Black Mountain leaders identify 2024-25 priorities

Town council sets new goals in annual budget retreat

Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
January 22, 2024

Town of Black Mountain officials gather, Jan. 20, in a conference room at Christmount Assembly, as the town holds its annual budget retreat to determine priorities for the 2024-25 fiscal year. Photo by Fred McCormick

A weekend retreat, attended Jan. 20 by Town of Black Mountain elected officials and department heads, featured five hours of exercises and discussions designed to identify priorities for the upcoming fiscal year. 

The meeting, held in a conference room at Christmount Assembly and facilitated by Warren Miller of advisory firm Fountainworks, shaped the foundation of the 2024-25 budget planning season. 

Improvements to Lake Tomahawk, new sanitation trucks, development of new communication strategies and examination of downtown parking availability and policies emerged as areas to address in the next budget, which will be presented in the spring and adopted in June. Town council members also directed staff to continue working on five current priorities addressed in a similar retreat last year: implementation of the recreation and parks master plan, providing trash and recycling carts to all residents, replacement of aging fire department vehicles, development of properties donated to the town and the assessment of current town facilities.

The retreat, held each winter since 2022, functions as a strategic planning session in which no official town council action is taken, allowing elected officials to provide direction to town administration before the budgeting process begins. The morning agenda included a review of accomplishments in the 2023-24 fiscal year and exercises inviting the mayor and town council members to consider the experience of citizens living in Black Mountain.

Strategic focus areas were identified in the second half of the workshop.

Elected officials, last December, adopted a 10-year comprehensive parks and recreation master plan, which proposes a $34.3 million investment into a range of recreational projects through 2032. A full-time community garden manager position, one of many recommendations in the plan, was established in the current budget.

Town council members also touted the purchase or recycling carts, a new fire apparatus and the completion of a feasibility study and start of the master planning process for approximately 51 acres of adjacent land donated to the town in the 2017 and 2022.

While current and future residents of Black Mountain are attracted to amenities, including indoor soccer and a town-owned golf course, increased demand for recreation facilities and public safety represent “growing pains” for the town of approximately 8,500 residents, according to elected officials.

“We get a lot of requests for more recreational facilities, like pickleball and tennis courts, there is never enough,” Pam King said. “I respect those requests, but we also have to look at public safety, even though it’s not always fun to talk about police vehicles and fire trucks. It’s all a balancing act.”

The municipality remains “a work in progress,” according to council member Ryan Stone.

“We’re always trying to get a little bit better, no matter the timeframe,” he said. “I think that’s what we aspire to do, just like you do as an individual person.”

Reconciling quality and affordability while finding new ways to engage the public and maintaining a level of service to meet growing needs represent some of the “big questions” for the town.

“Who doesn’t want all these amenities? We all do,” council member Alice Berry said. “Our capital improvement plan speaks to this, but what does it take to not lose what we have? Also, what future demands are known, or knowable?”

Black Mountain officials discuss upcoming budgetary priorities, Jan. 20, as the town hosts its third annual retreat. Photo by Fred McCormick

Fostering reasonable expectations with the public represents another key objective, according to town manager Josh Harrold.

“The level of service compared to what the community expects vs. what we can pay for vs. what the town council wants is a crucial piece,” he said.

As the town council directed staff to continue moving forward with current priorities, Harrold advised of potential areas to address in the next fiscal year.

“Lake Tomahawk will have to be dredged, which you can see right now as the water level is down, and it isn’t cheap,” he said. “We have preliminary estimates, and to take out four feet (of sediment) is approximately $1 million.”

The town dredged a section of the lake, near the pedestrian bridge on the north side in 2016 and rehabilitated the forebay in 2021, but sediment throughout the 9-acre body of water has accumulated over the years.

Rising costs of sanitation trucks marked another anticipated expense, according to Harrold. The town purchased two of the vehicles and a modified Ford F-350 in 2020 when it launched its sanitation department, before adding a third full-size trash collection truck to the rotation the following year.

“When we bought those garbage trucks they were $180,000 each,” Harrold said. “That same truck is now $360,000, and we will need to replace three trucks in the next three to four years, so we need to get on it. Those trucks are on a two-year build-out, so we have to order them now to get them two years from now.”

The lifespan of sanitation equipment in the mountainous region is approximately five years, according to Public Works Director Jamey Matthews.

“Due to the mountains and 1,200 stops a day, every part on those trucks is moving 2,000 or 3,000 times a day,” Matthews said.

Agreeing to the purchase of new sanitation trucks now would lock in the current price, he added.

General improvements to Lake Tomahawk, including dredging, landscaping and bank reshaping, were identified by the town council as the top priority in 2024-25, while the process of securing new sanitation trucks emerged among the top four.

The development of a communication strategy and examination of existing parking infrastructure and needs within the central business district and surrounding areas were also labeled by the majority of town council members as areas of interest.

While the priorities identified were general, the list provided town staff with a structure to frame the development of the budget.

“We have a lot of big things on our plate,” King said. “Before I feel comfortable saying we should do this or that, I need some education on options for funding.”

Harrold will meet with the town council to present recommendations within in the coming weeks.

“Staff would like to have a meeting with the council to present potential funding options, probably next month,” he said.