By Lorraine Bennett
Staff Writer
The Hayesville Town Council was in a clean up and repair mood at Monday evening's regular meeting. Council members voted to approve internal repairs on Historic Hayesville Inc.'s Centennial Exhibit Building at 116 Sanderson St. to make the building safer and more welcoming to the public.
They also voted to place a dumpster at 211 Church Street to begin cleanup of a property between Truett Baptist Church and Chatuge Family Practice. The owner of property on the site has ignored repeated Town Council letters and requests for cleanup. The council voted to move forward on taking steps to clean up what they said is an eyesore.
HHI’s Board Chair Sandy Zimmerman and board members Tommy Davis and Stu Jenner appeared before the council. Davis told the council HHI will pay for work at the Centennial Exhibit Building which will begin with some internal remodeling.
“We’re asking permission to do some upgrades and remodeling in the quilt barn and garage areas. Some of the wiring is a fire hazard. We want to remove some of the wiring. We need to have all of the electrical checked out,” Davis said.
“We need smoke detectors and we need to clean up the garage area. We’ll be funding it ourselves but we would like some help, maybe in replacing some windows and doors. We want to try to keep the historical value of the building but make it more presentable to the public.”
Changes during the summer would be mostly cosmetic, Davis said, but more extensive interior work could take place during winter months when the building is closed.
Zimmerman said the exhibit is scheduled to open to the public by early April.
The council gave permission for the upgrades to begin at once.
“I don’t see an issue with cosmetic upgrades,” Councilman Austin Hedden said.
“I agree the electrical needs to be done right away,” Mayor Joe Slaton agreed.
Councilman Harry Baughn made the motion giving the HHI board the green light for cosmetic and electrical upgrades. Hedden offered the second.
HHI board member Jenner asked if this town council gave approval for the upgrades and the town council’s makeup changed in the future would HHI still be permitted to use the building. The town owns the building and donates the space for HHI offices and exhibits.
“You don’t want to invest and be evicted later,” Jenner observed, wondering what might happen if a future town council decided to sell the building.
The council agreed to take under advisement whether a legal agreement is needed with HHI for long term use of the building.
The council voted for Slaton to send another request to the Clay County Fire and Rescue Department to remove old equipment stacked in the garage area and give a deadline to do so. If no response is forthcoming, the council voted to get a dumpster and clean it out.
Among other topics discussed at the council meeting, Slaton said an electrician has promised to meet a March 27 deadline to have the electric vehicle charging station up and running. The electrician has had some medical issues, Slaton said. Parts for the charging station are on site but some panels need to be reworked to meet capacity to run the chargers, he said.
Zimmerman gave the council copies of Historic Hayesville Inc.’s annual assessment, which must be reported to the National Main Street America Headquarters. The report rates the activities of HHI and noted good accolades for the state, she said.
The council approved two Department of Transportation requests for property easement and right of way acquisitions at Mayor’s Park. DOT will pay the town $1,400 for the easement and $2,000 for the right of way acquisition.
Councilwoman Lauren Tiger made the motion to accept purchase of the easement. Hedden made the motion to accept the right of way purchase.
Zoning Administrator Ron Wallace said the issue of short term rentals in Hayesville remains tabled because the N.C. Legislature has yet to move on the issue.
Slaton reported daffodils planted by the Master Gardeners are sprouting near Town Hall, a sure sign of spring.