Serving Thursday, December 14. 1978, Vol. 25, No. 7 * Black Mountain * Swannanoa * Montreat * Ridgecrest Second ctass postage paid at Btach Mountain. NC 28711 OM M?a^er by Dan Ward The Black Mountain Town Board rejected a counter proposal from the McMahans, heard that the town's collision assurance had been cancelled, and held some political sparring on water negotiations at its regular meeting December 11. The board rejected a counter proposal of $25,000 from the attorney of Mr. and Mrs. J. E McMahan for damage done to their home by a Black Mountain fire truck August 1. On the recommendation of Aid. Mike Begley, the board rejected the proposal and set a 10-day time limit for the McMahans to accept an earlier offer of $22,500 by the board. The McMahans had earlier asked $29,611 for replacement of the home, valued at $16,870. (See related story). Insurance Town Manager Mack Kirk patrick also told the board that alternatives may be worked out to obtain collision coverage for Black Mountain vehicles since it had been cancelled by Maryland casualty. (See related article) * He Said that *'he town* s police cars can be covered, but with MOO - $1000 deduc tabie, by the end of the week. Aiso, equipment such as walky-talkies and radios can aiso be insured, he said. On the recommendation of insurance agents, ait town emptoyees wiH attend a driving improvement school on defensive driving. Kirk patrick added. Water negotiations A partisan fog rested on debate over whether ad ditional members should be appointed to participate in negotiations on Chestnut Cove water rights with the City of Asheviiie. Aid. Ruth Brandon noted that at the last meeting, the board approved having for mer Mayor Richard Stone join Begiey and Aid. John Kiuttz in the negotiations because of his official and legal background. Mrs. Brandon suggested that Water Superintendent A1 White, Aid. A. F. Tyson, and former Mayor Margaret Slagle be appointed to the team, because of their in volvement in water negotiations with Asheville in the past. Begley and Mayor Tom fobo! said they felt that me committee would be too large to be able to work with five persons from Asheville. Aid. Brandon countered that White, Tyson and Mrs. Slagle were passed over as the most obvious persons to represent the town. The board agreed that Tyson and White would join the others as advisors, but that all would not meet with Asheville officials. Mrs. Slagle said she would decline working on the committee to remove political innuendo from the discussion. New well Kirkpatrick told the board that a second well drilled at the Black Mountain Golf Course may prove to be a failure. He said preliminary reports show the well will not produce as much water as hoped for However, he said geologists have told him that if it produces as little as 25 gallons per minute, it would be worthwhile installing a pump. Despite drilling delays, the town has moved from the acute water shortage it was in, Kirkpatrick said. The water level at the reservoir is down 9 feet 6 inches - up from 12 feet, hp said. Special meeting Sobol called a special meeting for December 28, at 7 p m. to approve any local bill legislation the board would like to see passed by the General Assembly. One of those items will be a bill to solve a controversy over whether property owned by the Dickenses and Lehmans is actually annexed to the town. Sobol suggested that other business may be placed on the agenda for that evening. Cemetery The board also approved, with Tyson opposed, to accept responsibility for removing brush and keeping g grass mowed at the Old Black Mountain Cemetery. Before proceeding with maintenance, the town will hold a public hearing. Tyson opposed the action, saying the town should clean the grounds wee, but require plot owners to maintain graoves. Cost to the town of maintaining the cemetery was estimated at $290 to $300 per year by Kirkpatrick. No provision for perpetual care was made when the town sold ' plots at tha turn oi the cen tury. However, a specia] committee appointed to study the problem with upkeep there found that many families of persons buried at the cemetery could not be found. Dispatcher grant The board voted to accept an alternative to decreased three-year funding for the LEAA grant for police dispatchers. A provision requiring the town to pay only $1524 for the second year was adopted. Should the town want the dispatchers a third year, it would have to pay the entire cost, estimated at $30,487. (Con't. on page 10) The time between /ait and winter iingers in expectation. ^Mountain Living Magazine) Town collision insurance cut by Dan Ward Bids from insurance companies across the state are expected within two weeks to repiace coiiision insurance denied Biack Mountain by its previous insurer. Maryland Casualty, according to Town Manager Mack Kirkpatrick Kirkpatrick was notified a month ago that Maryiand Casualty wouid continue to carry liability insurance for town vehicles, but would drop collision on December 11. Aithough the company gave no reason for the cancellation, ft was apparently mobvated by the current rash of ac cidents invoiving town vehicles, Kirkpatrick said Within the iast six months, four police cars, a street department pickup truck and two fire engines have been in accidents - some totai tosses Kirkpatrick said the c. n Cragwont water, drainage seen as grant priories by Dan Ward Seventeen persons toid a specia] committee holding hearings for a new Depart ment of Housing and Urbar Devetopment Community Development Grant ap plication that new water lines and fire hydrants were still a priority for the Cragmont Community on December 7. In addition, five of those Theodore Dougias teiis a speciai HUD grant committee that drainage persons said that better drainage is also needed in the area, where rainwater often creates streams in gravel roads and ponds in residents' yards. All but two who spoke said that an earlier application for up to $500,000 worth of 10-inch water lines and fire hydrants should be duplicated - with possibly an amendment to provide for more efficient drainage. A few persons also repeated an earlier complaint for the benefit of town officials present about a number of ponies kept at a residence on West College Street. One said that although Black Mountain Police had approached the owner, the ponies remain. Some complained that they no longer open windows or sit outside because of the smell. Other recommendations came from Corine Carson, who suggested some gravel streets be blacktopped; Margaret Slagle, who asked for water lines in the Kerlee Heights area and Robert Lee Stepp, who asked for street improvements. Creola Austin asked that citizens be given the op Survey response var:et% by Dan Ward Results of a survey by the Fews to get citizen response to Negotiations between the [own of Biack Mountain and J E. McMahans, whose ne was destroyed by a f'0<h Mountain fire truck fogust i, may give town erd members no better idea how the voters fee) than store. survey, which ran for ' weeks, drew 2) responses persons ciaiming to be ack Mountain taxpayers. In lition, two persons who said *y iived outside the city Ponded. Those two tetters on page two. [Suggested settiement offered ranged from nothing above $10,000 paid by the town's liability insurance to $50,000 - some $21,000 more than the McMahans requested. The average suggested settlement figure is $26,83$, less than the figure the Mc Mahans's son, John, gave as the cost of replacing the house - $28,116. Sis responses ranged from that figure to $29,661, the amount asked by the McMahans. Only one respondent gave $22,500 - the amount offered to date by the town board - as the best settlement figure. Four gave $16,870 - the assessed valuation of the former house - as the best offer, whiie two suggested the town pay nothing beyond its iiabiiity coverage of HO,000. The latest submissions into the News office inciuded three suggesting the settiement be (35.000, one for (30.000, and another at (50,000 - the latter citing "mental agony of the old folks' ' as warranting payment above the amount requested. Other submissions were one each for (19,000; (20,000; and (20,800. Those suggesting the fair market value of the older house or less cited legal responsibility of the town and common settlement practices as reasons for their figures Two said the McMahans should have had homeowners insurance, one suggested their heirs are trying to make money from the accident, and one - point by point - disputed replacement costs submitted by John McMahan. Those supporting the replacement cost or more said the town has a moral responsibility to the couple, and in this cass may owe them more because the couple is elderly and suffered excessive grief because of the toss of their home, and temporary housing in an "inadequate trailer." Responses to the survey, some signed and some not, are available at the News for public inspection. portunity to see the final grant application. Some were ap parently surprised to find that an earlier proposal asked for funds to demolish six con demned buildings. Becky Williams, grants coordinator fot the Land of Sky Regional Council, said that citizens will definitely have a chance to hear all of the final proposed projects. Ms. Williams told those present that the town now stands a much better chance of getting a grant, but also noted that larger cities are traditionally in much better positions to get grants. She said the turnout at the hearing was better than at seven she had attended elsewhere in Western North Carolina so far. If a grant is awarded to Black Mountain, construction may begin as soon as early summer, she said. The second and final hearing for this grant ap plication will be January 4 at 7 p.m. at Town Hall. In attendence beside citizens Ms. Williams, and the press were special committee members Jean Standley, Bill Hickey, William Hamilton and Ruth Smith. From the town board were Mayor Tom Sobol and Aid. Ruth Brandon. Town Manager Mack Kirkpatrick was also present. cellation does not affect liability coverage, which stands at $50,000 per accident bodiiy injury, $100,000 totai bodiiy injury and $10,000 property damage. Nor does it include coilision coverage on the new fire igpcjt or the fire - nartment a.t<, usance, Kirk patrick said. Kirkpatrick said he is now trying, through the Asheville Insurance Exchange, to ob tain bids front other insurance companies for collision coverage. He said one possibility being investigated is obtaining insurance from more than one company, possibly to supplement a new policy with Maryland Casualty. He added that he had been planning to obtain bids when the policy originally was to run out in June, anyhow. The town had been paying $5000 per year for both collision and liability vehicle insurance prior to the can cellation. "Where I see the problem is notso much in what premiums we'il have to pay, but in how much is deductable,' ' Kirk patrick said. As an example, he said that the new fire truck is on a $2500 deductabie poiicy. j To tower insurance coats and make the town a lesser risk, he said that some town vehicles will have to be removed from any collision policy the town may get He noted that some are so old, that two years'premium have costmore than the value of the vehicles. The gamble we're taking is in not insuring these lower value vehicles,"he said. Those vehicles would still be covered for liability, he noted. Kirkpatrick noted that the last three years have been exceptionally bad for wrecked town vehicles. Only four accidents involving Black Mountain fire trucks have occurred in the last 14 years - two of those since August, he noted. Car/ Z?arf/eff New C of C chief wants doers by Dan Ward When Dr. Bob Dickey took the helm of the Chamber of Commerce a year ago, he foresaw' dynamic change' as being the key to transforming Biack Mountain and Swan nanoa from pit-stops for weary travelers into self serving, thriving business communities. Atthough the chamber brought about a number of changes to adapt to the 1-40 bypass, and has promoted the Valley-primarily through the Sourwood Festival-better than ever before, the attitude in favor of dynamic change seems to many to still be lacking Dickey appeared to be weary as he passed the presidency on to Carl Bartlett last week. Bartlett realizes he has energetic shoes to fill, and that this is a crucial time in the business life of the valley. Un a doer," he said. "If something needs to be done, HI just do it. 1 dont always do it right, but 1 can''. 1 dont always do it right, but 1 cant stand just talking about what needs to be done ' The main thing that needs doing, he said, is getting the community involved in town growth, he said To do that, he said, he intends to see that the Board of Directors for the chamber, who act as various committee chairmen, will have to demonstrate an active role in getting input and getting things done. Each will be expected report what has been done to the other directors regularly, Bartlett said. "The Board of Directors are just a stearing committee to get the people of the com munity organized and get things done. I want to see the directors better organized to do their duty, " he said. "I want to see the com mittees become very active. . You hear. "What is tire chamber doing for me? " When this year is up, Hn hoping people wont have to ask that question." "Now6 the time to tell the chamber hey, this is what ! want out of the chamber this year. 1 hope to appoint a downtown committee with representatives from Cherry Street and the other streets downtown. What do they stress for this year? What do they want the chamber to do for their businesses " Bartlett said that the sort of renovation done on Cherry Street by business persons there is indicative of the direction growth must go in the valley. "We are a bedroom eom munity-thatS all we wiil ever be This wili never be know!) as an industriai area We havent had much demand for buiidines downtown in the past. Now we have This is a business community-a shopping area. We need to have more shops here " he said. X i Outside of business growth, Bartiett said he has other goals to work for. "One thing that a lot of people expressed interest in is an airstrip, and the chamber pians to appoint a committee to get reai invotved in that direction^ I know some federal funds are avaiiable for that." Another is to work to in crease neighborhood pride "Neighborhood pride wiii make the valley look better," he said. Another is to draw retired persons into chamber plan ning. "ThereSa vast resource here in the retired people. There are retired executives from throughout the United States We are receptive to whatever ideas they have ' As a former member of the Sourwood Days Planning Committee, Bartlett also hopes to make the event this year "even bigger and bet ter" Some possible additions to festivities may be an ad ditional rece for marathon runners, expansion of the horseshoe toumy, a horse show and more events in volving Swannanoa He is also working on the possibility of arranging a country music concert on that weekend. The main thing, Bartlett said, is to get everybody pulling in the same direction, as was done when the medical center drive was begun "! would really like to see political differences cast aside so we can just work together for the betterment of the community, he said.

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