Mayor’s Summary of the February 12, 2026 Town Council Meeting

February 13, 2026

Greetings Montreaters,

It was a delight to be meeting on a night where the temperature was above freezing for a change!

My meeting summary follows below. I do these summaries so you know what is happening in our Town immediately and you don’t have to wait a month for the official minutes in next month’s agenda packet. If you want, you can view tonight’s meeting recording by CLICKING HERE.

Public Forum

  • Mary Standaert asked about the Public Comments three-minute speaking rule that is in the Rules of Procedure and that it was previously stated by Commissioners it was lifted. I stated that we lifted the rule a number of years ago to give people more opportunity to communicate with the Council. We will update the Rules as needed.
  • Town Manager, Savannah Parrish, gave a FEMA update. We recently received $99,800 of expense reimbursement. Unfortunately, we still have a few projects in excess of $1 million each that FEMA requires us to “up front” the cost to make the repairs before they reimburse us. We will work out solutions to complete the projects in as timely a manner as possible. Our FEMA consultant, Withers Ravenel, is working closely with Montreat in engineering, mapping, and surveying work to continue our efforts to secure funding for open projects.
    Commissioner Blake asked Savannah to provide an updated list of all FEMA projects and their status.
  • George Sawyer expressed his delight at seeing some hurricane restoration progress on Chapman Road. Additionally, he informed everyone of progress on Flat Creek Crossing, as grading began this week.

Council Meeting

After calling the meeting to order, I thanked the Public Works crew, including Barry Creasman, Mike Harrison, Jarod McIntosh, Drew Brown and Daniel Wiggs for their work during the recent ice and snow storms. They split up into 12-hour crews and worked throughout both weekends clearing roads, trees and everything else to keep us safe.

I also expressed sorrow in the recent loss of two special Montreat friends. Al Richardson, former interim Town Administrator and Clary Phipps, long time Montreat resident, passed away recently. We will miss them and offer sincere condolences to their families.

Public Comments

  • Mary Standaert told the Council that early voting for the North Carolina primaries began today. She also reminded us that Montreat will be holding municipal elections for three Commissioner seats in November, currently held by Commissioners Blake, Dasher, and Widmer.

Old Business- There was none

New Business

  • Savannah gave an update on Annual Stormwater Control Measures (SCM) Inspections, which affect both the Town and residents who have to have regular inspections of their stormwater control measures. Savannah will have additional information in weeks to come and will communicate with the 52 residents who have SCMs.
  • The Council discussed revisions to the Sign Ordinance as submitted by the Planning and Zoning Commission. After significant discussion, Council continued this item to the next meeting on March 12 in order to further study the ordinance revisions. We are extremely grateful to P&Z, especially Julie Schell, Gayle Sawyer, and Clay Hamilton, for their work on the revisions.
  • The Council approved a resolution naming Barry Creasman as Deputy Finance Officer.
  • The Council approved a resolution to proceed with the Helene Water Resiliency Project Resolution. This project, if Montreat is approved by the state, will help us improve the resiliency of our water system in the event of future disastrous events.
  • The Council approved a budget amendment transferring the $99,800 FEMA reimbursement funds into the FEMA working account and a smaller portion to the water fund.
  • Finally, we approved a resolution that “Old Man Winter shall not be permitted within the town limits of Montreat for the remainder of winter 2026.” Clearly, we’ve had enough. To read the entire proclamation, CLICK HERE.

Council Communications—There were none.

As I often tell you, we as a Council are blessed by your encouragement and volunteerism. 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,

Mayor Tim Helms on behalf of the Town Council

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