The Spruce Pine Town Council voted to spend $500,000 on land to house the Public Works Department at its regular meeting last week.
The vote was unanimous. Mayor Phillip Hise recused himself and left the room for the discussion, because he is related to the current owners of the land.
“That property is some property that my daughter and son-in-law own,” Hise said after the meeting. “And I’m not being involved in any way with the discussion or the purchase of it.”
The old Public Works facility was flooded last September.
Crime in Spruce Pine
Police Chief Kasey Cook gave a report on public safety in recent weeks.
“The call sheet for last month, 509 calls, that’s a lot,” Cook said. “I mean, that’s close to almost double what we usually have.”
Cook said that in general crime public safety needs have been increasing in town.
“It’s been ticking up, ticking up with crime and everything,” Cook said.
Cook said that plans to hire a new officer in August will help, but that it will be struggle to wait that long with current staffing needs.
Oliver Anthony proceeds
Downtown Director Spencer Bost said that currently, costs exceed revenue from the recent Oliver Anthony concert on Lower Street, which was meant to be a fundraiser for disaster recovery. The shortfall is around $4,500.
However, Bost said that there is a possibility that an incoming donation of 100,000 British pounds (approximately $133,000) will more than make up the difference.
“We’re getting money,” Bost said. “It’s just not the way we thought. But I’m just thankful that I’ve got some numbers now and that we’re talking to them.”
The donation in question is coming from an anonymous donor in Britain.
Riverside Park
Public Works Director Travis Phillips said that his staff has been helping the Parks and Recreation Department with some storm cleanup efforts, particularly in Riverside Park, which also flooded in September.
Phillips said that he has been testing the park soil to see if it’s time to begin replanting efforts.
“The soil on the ball field side will grow grass,” Phillips said. “The soil on the other side will not.”
Finance report
Finance Manager Christy Young said that the town is beginning to receive significant reimbursements from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for disaster recovery expenses.
“FEMA reimbursements to date, we have a total of $4.8 (million) and some change that we’ve had in reimbursements thus far, which I think is amazing, considering it was just in the last probably three or four weeks that we started getting that money trickling in,” Young said. “Little by little, we’re starting to get some of this money coming back in and helping meet some of our obligations.”
During Young’s presentation Spruce Pine Town Hall experienced a blackout that interfered with the livestream of the meeting online.
Downtown flood damage
Local business owner David Niven came before the council during the public comment period to thank the town for the work being done to clean up Lower Street (Locust Avenue) and other flood-damaged areas.
“I’ve asked a lot out of this town; we’ve asked a lot of these people out of this town,” Niven said. “We’ve got a long way to go, but I want to say thank you.”
Niven’s business, DT’s Blue Ridge Java, is located on the part of Locust Avenue that flooded last September.
Closed for the holiday
Spruce Pine town offices will be closed on Monday, May 26, in recognition of Memorial Day.
Offices will reopen on regular schedule, Tuesday, May 27.
Mitchell County and state government offices will also be closed on May 26.