By David Rogers. BLOWING ROCK, N.C. — A light agenda greeted the two newly elected members of the Board of Commissioners, Wayne Miller and Melissa Tausche.
After swearing in newly elected and re-elected members of town council, including Miller and Tausche, as well as Mayor Charlie Sellers, the Board voted to appoint Commissioner David Harwood as Mayor Pro-Tem, then the Consent Agenda.
CONSENT AGENDA
- Budget Amendment
- Middle Fork Greenway Resolution of Easements – Town of Blowing Rock and Appalachian Regional Healthcare System
- Consent for Interim Town Manager W. Lane Bailey to sign closing documents for the Purchase of Land from the Blowing Rock Conference Center
PUBLIC COMMENTS
NONE
REGULAR AGENDA
- Approved the dates for the Winter Retreat, Jan. 26, 27, 28
- Approved Code of Conduct for members of Town Council
OFFICIALS REPORTS & COMMENTS
- Mayor Sellers thanked the town staff for their efforts in dealing with the recent snowfall as well as the holiday parade on Nov. 29
- Commissioner Doug Matheson offered notes from his Risk Management meeting at the League of Governments, including changes coming for retirement provisions in FY2027-28; bemoaned the number of lawsuits the state is facing as, “… getting out of hand”; making sure all insurance policies are up to date and that department heads are met with at least quarterly to ensure they know what is allowed and not allowed in the policies; and Senator Hall has selected a committee for studying property tax reform. “… looking to reduce the burden on homeowners without undermining local services.” There was no indication they were thinking about taking the (taxing) power away from the county or local governments.
- Town Manager Lane Bailey praised Public Works Director Matt Blackburn for his wonderful job managing the impact of the snow storm; he pointed out that later this week there would be an orientation session for the two new Council members, Miller and Tausche; has sent out an email to all council members about an Essentials of Municipal Governance class upcoming; reported that the Town had received a number of complaints about the parking situation at the post office, with the harsh penalties assessed by the property owner. He reported that the Town has no control over the parking situation, since it is a private lot serving a federal entity. He did say that they were reaching out to Congresswoman Virginia Foxx to see if she can intervene in any way; expressed how impressed he was with the high quality of the Town’s department heads and staff.
County Commissioner Todd Castle was also in attendance and gave a brief report on the county’s recent acquisition of Watauga Medics which should be finalized on Dec. 15. He reported that several new ambulances have been purchased and the county board hoped to have finalized a base station serving Blowing Rock in the near future.
The Council went into closed session at approximately 6:33 p.m., not expecting any decisions to have been made and adjourning promptly after coming out of closed session.
