Mariel Williams
editor@mitchellnews.com
The Spruce Pine Town Council voted last week to hire Christy Young as the town finance officer.
Young previously was employed by Mitchell County as a finance specialist. She will start work Thursday with an annual salary of $75,000.
The council also voted to appoint former Council Member Larry McKinney to the Planning Board.
YMCA work continues
John Boyd, president of Mayland Community College, spoke to the council about progress on the new YMCA facility and gave an update on MCC.
The new YMCA will be at the Three Peaks Enrichment Center, formerly the Pinebridge Coliseum, in Spruce Pine.
Boyd said that in order to move forward, the new facility needs an exemption from Spruce Pine parking requirements. Town attorney Chad Donnahoo noted that this request needs to go to the town’s Planning Board.
“We need to get an exemption from your ordinance — I think your ordinance calls for one spot per 200 people or 200 square feet,” Boyd said.
Boyd said that by getting agreements to allow parking from nearby organizations, the facility will have adequate spaces for those who use its services.
“We’re looking at the YMCA project being done sometime in May,” Boyd said. “I’m not sure when they would open, but it would be done sometime in May. I figured it’ll probably open sometime in June.”
Mayor Phillip Hise noted that the facility will be able to open debt-free.
The YMCA will house a variety of amenities, including a lobby with a coffee bar, multiple group exercise studios, multi-purpose basketball and pickleball courts, a wellness center, an indoor track, a Child Development Center, and an indoor Aquatic Center featuring two pools: an Olympic Short Course lap pool and a splash pool for children and families.
Boyd also said that the college has been working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to get past the impact of Hurricane Helene (downgraded to a tropical storm).
“We’ve had FEMA on campus all day today looking at different things. We’ve also raised a lot of money for students,” Boyd said.
Downtown Worship
The council approved a permit (pending insurance) for the fourth annual Downtown Worship event on May 28.
Walton Shepherd of L&L Furniture brought the request before the board. Shepherd thanked the council for its work for Spruce Pine.
“The best part about that being a downtown business owner, I know every single one of y’all sitting right here, you can pick up the phone and call, and if you don’t know the answer, like some of the questions we’ve asked, y’all have always followed up, so thank you for every single one of y’all, and thank you for what you do daily,” he said.
Shepherd said the event will feature the same speaker as last year, Brian Burgess of Clayton King Ministries.