Home Care In Mars Hill, NC

MARS HILL - In fall 2021, the town of Mars Hill received an N.C. Parks and Recreation Trust Fund grant award for $268,536 for park renovations at Bailey Mountain Preserve and Park.

But, according to Town Manager Nathan Bennett, the town bid the project in June, but received no bidders. When the town went back to work to make the project more enticing for bidders, it received three bids for the project.

The scope of work for the project is to provide ADA-accessible hard sidewalks near the Smith Farm part of the property, as well as picnic areas, parking and driveway improvements, and also providing walkways to be used for an amphitheater.

In its Nov. 6 meeting, the Mars Hill Town Board voted unanimously to enter into a contract agreement with T.P. Howard's Plumbing for the project.

"It seems unique because it's not a plumbing project at all, but they have a landscaping division," Bennett said.

According to the town manager, T.P. Howard's was the lowest bidder, coming in at $385,100. The next bidder, Yancey County-based Rock Creek Grading, bid the project at $467,900.

Bennett said the town is working with engineers to discuss the project.

Of the amphitheater, Bennett referred to the space as a "performance area that can host presentations and talks."

"This bid includes everything that we've committed the state to do on the grant, except renovation of the house, and we need to provide a restroom facility," Bennett said, when asked by board member Robert Zink if the performance area was to be included in the T.P. Howard's bid.

To cover the remaining costs of the bid, Bennett recommended the town use local funds supplemented by the more than $286,000 in state grant funding.

According to Bennett, the town has access to $321,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funding as well.

"Put that together with $268,536 from the state, and that would be $590,000," Bennett said. "That would be enough to do the permitted contract and the funds that were set aside are estimated to do the house renovations and the restroom renovations. That would be a complete project."

Additionally, the town will add roughly $718,000 in reserve funds from the fiscal year 2022-23 budget.

"We have funds available through fund balance to pay for these improvements," Bennett said. "I would say we need to move forward before the price continues to escalate. That park's getting a ton of use."

Additionally, Zink recommended Bennett approach the Madison County Tourism Development Authority to inquire about potentially helping fund the renovations.

The board unanimously approved the town enter into an agreement with T.P. Howard's Plumbing to begin work on the project.

Bennett said the renovations would likely begin around Jan. 1.

Gazebo walkway project

The town also approved entering into a contract with a landscape designer on a project to repave the walkway to the town's gazebo park.

According to Bennett, the project is estimated to cost $20,220 and will be funded from the town's street department budget, which was allocated $369,000 in the 2023-24 budget.

Bennett issued a diagram assembled by the landscape designer hired by the university for the gazebo park paved walkway project.

"They own the gazebo park, and they are about to invest a significant amount of money down there to improve that landscape," Bennett said. "They've recently put a roof on the gazebo and are making improvements to the gazebo to maintain it well into the future."

Additional monies will be put into the project to beautify the gazebo park, which Bennett called "a gateway to the town and to the university."

"I don't want to speak on their behalf, but it's a significant financial investment they're making there, a six-figure investment," Bennett said. "The town owns a 6-foot-wide car path along the Main Street Robinson Building that comes down the gazebo lot. Right now, the brick pathway is in terrible shape, unsafe shape."

More: Mars Hill acquires new buildingsWith First Fridays set to resume, Mars Hill acquires new buildings to meet needs

More: Mars Hill budgetMars Hill approves 2023-24 budget, a nearly 9% increase from current year

According to Bennett, the town's intention is to replace the walkway, which will run down Ivy Street and connect to public parking behind the Robinson Building, located at 9 S. Main St. and 15 S. Main St., which the town purchased in March.

"The walkway will improve our access to that parking area and make it safer and a more attractive area to park and walk up onto the Main Street businesses."

MARS HILL - The town of Mars Hill will host its second pickleball tournament of 2023 in October amid the sport's explosion in popularity throughout Western North Carolina.

Mars Hill Pickleball Club will host "Madison Madness" Oct. 14-15, in conjunction with the town of Mars Hill. The tournament will take place at Mars Hill Recreation Park and will feature men's and women's doubles tournaments Oct. 14 and a mixed doubles tournament Oct. 15.

Tournament registration costs $75, and proceeds will benefit Community Housing Coalition.

Cathy Hicks and Cat Case will serve as tournament directors.

Hicks said she is not sure how many tournament participants to expect, as there will be tournaments in Asheville and Kingsport, Tennessee, that will coincide with Madison Madness.

"We're hopeful that we'll get about the same number that we got back in the spring," Hicks said. "There are just so many tournaments right now. There are literally hundreds, if not thousands of tournaments out there. So, we're all kind of fighting for the same tournament."

Hicks said the tournament organizing team is limited in the number of participants it can take on, as there are four pickleball courts at the Mars Hill park.

Susan Sewell is a board member at CHC and helped coordinate the first tournament in the spring. Sewell is volunteering to help organize the Madison Madness tournament as well.

In a phone call with The News-Record Sept. 26, Sewell said there were 26 participants registered for the tournament, but she hopes that number will grow to 40.

The sport's popularity is growing throughout the region, according to Hicks and Sewell.

"We use Team Reach as a site where people go to find out when the sessions are," Hicks said. "Right now, we're on 167 people that are on Team Reach. It's really become a very fast-growing sport.

Sewell said that number is more than double the number of players at the time of the spring tournament, which took place May 20-21 at Mars Hill Recreation Park to benefit Marshall Presbyterian Church's Neighbors in Need Crisis Organization and Food Pantry.

More:Mars Hill to host pickleball tournament to benefit Neighbors in Need

Hicks said Western North Carolina pickleball players are using the sport not only to exercise but to network and get together for social gatherings.

"That's the classic definition of a good exercise program - one that you stick with. And one of the reasons you stick with it is because A, it's enjoyable and B, you have the social aspect of it, where people are kind of holding you accountable and saying, 'Hey, we need you to come out and play,'" Hicks said. "Pickleball answers all those shortfalls we're seeing in other sports. Tennis is a great game, but it's not the social game pickleball is.

"You can play it at any age. Because of the way the game is designed, an 80-year-old can play a 20-year-old. Now, the 20-year-old may ultimately win, but the 80-year-old can also be competitive just because of the way the game is designed."

According to Sewell, CHC will operate a booth with snacks and drinks for the players throughout the tournament.

Games will start at 8 a.m. each day.

Sewell said the team would not have been able to host these tournaments without the support it's received from the town.

"Mars Hill has just absolutely been so supportive," Sewell said. "They purchased the nets for us to play pickleball. They lined their courts for us."

More:Mars Hill Recreation Park now hosts Madison County's first pickleball courts

Thanks to the town's leadership, Mars Hill has emerged as a de facto gathering site for pickleball players throughout the region, according to Hicks and Sewell.

"Weaverville's been trying to catch up to us," Sewell said. "That's why we have so many people that are coming up here to play. Nathan Bennett and the town board have been so supportive."

Hicks echoed Sewell's sentiments about the town government's support of their efforts.

"They've really embraced the whole concept of pickleball," Hicks said. "I just couldn't ask for them to do any more. They've really been great partners in growing support in Madison County."

Hicks said as of Sept. 28, there are no dedicated pickleball courts in Buncombe County that are free to the public, as both Reems Creek Golf Course and Asheville Racquet Club require membership fees.

"You're kind of limited to where you can go," Hicks said. "Now, Weaverville is in the process of building public dedicated courts. Fletcher just opened some in Henderson County. We're hopeful one day that we can get some dedicated courts in Madison. But that's expensive, and I get it. We may not have the budget for it. But certainly the demand is there."

Until then, players from throughout Western North Carolina will continue to come to Mars Hill, Sewell said.

"We have a couple in our group that are from Burnsville that come up," Sewell said. "We've got people from Weaverville. We've got people from Asheville that come up every Saturday morning, anywhere from 20 to 25 people.

"A lot of them are from North Buncombe and the Asheville area. But people are finding out about Mars Hill, and they come to play. So it's bringing people in. It's fun to have people from all over come to play."

To register for the tournament, visit www.pickleballbrackets.com.

MARS HILL - The Madison County Board of Adjustment's met for the first time this year May 22, and the board approved a Mars Hill veterinarian clinic, to be located in a Residential/Agricultural district in Mars Hill.

Larry Leake interviewed the applicant in the quasi-judicial process, Dr. Margaret Pressley, and the board approved a special use permit to Pressley.

According to Development Services Director Brad Guth, the property sits on 70 acres at 895 Gabriels Creek Road along John Allen Road in Mars Hill.

Pressley is a Madison High graduate and earned her undergraduate degree from Mars Hill College and her graduate degree from N.C. State University in 1985.

Pressley has operated Fox Run Veterinary Services in Woodfin since 1991, she said.

Pressley said she lives on the back end of the tract and plans to conduct her practice on the Mars Hill tract, as there are multiple dwellings on the property.

"The 70-acre tract is the front part of the farm on the Gabriels Creek Road side. There's another area on the back side of the farm ... and we live on the back side," she said.

While in the past Fox Run has seen a lot of larger animals, including livestock, in its practice, Pressley said the Mars Hill practice will care for smaller animals.

"As I and my staff are getting older and slower and not quite as strong, we're slowing down on the large animal aspect," Pressley said. "We do still go to horse sales to obtain blood."

The building to be used as the veterinarian office was a Mars Hill residence in the past, according to Guth.

Pressley said she has begun the process of converting the residence to a vet facility, adding that the house was recently rewired, had a new septic system installed, and the windows were replaced and walls painted.

According to the veterinarian, the house utilized a cistern water system, and she will need to have a well dug in the near future.

Pressley said she plans to bring the facility up to code per the North Carolina Veterinary Medical Board and the county health department's regulations by fall.

Pressley envisions working two and a half days a week, and said she plans to operate business on Mondays, Tuesdays and a half to a full day on Thursdays.

Board members' questions

Board Chair Karen Kiehna asked whether there would be outdoor shelter, and whether any animals would require overnight stays.

"We won't board," Pressley said. "It's not our intention to have overnight stays. We will have a few kennels inside for the surgeries, but we're sizing down on the number of surgeries during the day too. We'll do maybe one surgery or dental a day. So we would need a holding area for the animals for their surgeries.

"I do plan to have a fence around the side and front, just in case. Dogs frequently slip their collars when they're coming from their car to a building, and I don't want them to get out into the road."

In response to Vice Chair Richard Molland's questions about the size of both the office building and the number of employees, Pressley said she anticipates having seven parking spots, with an additional space for overflow parking.

Pressley said there will be three staff members who will work the two-plus days a week, and there will also be a college student who will help out from time to time.

Molland also pointed out the proximity of the proposed clinic to a neighbor's residence. According to Pressley, she spoke with the neighbor, who said they had no problem with the building being repurposed into a vet clinic.

While Pressley said she received approval from County Landfill Director Sammy Lunsford to dispose of organic waste in the county landfills, board member Hart Barnhill reminded Pressley she would need to properly dispose of biohazardous materials as well, including those used in surgeries.

"Surgery is surgery, with drugs, chemical and disease, all that kind of stuff," Barnhill said. "Obviously, that should be put in a different place from where somebody could be digging through a dumpster or something like that and get jabbed or cut by something that's diseased."

Barnhill asked Pressley how she currently handled biohazardous waste at her practice.

"For our surgeries, we dispose of the towels, and the cloth towels we wash. The paper towels that we use to clean up, we just put those in our trash, which goes into the city pickup," Pressley said. "As far as controlled substances that are expired, an agent comes in to dispose of them for us. For non-expired medications, I frequently dissolve them in water. We have a pretty small inventory. With the online pharmacies, we frequently just have people call in prescriptions."

Barnhill also asked whether the narcotics were securely stored, and as "people would target definitely veterinary clinics."

According to Pressley, for the last few years, the state mandates an additional 10 hours per year of continuing education on narcotics. She said the Drug Enforcement Agency would be on site to perform an inspection of the facility to ensure the narcotics are properly stored in a safe.

The state veterinary board will also perform a mandatory inspection of the Mars Hill facility prior to its opening, Pressley said.

In response to board member Robert Briggs' question about the disposal of animal parts, Pressley said she works with a business that cremates the animals.

"It struck me, because since COVID, and animal parts - China, bats, all that stuff - going into the landfill," Briggs said.

Fox Run Veterinary Clinic's current location is 130 Weaverville Road in Woodfin. For more information on the business, call 828-645-2908.

MARS HILL - In the Mars Hill Town Board of Aldermen's March 13 meeting, the board and residents spoke of the anticipation surrounding the return of Mars Hill First Fridays, a collaborative project between the town and a number of local businesses designed to spotlight local commerce in the town.

The town also announced it has purchased two Mountain View Road buildings - 55 Mountain View Road and 63 Mountain View Road , which Townn Manager Nathan Bennett said will be razed to meet traffic needs as a result of the county’s increased visitation.

In the board's February meeting, Bennett announced the town had bought the Robinson Building, located at 9 S. Main Street and 15 S. Main Street.

In the March meeting, Bennett relayed more news about additional property acquisitions, announcing the town had purchased two buildings on Mountain View Road, near the corner of Library Street, near Mars Landing Galleries, an art studio owned by Miryam Rojas.

Rojas also co-chairs Mars Hill First Fridays with James Huddle and a team of other local business owners.

Rojas and Huddle also outlined some of their requests to the town to properly carry out the event, including a request for money for temporary or permanent lighting along Mountain View Road.

"We actually put some metal landscape rods and some solar lights, but they're just not really sufficient enough to light up that sidewalk - which isn't really an issue until the later months when it gets darker, but we did ask for funding to help us to find a more permanent solution," Huddle said. "We've been really focused on trying to make sure people are safe during this event. People are spilling over in the streets. That's a good sign and a bad sign."

According to Huddle, the team asked for $1,350 for the light fixtures.

Rojas said another issue she'd like to see addressed by the town is the walkability along Mountain View Road.

"There's no protection - it's very narrow. Two people cannot walk side by side on it," Rojas said. "We have a lot of older kids who come and have ice cream and walk around town. It's just such a beautiful aspect - that it's so safe and wonderful for people to walk around.

"I just saw that there was something planned for a pedestrian plan. We're just hoping that there's some consideration, because with the First Fridays, because ... Mountain View Road is such an important link. We have the town building and the library in and of itself. This is a vital part to our First Fridays success."

Bennett said the town received a N.C. Department of Commerce grant to perform a "small area plan" in which a design engineering firm will assess North Main Street through Mountain View Road to include lighting and streetscaping.

The town planned to submit the proposal the week of March 20, Bennett said.

Huddle said the team is also hoping to incorporate more signage at this year's events to identify sections of the events, as the team plans to provide a food truck island at some point this year.

Bennett said he appreciated the input from the First Fridays team, as the acquisition of the three new buildings will allow the town more flexibility to host events.

"It will be something that we'll really work hard on throughout the year - and we'll be looking at you all for some input, and part of it is business owner input on how everyone wants the area used," Bennett said.

Rojas said she was excited about the town's acquisition of the Mountain View Road buildings.

"It's fantastic," Rojas said. "I would love to put my time and whatever, resources and brain, to (help brainstorm the best use for the buildings with the town)."

Mayor John Chandler thanked Bennett, Rojas and Huddle for their work, adding that many residents are looking forward to the return of the popular monthly event.

"You all did a great job, and everyone's looking forward to it," Mayor John Chandler said. "People were mad that (the events stopped) during the winter. It's been great for the businesses, including at Quill and Honey, and I'm sure for the other businesses, too."

Mars Hill First Fridays will return to downtown Mars Hill on April 7.

MARSHALL - The commercial development growth Madison County experienced in 2022 is being carried over into 2023, as the county Planning Board approved a 13-lot subdivision in Mars Hill March 7.

In a meeting delayed two weeks due to a county official's sickness, the Madison County Planning Board unanimously approved developer CMH Homes' 13-lot subdivision located at the intersection of U.S. 19E and N.C. 1521 (Upper Bailey Branch Road) in Mars Hill, a project to be called Northside Estates. The plat encompasses 21.5 acres, according to Development Services Director Brad Guth.

The property is zoned residential/agricultural. The preliminary plat was approved in July 2022.

Since the preliminary plat approval, the project engineer has provided an estimate for completion of $50,800 and a required contingency of $12,700 for a total of $63,500.

More: Board approves two subdivisionsMadison Planning Board approves subdivisions in Marshall (34 units), Mars Hill (13 units)

Grandview West

The board tabled a vote on a sketch plan review for a 19-lot subdivision, Grandview West, located along nearly 35 acres on Grandview Road.

The board's decision to table the vote on a sketch plan review of Raleigh-based developer RSD's project after the developer failed to provide 10 copies of the developer's sketch plans for the project.

While a site plan from the sketch plan review was projected on a TV screen in the meeting, the board could not see the detailed site plan, members said.

Per Section 7.5.3 of the Madison County Subdivision Control Ordinance, relating to procedure for minor subdivisions, "subsequent to a predevelopment evaluation, the subdivider shall submit to the Madison County Subdivision Administrator 10 copies of a preliminary plat containing the information required in Section 7.6.1 of (the Subdivision Control Ordinance), which outlines specifications for sketch plans."

"I'm having trouble seeing (the sketch plan)," Planning Board Chair Jered Silver said. "I mean, I could go up there and probably sit on that desk and see it. But if they are supposed to give us 10 copies for all of us to have here in front of us to actually look at and come up with questions and refer to the management, it's pretty hard for us to do that.

"It's a big screen, but I can't see anything on that screen. I can see it's a site plan, but that's it. I don't want to speak for the whole board, but I don't feel comfortable not being able to see the plan, and I don't think everything was given that was required by 7.5.3."

Land use attorney John Noor encouraged the board to allow fellow members the opportunity to view the site plan.

"I would encourage people to be able understand what is being proposed - to be able to see it, see the components, understand whether those components are present in the plans or not," Noor said. "We could try to zoom in here on the screen to allow for that, but ultimately it's your call."

Newly appointed board member Clayton Honeycutt said he agreed with Silver, adding that he felt the board should follow the rules laid out in the ordinance.

"I like to follow the rules, and I like to argue about, 'Let's change the rules,'" Honeycut said. "It's why we have the rules."

RSD requested the board vote on both the sketch plan review and the preliminary plat review of the project, but both will now be revisited in the planning board's next meeting, which will take place in the board's next meeting.

Long Ridge Heights

The board did give the green light on a separate sketch plan, as Landbank Acquistions LLC's 53-lot major subdivision, Long Ridge Heights, was unanimously approved by the board.

The project is to be located along 77 acres at 1311 Long Ridge Road in Mars Hill.

The proposed subdivision would be located on the westerly side of I-26 northbound, where Long Ridge Road and Forks of Ivy Road split off.

The proposed subdivision went before the board for a sketch plan review in its July 17 meeting. At that time, the project proposed 29 single-family homesites and was to be located at 1309 Long Ridge Road in Mars Hill.

The Madison County Planning Board's next meeting will take place March 21 at the Madison County Public Library's Marshall campus, located at 1335 N. Main St. in Marshall.