Local residents excoriate Town regarding multiple issues
Black Mountain officials hear from Citizens on a range of controversial topics
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
September 9, 2025
The Black Mountain Town Council, in its Sept. 8 regular monthly meeting, denied a proposal to convert South Ridgeway Avenue into a one-way traffic pattern by a vote of 4-1. Photo by Fred McCormick
Dozens of area residents spoke out against recent actions and proposals by Town of Black Mountain officials, Sept. 8, for more than an hour, as the town council gathered for its regular monthly meeting.
Interrupted only by outbursts of applause, a series of citizens voiced opposition to a recommendation to convert the traffic pattern of South Ridgeway Avenue to a one-way pattern and concerns over additional measures undertaken along the narrow downtown street.
Twenty-five people signed up to speak at the meeting, according to Mayor Mike Sobol, who began the night by reading a statement regarding a Superior Court filing by past mayor Don Collins.
The document indicated that Collins alleged untrue statements were made about him by the undersigned parties, which included Sobol and a local business owner, both of whom disputed the claim. All parties agreed that if any allegations regarding Collins were made by anyone, they were untrue.
Town manager Josh Harrold asked the council to remove agenda item 9.D, a proposed resolution to authorize a lien for abatement of violation at 141 South Richardson Avenue. The motion initially suggested by staff was to seek $7,950 from the property owner, John Richardson, to reimburse the Town for the construction of a fence, intended to mitigate illegal parking on the property.
While the topic was not the subject of deliberation by the town council, it was referenced several times throughout the three-hour meeting.
The Town’s decision to build a fence around private property as an abatement measure “should concern everyone,” according to Black Mountain attorney Anna Stearns, whose background in Raleigh includes serving as Chief of Staff to Chief Justice Cheri Beasley of the N.C. Supreme Court.
“I served as minute clerk to this council and as a paralegal to the Town attorney for more than 15 years,” Stearns said.
While she expressed a “deep respect” for staff, the attorney leveled sharp criticism at recent measures undertaken by the town.
“The way that enforcement and code compliance are being handled right now is shameful,” she said. “It’s abusive, and it’s damaging our small businesses.”
In a board room filled to capacity, as others waited in a nearby room to speak, Stearns alleged the Town’s approach to abate a parking issue on Sutton and South Ridgeway Avenue made the roadway less safe for pedestrians.
“That’s just one example,” she added. “As we’ve heard tonight, there are also concerns about Open Oven and about what’s happening at Black Mountain Brewing. All of these are adding to a climate of fear among small business owners. No one should feel fear or apprehension about engaging in services our town is legally obligated to provide.”
She encouraged elected officials to consider potential ramifications of the current approach.
“If we continue on this path of making it evermore difficult for mom and pop businesses to meet our zoning requirements, we will lose the homey small town culture that makes our town so special,” she said.
Local resident and business owner Michael Cys described the construction of the fence, at a time when area merchants continue to recover from Tropical Storm Helene, as “capricious.”
“To have the Town come in and impose on Ridgeway, put a fence or wall on both sides of the street, which imperils (Bush’s) business and increases safety risks, is basically sadistic, after what we’ve all been through,” he said. “For the Town to come in with its police powers, put up a fence, and use the resources to have police officers out there making sure this fence is up, is outrageous. We need to tear down these fences, please.”
An agenda item authorizing a lien on the property at 141 Richardson Boulevard was removed, Sept. 8, as the Black Mountain Town Council held its regular monthly meeting. Photo by Fred McCormick
Others in the audience came to speak out against a proposal to convert South Ridgeway Avenue into a one-way street, urging officials to consider installing sidewalks, speed humps or both to mitigate speeding. A discussion on that topic between the mayor and planning director Michelle Kennedy, who began her position with the town last April, devolved into a testy exchange.
Kennedy, one of several planning department employees to host a Sept. 3, community meeting regarding the traffic pattern, listed multiple concerns expressed by residents and business owners on the street.
“There were a lot of conversations about sidewalks,” she said. “The last sidewalk that was put in by the town was in 2022.”
Kennedy’s presentation followed a series of public comments opposing the plan, while some questioned the Town’s response to the public.
Sheila Nuccilli, owner of the property leased by the Bush Farmhouse, recounted how her attempts to contact Town staff about the issues in the area received no responses.
“I’ve reached out on many occasions to discuss both the RailYard and the railroad property along Sutton, but it has all fallen on deaf ears…” she said. “For several years, I tried to get information about who was responsible for maintaining that property along the railroad, and I never could get that information.”
Nuccilli and her tenant, Bush owner and operator Mark Henegan, purchased materials to fill holes along the Norfolk Southern right-of-way, north of the tracks.
“A town employee showed up while we were installing the gravel and shut the work down,” Nuccilli said. “He contacted the railroad and said a meeting would be held two days later. Four employees of the Town managed to show up for this meeting.”
Staff was “determined to block off that section,” she added.
“They told us that even if we tried to lease directly from the railroad, it would not be possible to park there,” Nuccilli said.
The property owner asked town council to consider leasing the section of right-of-way from the railroad to provide parking in the area.
Longtime Black Mountain resident and business owner Joe Tyson expressed sympathy for residents and merchants along South Ridgeway and Sutton Avenues, adding he was “totally opposed” to the one-way proposal.
“I think it’s another example of a knee-jerk short-term reaction by the Town to serious long-term problems,” he said. “The solution to pedestrian safety is sidewalks and crosswalks.”
The community’s request for those safety measures are appropriate, he added.
“What you’re doing now is punishing the businesses on that street,” Tyson said. “You’re also creating more congestion on Richardson Boulevard and Broadway, which in the summer time are always packed with people.”
The Town, he added, is gaining a reputation for “not doing anything.”
“Golf course, streets, parking, you name it,” Tyson said. “The Town’s getting a bad reputation, but it’s up to this board to decide. Put a sidewalk on Ridgeway and Sutton, negotiate with the railroad and get some parking, but don’t penalize good businesses.”
Kennedy remained steadfast in her recommendation to change the traffic pattern, following an analysis conducted by Traffic Planning and Design, Inc. That study, commissioned in 2022 by the town and paid for in partnership with business owners, asked the firm to examine if a one-way traffic pattern was viable for the downtown street.
“There’s always a consideration of the benefits and detriments of any projects, and obviously turning a road into a one-way road will cause concerns, and there will be people who don’t like it,” she said. “For us, in this case, it really comes down to a safety issue.”
Councilmember Doug Hay inquired about the feasibility of installing speed bumps or humps to slow down motorists on the roadway.
“From a planning perspective, speed bumps would not be at the top of anybody’s list, in terms of best practice,” Kennedy said.
Hay asked the planning director to elaborate on her response.
“Broadly, it’s a low-cost option to slow traffic flow, for sure, but it’s not considered a progressive move as a way to manage traffic issues,” she said. “It’s a band aid, and ultimately you’re going to end up having to do something else.”
South Ridgeway Avenue will remain a two-way street, as the town council opts to install speed humps as a traffic calming measure while exploring the feasibility of sidewalks. Photo by Fred McCormick
Hay, who added that Sutton Avenue was now “more dangerous” for pedestrians with a fence erected on the former site of the RailYard, acknowledged that South Ridgeway Avenue was hazardous.
“I think this requires immediate action, but I will say I’m not convinced that turning it into a one-way, which we’ve talked about several times as a temporary fix while we explore sidewalks, is the best way to address this,” he said. “If we’re talking band aids, maybe speed bumps are a more appropriate temporary band aid.”
Councilmember Ryan Stone agreed with Hay.
“I don’t have a sense of what this one-way proposal will do to surrounding traffic on Richardson, Broadway and Sutton,” he said. “We have this study, but I don’t feel that it’s an accurate representation of what’s going to happen.”
Hay made a motion to deny the proposal to convert South Ridgeway Avenue and direct staff to look into the feasibility and cost of a sidewalk for the road, while continuing conversations with the railroad about a possible parking easement on the east end of Sutton Avenue. The motion passed, 4-1, with Alice Berry representing the lone negative vote.
Another issue brought before the council by members of the public concerned water pressure on Camp Branch Road.
“My property has been without adequate water pressure since Hurricane Helene,” John Collins told elected officials. “I was fortunate enough to be able to take this home off the Black Mountain water system at the time of the hurricane, but I’ve been unable to bring it back online to use the Town’s water.”
The current static water pressure on the property was 4 pounds of force per square inch, according to measurements conducted by Collins.
“Prior to Helene, the water was 20 PSI or above,” he said. “That’s a huge difference.”
Inadequate pressure can cause damage to water lines, pumps, tanks and appliances, added Collins, who is attempting to sell two pieces of property.
“I’ve been told by the Town water department that I can not get water to build on my two lots…” he said. “I understand there is a new development going in close to Ridgecrest, and the elevation of those lots is higher than mine. The town is going to provide them with water. How can the Town of Black Mountain provide water to a development outside of town limits and not provide water for my lots when I’ve been paying taxes?”
Gary Bartlett, former Black Mountain fire chief and resident of Camp Branch Road, asked the Town to restore adequate water service to his property.
“The Town has a policy that if you have water service above 2,550 feet, they will provide you 20 PSI, and it’s up to us to pump,” he said. “I’ve been pumping for 30 years at one place and seven or eight at another, and all I want is that water pressure back.”
Mark White, who served as the director of water quality for the Town of Black Mountain for 30 years before retiring around 2018, followed up on previous comments he made in a town council meeting last March. The following May, as Public Works Director Jamey Matthews delivered his annual report, he called the former employee “disgruntled.”
White reiterated his concerns related to town-wide water pressure and responded to that claim.
“When I brought this up to you and staff, a couple of months ago, you let the public works director come up here and bash me as a disgruntled employee because I brought this out to the public,” he said. “I’m not a disgruntled employee, I retired eight years ago. I’m a disgruntled taxpayer.”