Chamber of commerce urges support for existing libraries

Swannanoa Valley businesses ask county commission to consider local branches as 'community anchors’

The Valley Echo
May 18, 2021

An email correspondence signed by the Black Mountain Swannanoa Chamber of Commerce board is urging the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners to consider the current role being filled in their respective communities by library branches in Black Mountain and Swannanoa.

The county’s governing body will hold its regular monthly meeting at 3 p.m., Tuesday, May 18, when the Buncombe County Public Libraries Facility Master Plan, which recommends closing both branches and consolidating them into a modern regional facility, is set to be presented. Commissioners are not anticipated to take action on the proposal during the meeting.

The Black Mountain Town Council, in a May 13 special call meeting, unanimously adopted a resolution opposing the recommendation, which Councilmember Pam King said was the result of a countywide evaluation of existing facilities.

An email from the chamber of commerce, submitted to the county commission May 16, calls the existing Swannanoa and Black Mountain branches “critical to quality of life” for residents in the communities and advocates using funds that would be needed to construct a new facility for renovation and expansion at the two branches. Read the email in its entirety below:

“The Black Mountain Swannanoa Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors believes that consolidation of the library branches in Swannanoa and Black Mountain would be detrimental to both communities.

Libraries are more than numbers and data. Not only are they community centers, but they are centers of their community.  Unlike libraries inside Asheville, satellite libraries identify the community they anchor. The Black Mountain Tyson branch began serving its community in 1921, and the Swannanoa branch in 1956.  They are critical to quality-of-life standards for their residents. Like a tree of knowledge, the overarching branches provide services, and the roots of these libraries have grown deep and long.

Consolidating the Swannanoa and Black Mountain Libraries, and locating a new facility in a central location, would reduce accessibility to their multiple services due to lack of transportation. Currently each library is located where many users with mobility and lodging challenges can utilize services that are important to their life situations. Transportation to a centralized location between Grovemont-Swannanoa and Black Mountain is limited or non-existent.

Using funds allocated for a new building would be better utilized renovating and expanding each of the current library sites.

The Black Mountain Swannanoa Chamber of Commerce encourages the Buncombe County Commissioners to look at the larger impact on each community rather than the recommendation of an outside consultant who is unfamiliar with the stability each of these facilities provides their community.

 Respectfully,

 Jon Brooks, President, The Junction

Jennifer Holt, Vice President, Swannanoa Realty

Andrea Coon, Hampton Inn

Peter Ballhaussen, Town Hardware & General Store, Swannanoa Council

Kannah Begley, Black Mountain Savings Bank

Dan Bennett, Bennett Chiropractic

Marcus Duarte, Little Sprout / Red Radish

Donna Farrow, Black Mountain Yarn

Doug Hay, Town of Black Mountain Council

Jack Heinen, former Montreat College

Tracie Perkins, Show Off Logos & Promotions

Bill McGee, Black Mountain Tire

Shelia Todd, First Bank

Tim Raines, Town of Black Mountain Council - Alternate”