By Lorraine Bennett
Staff Writer
In a meeting lasting just over an hour, Monday the Hayesville Town Council spent a good deal of time discussing an upgraded vision of Town Hall and they named a Murphy lawyer as the new Hayesville Town Attorney.
Mayor Benita England said the town had joined with the county on an Emergency Medical Services Grant to help build a new EMS training center and also joined in a grant application to help upgrade the Transfer Station’s recycling center.
England said the EMS grant of $2,188,000, which has been awarded, will be transferred from the town of Hayesville to Clay County for this project. The town joined with the county in applying for a $5 million grant to upgrade the recycling center.
The council approved the appointment of Crystal Bryson as town attorney. Bryson, who has an office in Murphy, is a western North Carolina native representing clients in family law and other types of civil litigation, criminal defense and planning documents including wills.
According to her website, she practices primarily in Clay, Cherokee, Graham, Macon and Swain counties and in the tribal court of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
England said Bryson hopes to attend the Town Council’s February meeting. She will attend future council meetings on an as needed basis.
Planning and Zoning Administrator April England presented details on how funds may be spent from the $250,000 direct legislative grant the town has received.
In her Mayor’s Report, England told the council her focus this month has been trying to understand how far the grant funds will stretch toward completion of the “dream sheet” for upgrading town hall.
She said she has been meeting with electricians, flooring people, construction and technology representatives to help them understand the scope of plans for repairs and upgrades of the building. She said she hopes to get estimated costs within the next two weeks and go for bids.
Included in the plans are new flooring or carpeting, new doors, new painting, enhanced lighting, technology upgrades and possible enlargement of the council’s current meeting room.
When remodeling of town hall gets underway, possibly by late February or early March, the offices likely will need to be relocated for a short time, England said. She is in discussions with the Beal Center for some space as a temporary work area. She estimated the relocation time would be about four weeks.
“We won’t be able to function here,” England said. “I told them we just need a flat surface and Internet.”
Some projects already are underway. Contractor Tommy Davis and his crew have been refreshing soffits, gables and columns on town hall and the restrooms and they will be staining the planters at Hedden Alley soon, England said.
The Town of Hayesville received a bill from the Board of Elections for the recent municipal election. The actual cost exceeded the original estimate but the town was requested to pay only $2,000 with the understanding that in the future the town’s part would be half the total cost. That fee could be four times as much.
In other action, the council voted to change Curtis Street behind Sonya Silvers Realty toward Sullivan to a one-way street. Councilman Joe Slaton made the motion to approve, with Councilman Harry Baughn offering the second.
They voted to approve and order a bronze plaque commemorating the 150th year of the existence of Tigers’ store on the square. Baughn made the motion with Slaton seconding. Councilwoman Lauren Tiger recused herself from the voting.
Clay County has adopted an ordinance prohibiting commercial data centers and the council voted to extend the ordinance to include the Town of Hayesville.
Zoning Administrator England said she soon will undergo planning and zoning certified compliance training from the University of North Carolina School of Government.
Baughn said he applauded her intentions but he feared the certification would increase the likelihood she might be hired away from Hayesville.
Auditor Kaseson Hooper of Turner & Company CPAs in Murphy was on the agenda but did not attend the meeting. Town Clerk/Financial Officer Suzanne Hedden said she had talked with him and Hayesville had received, in her words, a “good, clean audit.”
Historic Hayesville Inc.’s Sandy Zimmerman told the council a fence at the Hayesville Post Office has been repaired.
She said she will attend the next Small Town Main Street conference in New Bern, N.C., scheduled for March and invited any council members to go with her.
The heating system in the HHI Centennial Exhibit building is undergoing repairs, Zimmerman said.
She announced upcoming events in Hayesville on Feb. 7, the second Mardi Gras parade and a St. Patrick’s Day event March 17 at Fat Dog Sports Bar and Grill.
Demolition of the Herbert Street building on the square is expected to start Monday, Jan. 19.
The next meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 9.