Montreat Minute for October 23, 2026
Don’t Miss Bulk Pickup This Tuesday, October 27th
Remember to place your bulk Items/white goods curbside for pick up on Tuesday, October 27th for the second and final pickup of the year. This free service is offered at no cost by the Town, except for a $15 per-item fee for mattresses, TVs, and computers.
Acceptable items include furniture, mattresses, appliances, electronics, carpet, toys, sports equipment, air conditioners, and water heaters. Please, no building materials.
Progress Made on Lookout Road Stone Bridge
No doubt you have noticed the work done recently on the Lookout Bridge over Flat Creek. Workers have removed the old fieldstone from the outside of the bridge sides and done other repairs in preparation for the next steps. Work crews are aiming for construction to start on Nov. 10 and we expect it will take two to three weeks to complete. But like everything done outdoors, final construction will depend on the weather as the mortar cannot set in freezing weather. Everyone looks forward to seeing the new “retro” look of the bridge that will be similar to the 1923 photo above.
An Update on Curbside Trash Pickup
Beginning Thursday, November 5th, the Town of Montreat will transition residential trash collection services to the new vendor, CWS. The Town will conduct its final regular trash pickup on Monday, November 2nd.
After that date, residential trash collection will move to Thursdays, beginning November 5th. Thursdays will then remain the regular pickup day.
Other important points:
- Thanksgiving Schedule: Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, trash collection will take place on Friday, November 27th, instead of Thursday, November 26th.
- The Town’s Convenience Center will remain open for residents.
The Town Council and staff appreciate everyone’s patience and cooperation as we make this transition and ask residents to plan accordingly.
Another Sanitation Note
Please do not put “non-household” items in the convenience center dumpster. Recently, staff found a large window screen, two heavily filled 5-gallon buckets, and some 2×4’s. Building materials are not considered household trash. A quick way to think about it: if it is contained in your kitchen trash can, it’s probably household trash. Anything else needs to go to the Buncombe County landfill.
The Mystery of the Gargantuan Water Leak!
You may have heard the story about the elusive Gargantuan Water Leak. The first indication that something was wrong was a few weeks ago when Public Works staff noticed the well pumps were working harder than usual to fill up the storage tanks. Then they saw the “gallons pumped” figures of the wells far exceeding normal levels. That is when they suspected there was a significant leak somewhere in Montreat.
So how do you find a leak with miles and miles of underground buried water lines and meters? You start looking mile by mile. That is exactly what Jarod McIntosh, the Town’s Water Specialist, and other staff began to do. For literally weeks they combed everywhere in Montreat using underground listening devices, digging in suspect areas, looking for unusual wet areas, and other creative approaches (divining rods?) to finding the leak. In the meantime, literally thousands of gallons of Town water were gushing out of a broken pipe somewhere in Montreat.
After weeks of frustration and no success, Jarod and an old “mountain” friend who was known for finding leaks like ours, came upon the leak. It was in one of the most heavily traveled areas of Montreat—Assembly Drive adjacent to the playground.
Jarod started digging and found a 3/8” hole in a pipe gushing water. Below the water line where the water was escaping was a huge hole four feet deep and as big as a truck hood where the water eroded the soil below. The water went straight down into the ground and never surfaced, which is what made it so hard to find.
Public Works Director, Barry Creasman, estimates that more than one million gallons of water were lost before they found the leak and stopped it. The Town’s aging water infrastructure was to blame for the leak. We are extremely grateful to our Public Works staff for their relentless efforts in finding and fixing problems like this that occur in our Town.
PHC Presents Dr. Mark Valeri on Patriotism, The American Revolution, and the Reformed Tradition tonight at 7:00 pm
Dr. Mark Valeri will be speaking tonight, Friday, October 23rd as the PHC 2026 Distinguished Lecturer on the Reformation. As part of the America 250 celebration, Dr. Valeri will be speaking on “Patriotism, the American Revolution, and the Reformed Tradition.” The event will be held in Upper Anderson at 7:00 pm. The lecture is free and all are invited to attend.
“Presbyterian colonists in America were among the most patriotic supporters of the American Revolution”, stated Dr. Valeri. “This talk will describe their participation in the rebellion and how their Reformed theological inheritance, from John Calvin on, shaped their political views. It will also describe how the Reformed tradition led them to criticize the new nation and reject assertions of a religious national identity.”
He is the Rev. Priscilla Wood Neaves Distinguished Professor of Religion and Politics and Professor of History at Washington University in St. Louis. He is one of the country’s leading authorities on how Protestant Christianity shaped early American society—and how early American society, economics, politics, and ideas about religious freedom in turn shaped Protestant Christianity.
Updates and Reminders
- 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 colorful fall weekend!
