The Mitchell County Board of Commissioner re-appointed several county officials in its first meeting of the 2025-26 fiscal year recently.
The commissioners also discussed a number of issues relating to disaster relief from 2024’s Hurricane Helene (downgraded to a tropical storm after slowing down over land).
Debris
County Manager Allen Cook said that waterway debris removal is finishing up in Mitchell County. The county has been working to remove storm debris from rivers and creeks for some time now.
Cook said that there have been some difficulties slowing down the process of removing storm debris from private property, mainly involving federal regulations and red tape.
“We have submitted our private property (debris removal) packets,” Cook said. “They like to have 10 percent of your packets for an audit with FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) and then they approve the project. We submitted those packets about a month and a half ago and we’re still yet to hear anything about our private property debris projects moving forward.”
Hellbender Festival
Downtown Spruce Pine Director Spencer Bost spoke to the board about plans for the first-ever Hellbender Festival on Labor Day Weekend.
The festival, organized by the Downtown Spruce Pine organization (an affiliate of the nonprofit Main Street America), is named after the hellbender salamander that lives in the North Toe and Nolichucky rivers.
“The Hellbender has become a symbol of resilience in North Carolina,” Bost said. “We’re expecting around 3,500 attendees based on our past events. We’re planning a full day of live music, local art, river science, outdoor recreation and hands-on workshops.”
Tourism
Kelly Jones of the Tourism Development Authority spoke to the board about the future of tourism in Mitchell County.
“I’m finishing up my second year, still learning how to do this,” Jones said. “But thanks for keeping this a happy place.”
Jones noted that the TDA is taking over the visitors center at the North Carolina Mineral Museum, previously operated by the Mitchell County Chamber of Commerce.
“We kind of want it to look different, just so that we can make sure we’re spending our money wisely,” she said.