Montreat Minute for August 7, 2026
Town Council Meeting Thursday, August 13, at 6:00 pm
The Montreat Town Council will meet for its monthly meeting next Thursday, August 13th at 6:00 pm in the Town Hall Community Room.The Public Forum precedes the Council Meeting, beginning at 5:30 pm. The meeting will be live streamed. Everyone is invited to attend. The agenda is available by CLICKING HERE. Streaming instructions are available by CLICKING HERE.
More on the Sanitation Ordinance
Last week we reminded everyone that the new sanitation ordinance requiring bear resistant trash cans and containment systems goes into effect on October 1st. Here is how the enforcement will work:
- Any container, portable or fixed, that is at curbside containing trash must be bear resistant.
- Non compliance to the ordinance will result in a graduated series of warnings and fines:
- First offense: written warning from Town staff
- Second offense: $200 civil penalty
- Third and subsequent offenses: $400 civil penalty per incident
- Third and/or subsequent violations are grounds for the suspension of trash pickup, in the discretion of the Town Manager
- If you store your trash in a closed storage area or locked garage and take it to the Convenience Center, your containers do not need to be bear resistant but they must not be placed at curbside.
checked by Town staff and deemed bear resistant.
How do you know if you have a bear resistant container? Have it certified! Email trash@townofmontreat.org and ask that your container(s) be checked and certified. Include your name and street address. If they are bear resistant, a “Bear Aware” sticker like the one above will be affixed to your container(s). If not, you will be emailed as to what you need to do to make the container(s) bear resistant.
Need help making it bear resistant? The Town has arranged with several private individuals who can make alterations to containers. They will bill you directly. To make arrangements, again email trash@townofmontreat.org.
If you have questions, email trash@townofmontreat.org or call 828/669-8002, ext. 1.
We’re pleased to share that our Hurricane Helene recovery efforts continue to make steady progress. Of the Town’s FEMA Public Assistance projects, all but two have now been obligated by FEMA. A “project” is not necessarily just one incident location. FEMA bundles similar projects together as a single project.
When a project is obligated, it means FEMA has completed its review, approved the project for funding, and set aside the federal funds for reimbursement. While obligation is a significant milestone, the Town must still complete the work and submit documentation before receiving reimbursement. Thus far, FEMA has obligated 23 different projects from the storm, many of which have been completed.
The remaining two projects for which we are awaiting obligation are our culvert repairs and embankment stabilization.
The culvert project entails eight different culverts around Town. The project is currently undergoing FEMA’s required Environmental Planning and Historic Preservation (EHP) review. This is a mandatory federal review for all applicable FEMA-funded projects to ensure the proposed work complies with environmental regulations and protects historic and cultural resources before construction can proceed.
Unfortunately, our request for FEMA assistance for the embankment failure repairs was initially denied. We submitted four individual sites with severe embankment failure and they denied all four. In general, FEMA has a very high threshold for funding embankment failures and does not typically approve these projects unless there is a demonstrated threat to critical infrastructure. The Town believes these projects meet that standard because of the risk posed to essential public infrastructure. The Town is working closely with an engineer to prepare and submit an appeal, providing additional technical information to support our request for funding.
We appreciate everyone’s patience as we continue navigating the FEMA process. While recovery takes time, each approved project brings us one step closer to restoring our community’s infrastructure and beauty.
Updates and Reminders
- Yesterday the Montreat Planning & Zoning Commission voted to recommend to the Montreat Town Council adoption of a Planned Unit Development (PUD) proposal by MRA for the lodge project. The Town Council will consider it at a future Council meeting. For more information, CLICK HERE for yesterday’s P&Z meeting agenda with detail about the request.
- The Montreat Tree Board will meet on Tuesday, August 11th, at 9:00 am in the Town Hall Community Room. The meeting will be live streamed. All are welcome to attend. For a copy of the agenda and streaming instructions, CLICK HERE.
- 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!
