The Spruce Pine Town Council held their regular monthly meeting on Monday, September 11th. Several festivals are in the works for upcoming months and organizers were there to get permission for road closures and to update the council on their progress. These included Gina Phillips with Hilloween, Sherry Sautner with the Alien Festival and Cheryl Buchanan with Treasurers in the Pines. John Keen also was there to request the council’s support in his efforts to put in an upscale campground. Keen requested a letter from the council showing their support of the project stating, “I don’t want any money. All I want is your support.” Keen will have to deal with CSX since he will have to go according to him, “over, under or through it” to proceed with the project. In other exciting news for the town, the new director for Spruce Pine Main Street, Spencer Bost was introduced. Spruce Pine Main Street is in charge of the Blacksmith Festival and other events that promote the town.
Reports from different departments were heard including Parks and Recreation that announced the Brad Ragan pool has passed inspection and should be up and running in the spring. The recent vandalism at Riverside Park was addressed. The mini split and stalls had graffiti on them including racist remarks and the story book trail was also vandalized. The activity was caught on camera and the juvenile perpetrators have been caught. The Spruce Pine Chief of Police Kasey Cook said, ”People don’t respect things but they need to realize the cameras are there and we are down there”. The department had 466 calls since August 1st and is operating short two officers. Plans are in the works and funds continuing to be raised to pay for a K9 to join the force.
Water has been a concern recently for the residents of Spruce Pine. Donnie Staton spoke for the Water & Sewer Department addressing the issue saying the water plant is in full compliance and all results are good. They are fully staffed with four highly trained certified inspectors. He said, “There is somebody watching your water 24/7, 365. Every day of the year. The full staff is on the water system, drink the water and they really care.” The problem with some muddy water has possibly come from two new wells that are rarely used but can pull some sediment. They are continuing to work on the muddy water issue. Staton reiterated how much he appreciated the Town Council saying the problem is not with the Town Council that anything they needed and asked for the town gave them.
There is a planned possible water outage for Thursday, the 14th for repair of a water line leak.
