By David Rogers. BLOWING ROCK, N.C. — Blowing Rock’s Town Council made short work of an abbreviated agenda for its regular monthly meeting on Oct. 14.
After public comments, Town Manager Shane Fox recognized town employee Tim Everhart’s 40 years of service to the town, in Public Works. Fox rattled off a number of descriptors that co-workers and town staff members have used to characterize Everhart before presenting a plaque, received by Everhart’s co-workers representing him since he was unable to attend due to an illness.
The one agenda item was the acceptance of a bid from Mountain Crest LLC (Lenoir), for the permanent repair project for Valley View Road at the intersection of Old Orchard Road, the site of a catastrophic slope failure caused by Hurricane Helene on Sept. 27, 2024. Described as a particularly complicated project, the Town worked with FEMA and the town’s engineering firm, McGill & Associates, to develop a comprehensive scope of work for the permanent repair of the slope failure (approximately 300 feet wide) and road access.
In the initial bid opening on Sept. 25, the Town had received only one bid (from Mountain Crest LLC), so the project was rebid as required by Town policies. On the second bid opening of Oct. 9, there was still only one bid, from Mountain Crest LLC, in the amount of $985,000.
The Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to award the contract to Mountain Crest LLC so work could begin.
Among the public speakers was Tricia Aiken, a resident of Heather Ridge Lane, who articulated an ongoing problem with speeding and volume of traffic on Green Hill Road. She described the area as a residential neighborhood without sidewalks along a narrow Green Hill Road. She reported that a number of people, including herself, walk the streets either by themselves or with dogs. She recounted one neighbor who recently had his mailbox sideswiped and ripped away. Much of the traffic, she said, is comprised of construction-related trucks and people using Green Hill Road as a cut-through or shortcut to U.S. 321, near the Green Park Inn. She asserted that the previous traffic study (2021) was incomplete because it only focused on that portion of Green Hill Road that is within the town limits and did not include the northern half of the road up to the Blue Ridge Parkway. She suggested that the only logical solution is speed bumps in asking for the Town’s help with the problem and its related dangers to her and her neighbors.
The Town Council went into closed session at approximately 6:36 p.m. No decisions were expected in coming out of closed session.
