Weaverville – Weaverville Town Council heard from citizens on several issues during its regular monthly meeting on Monday night (October 25th).The first comments came from residents complaining about the loud music from Weaver House, an events and wedding venue on North Main Street. Cameron Patton, one of the Weaver House owners, also spoke, asking the town’s noise ordinance be “developed a little further. “Mayor Patrick Fitzsimmons agreed to have his staff look into the matter.
Under the consent agenda, the council approved the monthly tax report, several budget amendments for the Fire and Police Departments and Public Works. The agenda also included budget amendments for the community center, a Source Water Resiliency and Response Plan, setting a Public Hearing for November 22nd at 7 pm on Code Amendments regarding: flag lots and technical changes, appointed Weaverville resident Mark Endries to the planning board and passed a street closure for December 4th for the Christmas Parade.
Town Manager Selena Coffey then gave her report to the board, which started with her update on public Wi-Fi. She re-counted how she’d been working with vendors to provide the town quotes for public Wi-Fi on Main Street, Lake Louise Park & Community Center, and the Nature Park. Afterwards, she announced that Council-woman Dottie Sherrill had been chosen as Grand Marshal for the 2021 Christmas Parade. Topic then shifted on updating the council on the Woodfin annexation agreement and remote and hybrid meeting procedures. She also said that the November16th workshop would include the opportunity for public input on Phase II of the new community center, focusing on the recreation complex.
The council came to their discussion and action items. The first heard was from the Weaverville Tailgate Market seeking to use the new com-munity center for winter operations. Laura Jenkins, with the tailgate market’s board, asked the council to return to the community center after a nearly three-year absence. She also requested the fees for using the community center be waived as the COVID pandemic proved hard on the non-profit’s sustainability. Mayor Fitzsimmons said that “we always appreciate the fact that the tailgate market was present at the old com-munity center.” However, the council members were reluctant to say yes to the use of the new community center. Both Councilmembers Doug Jackson and Dottie Sherill had outstanding concerns about using the new community center. Jenkins said they were asking to be situated inside of the building since it was winter. The discussion surfaced several logistical questions and problems but, in the end, Fitzsimmons said the council wants the tailgate market to return. Fitzsimmons asked Jenkins to work with the staff towards coming to an agreement.
The board then got an overview of the fee schedule for the new community center and it was passed by the council. Next, the council decided they would no longer pursue a permanent easement with US Cellular for a tower located on town property. The town was looking for$300,000 for the easement, but US Cellular offered $270,000and the council was poised to take the deal but voted to suspend that effort and are now pursuing the annual fee of about$22,000 a year. As a stop-gap measure, the town also voted to make all local ordinances enforceable by criminal penalties.
The need for the vote, said Town Attorney Jennifer Jones, is because of justice reform laws that are coming from the state. The board moved on to a petition of sufficiency for the voluntary annexation of 25 acres of land off Ollie Weaver Road by Reese Lasher for Weavervegas LLC. Councilman Jackson asked Town Planner James Eller to expand on the word “sufficiency.” Eller and Jones said it was just to make sure the petition received contained the facts as stated. Councilman Jeff McKenna asked if voting for the petition obligated the town in any way. Eller said no.
Resident Doug Theroux commented during public comment that the board should not move forward until all the property for the project was acquired because the developer was counting on buying five acres from the Department of Transportation (DOT) to make the 25 acres. James Heinl, with the SaveIvyRiver.com group, was opposed to the project for the amount of water it would use. Warren Suggs, along with the developer, said the stated acreage, according to a state-li-censed surveyor, was already in the application and had nothing to do with DOT property. The council voted to proceed with the petition. The board then heard reports from the planning and finance directors before going into executive closed sessions.