Justyn recommends. To register, write Justyn at jwhitson@townofmontreat.org. We thank the MPD for offering this extremely important class.
New Montreat Coloring and Activity Book Available
A new Montreat coloring and activity book, Color Me Joyful Montreat, has been published by Montreat resident, Ann Neel. The imaginative book is ideal and loads of fun for adults and children. But the real story is that Ann is donating proceeds of book sales to the Town for Hurricane Helene relief efforts.
Books may be purchased through Amazon for $14.99 + tax and shipping. CLICK HERE to purchase. Or they may be purchased directly from Ann for $15 even by emailing her at annhneel@gmail.com or texting 803-448-3004. She will also be selling the books at the Post Office during the Cottagers July 4th BBQ ticket sales starting June 23rd.
We are most grateful to Ann for her generosity in donating the proceeds to Montreat hurricane relief.
Montreat Adult Summer Club Announces Summer Speakers
The Montreat Adult Summer Club has announced its lineup for its July summer speaker series starting on July 9 for three successive Wednesdays. Here’s the schedule:
July 9: David Fleming, author of Who’s Your Founding Father? David will speak about his research in uncovering the first true Declaration of Independence, often referred to as the Mecklenburg Declaration.
July 16: Righton McCallum, Montreat’s own Scottish expert, will share her knowledge about Scottish migration and life in the United States and, particularly, in Western North Carolina.
July 23: Gary Overton, a retired executive in the exciting Nashville country music scene, will provide an Insider’s view of the Nashville Music Industry, including his experience as head of Sony Music Nashville and EMI Music, as well as so much more.
Summer Club programs are free and begin at 2:30pm in Upper Anderson,followed by refreshments. Put these dates into your calendar now.
Updates and Reminders
- The Presbyterian Heritage Center continues to offer a weekly writing class: “Stories from the Storm” every Wednesday from 2;30-3:30pm in June and July at the PHC, 318 Georgia Terrace. CLICK HERE to register.
- 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 Angela Murphy at info@townofmontreat.org and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
Have a great weekend!
