Weaverville – The June meeting (June 24) was missing the 2024-2025 budget, which was discussed and passed in a 15-minute workshop on June 18. The $9.3 million budget had no property tax increase. Weaverville Fire Chief Scottie Harris was also appointed acting town manager in place of Selena Coffey, who is out on extended medical leave on advice from her doctor due to what Coffey told the Tribune last week was a “hostile work environment.”
At the regular meeting, the council continued to wrestle with the Maple Trace Annexation and short-term rental regulations, both of which were debated ad nauseam and yet again delayed for action at a later date.
In the consent agenda, the town made budget amendments to the police budget of $52,000 from Buncombe County for school resource officers, a grant for $5,000, and an insurance payment for damage to the police department. The consent agenda also included the Dry Ridge Historical Museum lease, the ADA transition plan update, personnel policy amendments –reclassifications/amendments to plans, and a couple of board appointments.
Then came the town manager’s report, given by acting town manager Scottie Harris. The report was short, and the council moved on to public comment.
The first to speak was Darla Letournean, who said town residents had taken notice of what had been happening to the town’s leadership and wanted to know what was going on. “Tonight, I ask council to be transparent with the public about what’s going on.” She cited resignations, the vice mayor’s stepping down, and the delay of a contract for the town manager. “We deserve to know what’s going on and why.” When she finished, the council answered without saying a word.
Other residents commented on the Maple Trace annexation, short-term rental regulations, and the need to relocate the pickleball court because of noise. This is after $25,000 has been spent on noise reduction for the courts.
As mentioned before, a deep discussion occurred on the short-term rental issue. After hearing from Town Attorney Jennifer Jackson, who could not guarantee that the regulations would not result in a lawsuit, the council put the issue off.
In Maple Trace’s discussion, the conversation mainly centered around the town, taking in the roads, which the council said are substandard and which testing, according to the town, has confirmed. The Maple Trace Homeowners Association (HOA) president and vice president were very passionate in their pleas to be accepting of the development and their roads into the town, even calling into question Public Works Director Dale Pannell’s impartiality in his opinion not to recommend the inclusion of the streets into the town’s system.
HOA President Jeff Nipet first blasted the credibility of the residents who spoke against the annexation in a public comment period, explaining how the roads were constructed and repaired. HOA Vice President David King criticized Pannell’s opinion that the town is being asked to come in and take over a “failing road system regardless of what Mr. Pannell says. I take issue with that…there’s more than one engineer, there’s more than one opinion.”
Councilman Doug Jackson was concerned about the language of the town’s lack of oversight over the repairs. Nipet said the town was welcome to come to oversee the work.
Councilwoman Catherine Cordell was adamant that this should not even be scheduled for a hearing, much less a vote. Nevertheless, a hearing was scheduled for the next regular council meeting, with Cordell being the single no vote.
The council passed an updated sign regulations “for better clarity, consistency, and legal compliance” and an updated code amendments to the recreation complex/playground, one of which bans guns in the recreation center and the playground of the town, saying that it does not ban guns at the lake and on walking paths.
The council then accepted a 9 Pleasant Grove Road waterline into the town system before hearing a quarterly report from public works and water and adjourning for the night.