By Lorraine Bennett
Staff Writer
Commercial cryptocurrency mining facilities are prohibited from establishing and/or operating in Hayesville.
So voted the Hayesville Town Council Monday evening, passing an ordinance applying the ban to both the town and the town’s extraterritorial jurisdiction.
The ordinance follows a position already taken by the Clay County commissioners. It further stipulates the Clay County building inspector will not issue any building permits, electrical permits or any other type of permits for the establishment or operation of any cryptocurrency mining facility.
The county had passed a prohibition against the dumping of any waste from crypto mining facilities into the Clay County Transfer Station.
Prior to Monday’s regular meeting the council held a hearing for public input on the cryptomining issue. There was none.
“This hearing is just to decide whether we like the county’s ordinance,” said Mayor Joe Slaton. “This ordinance has been before the county and now we’re adopting it for the city. They’re, the county, not going to allow any building permits.”
There had been speculation a cryptomining operation might be moved into a vacant building but such an effort would require additional electricity.
“You can’t get a power upgrade and that’s where it stops,” Councilman Harry Baughn observed.
One existing facility in the area might have had ample power for such an operation, but that building is no longer available.
The ban is already effective in the county and it will become effective in the town “when we pass it,” Slaton said. The ordinance was adopted by unanimous vote.
Cryptomining is a process where a network of computers, cryptominers, are used to validate crypto currency such as bitcoin. Such operations are energy intensive and generate considerable noise and environmental impacts.
New bike racks to go up soon
Sparking considerable interest at Monday’s council meeting was a new bike rack, pump and work station on display. The rack was one of five picked up recently in Raleigh by Joanna Atkisson. The racks came through a grant from the Department of Transportation.
Atkisson, a board member of the Clay County Communities Revitalization Association also acted in her capacity on the steering committee currently developing biking and pedestrian pathways in the area.
The bike racks likely will be installed near Town Hall, the library, the schools, the ball field and the recreation center.
Council members have been getting questions about Halloween on the square this year. Only a drive through the town square is planned by the Clay County Sheriff’s Department and the council has heard complaints that some residents don’t like a mere drive through. In the past, local businesses on the square distributed candy and other treats to costumed children.
This necessitated closing downtown streets early for the safety of trick or treaters.
“It does not bring business to the town because you shut the street so early,” Councilwoman Lauren Tiger observed.
The soaring price of candy is a consideration for business owners who dispense it, Councilman Austin Hedden noted.
The council took no position on the issue but agreed to discuss planning for next Halloween with incoming Sheriff Mark Buchanan, who takes over his position soon.
Atkisson and Historic Hayesville Inc.’s Sandy Zimmerman told the council about a new Building Outdoor Communities economic development initiative open to most far western North Carolina counties to develop plans for outdoor recreational and connectivity possibilities.
Atkisson and Zimmerman recently attended sessions in Boone where they learned technical assistance funds are available to help develop programs under the initiative. Atkisson said Hayesville already has plans in place and is developing a formal bike and pedestrian plan that would fit into the initiative.
Their presentation required no action on behalf of the town at this point “but we want the town and county involved,” Zimmerman said. A meeting is planned this week with Clay County Manager Debbie Mauney to discuss the initiative.
One of the strategic areas of the initiative’s focus might be improving the quality of life for the town’s residents. This could be achieved partly through developing pathways that promote connectivity, foster outdoor activities and support a recreational culture, the council learned.
“We need partners to determine our projects,” Zimmerman told the council members.
The initiative, which sounded not unlike the early steps Hayesville took in getting involved in the Small Town Main Street program, has the backing of the N.C. Department of Commerce.
“Creating Outdoor Recreation Economics program is a strategic planning and asset development initiative intended to assist communities to leverage abundant outdoor recreation assets available across North Carolina to bolster local economic vitality,” read a recent Webinar presentation by the N.C. Main Street and Rural Planning Center of the N.C. Department of Commerce.
Atkisson noted the N.C. General Assembly has designated 2023 as “the year of the trail” in North Carolina and she said the town’s bike and pedestrian plan dovetails nicely with that.
At the close of Monday’s council meeting Zimmerman said the town’s recent Steins and Wine event on the square was a success.
“Everybody with anything warm to sell sold out of it,” she said, recalling the chilly weekend. “We came out ahead.”
Renovations and upgrades at the Old Town Hall are almost completed and a new bakery and coffee and wine shop will be opening on or near the square soon, Zimmerman said.
After the regular meeting the council met in closed session and approved an offer on a vacant lot within the town limits with the hope of turning it into a park, the mayor said.