Mayor’s Summary of the December 11, 2025 Town Council Meeting

December 12, 2025
An older man with short white hair smiles at the camera. He is wearing a dark blazer over a light pink collared shirt and is posed in front of a plain white background.

Greetings Montreaters,

Even on this cold December night, we had a very good turnout for this, the last Council meeting of the year.

My meeting summary follows below. As you probably know, the official minutes with far more detail will be in next month’s agenda packet. But you can view tonight’s meeting recording by CLICKING HERE.

Public Forum

  • Ashley Manson gave a Tree Board report on some exciting projects. She first shared about a joint project between the Tree Board and the American Chestnut Foundation. At one point in history (prior to the Chestnut blight), Montreat had the highest concentration of Chestnut trees in the US. The Chestnut Foundation is keen on working with Montreat to rebuild a Chestnut tree population. The Foundation will be planting a few Chestnut trees and monitoring their health and growth. Then, if all goes well, they will then plant perhaps hundreds of Chestnut trees to create another Chestnut forest. She then told about a project with the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) whereby the NWF is providing a $10,000 grant for tree plantings in Montreat to help recover from the tree losses due to Hurricane Helene. Lastly, she announced the Landcare Festival and Arbor Day Celebration on April 11, 2026. Formerly the Native Plant Sale, the new Festival will broaden the scope of the previous event.
  • Savannah gave a FEMA update. We recently received $107,000 of expense reimbursement for repairs to Calvin Trail. She also announced that FEMA has “obligated” or guaranteed payment for rebuilding two pedestrian bridges at Arbor Lane and Texas Road. Our engineers have been working on plans for the bridges. This is exciting news and we will share more when information is available.

Council Meeting

After calling the meeting to order, the Commissioners amended the Agenda to add a Closed Session for discussion of a personnel matter and to Continue the Conditional Zoning Request and Public Hearing for Wade Burns’ property in the ETJ  to the January 8th Council meeting.

In my comments, I wished everyone a Merry Christmas and advised to stay warm in this cold weather that has no end in sight.

In the Town Manager’s communications, Savannah Parrish reminded everyone about the Montreat Police Department “drop in” gathering on Monday, December 15th, from 8:30 to 10:00 am at the Huckleberry. It is an excellent opportunity to get to know the MPD, ask questions, and be together. She also reminded everyone that the Town offices will be closed December 25th and 26th. She also mentioned that staff have gotten an early start and begun working on the ’26-’27 budget, which will begin on July 1, 2026.

Public Comments Summary

  • I gave Will Hamilton, son of Jim and Kristina Hamilton, an opportunity to speak on the Conditional Zoning Request that was Continued to the next meeting because Will traveled to Montreat from D.C. to speak on the issue, which was Continued.

The Hamiltons are opposing the Conditional Zoning Request for various reasons, the most recent being that the Site Plan presented at both the P&Z meeting and to this Board doesn’t match the actual property today, as Mr. Burns recently paved the driveway and put in asphalt curbing to direct stormwater, As a result, they will revise their testimony in January.

  • Jean Norris stated that she was almost as excited about the Town buying a new excavator as she was when she bought her first car! We appreciate Jean’s enthusiasm and support.

Old Business- There was none

New Business

  • Fran Noel, representing the Town’s auditor, Carter P.C., presented the Town’s 2024/2025 draft audit, giving highlights. Fran reported that the audit went extremely well and congratulated Rachel Eddings, Montreat Finance Officer, for excellent financial work and preparation. Highlights include:
  • The Town’s Net Position (Assets – Liabilities) was $8,869,137, a decrease of $194,742. The decrease was due to increased expenditures due to Hurricane Helene.
  • However, the Town’s Total Fund Balance (our “savings account”) increased to $2.5 million, a net increase of $259,300 over last year.
  • Tax collection was 99.9%, one of the highest of all municipalities in the area. We thank you for paying your tax bills!

The official Audit will be available soon and copies will be available online. When asked what grade she would give Montreat for their financials, Fran offered an enthusiastic “A”.

  • The Council approved a motion for a bank loan in the amount of $87,357 for the purchase of a 2025 Kubota excavator to replace the current defunct excavator.
  • The Council approved a budget amendment to appropriate FEMA payments in the amount of $107,265 to the Helene Recovery Fund, $10,000 of which will be used for the Kubota excavator loan.
  • The Council appointed the following individuals to the Stone Bridge Advisory Committee:

   Regular Members

  • Nancy Thomas
  • Mari Gramiling
  • Ellen Dean
  • Ken Shortridge
  • Beth Casper
  • Margaret Berry
  • Hugh Alexander

Alternate Members

  • Robin Melvin
  • John Casper

Council Communications

  • Commissioner Widmer, on behalf of the Montreat Adult Summer Club, thanked Town staff for their work and assistance in making the 2025 Holiday Gate Lighting a very memorable affair.
  • Commissioners Fouche and Dasher added comments about the Gate Lighting, with Commissioner Fouche stating that Commissioner Dasher’s banjo Christmas Carol sing-along was a highlight of the evening.

The Council then adjourned for a Closed Session to discuss a personnel matter. They then reopened the meeting and passed a motion to approve a contract with Allen, Stahl and Kilbourne, our Town legal counsel, to continue providing legal services in 2026 at a fee of $3,550 per month.

As we quickly approach the end of the year, I can’t help but be grateful to our Town staff and all of you for helping get to where we are today, just 15 months after the most devastating hurricane on record. Thank you for your patience, ideas, support, and friendship. It is an honor to be your Mayor.

If you have any questions, comments, or ideas, please write me at thelms@townofmontreat.org or call me at 828/669-3852.

Thank you again,

A simple, abstract blue line drawing with a looping curve on the left and a sharp upward loop on the right, resembling a stylized letter L or a loose signature.


Mayor Tim Helms on behalf of the Town Council

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