Montreat Minute for December 12, 2025
Mayor’s Summary of the December 11, 2025 Town Council Meeting
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.
For the rest of the meeting summary, CLICK HERE
MPD “Meet and Greet” on Monday
Don’t forget to come to the Montreat Police Department “Meet and Greet” on Monday, December 15th, from 8:30 to 10:00 am in the Huckleberry at the Moore Center. Come ask questions about safety issues in Montreat and learn what is being done to protect Montreaters. Free coffee will be available!
One additional session is planned for January 15th, 2026, at the home of Elizabeth and Clay Hamilton at 160 Maryland Place
All are welcome to attend.
Town Audit Shows Excellent Results
As noted in the Mayor’s Meeting Summary above, the Town has received a preliminary copy of the 2024-2025 financial audit, as required by state law. The results are extremely positive despite the challenges Hurricane Helene has brought on. At the Council meeting, Fran Noel, representing the Town’s auditor, Carter P.C., reported highlights of the Town’s 2024/2025 draft audit. 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.
The official Audit will be available shortly and copies will be available online.
Updates and Reminders
- Did you know that you do not need to use paper compostable bags for your leaves anymore? You may place them in plastic bags as well. But just make sure the only thing going into the bags is leaves!
- The December meeting of the Montreat Board of Adjustment has been cancelled as there were no agenda items.
- Do you receive Montreat CodeRedalerts, an emergency communications system used a number of times during the hurricane and wildfires? To learn more about CodeRed 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.
