Town approves additional parking along Sutton Avenue
Elected officials extend park hours, lease golf course equipment and narrowly approve fireworks funding
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
February 10, 2026
Following the approval of a lease agreement with Norfolk Southern, Feb. 9, the Town of Black Mountain will extend public parking along Sutton Avenue. Photo by Fred McCormick
A lease agreement with Norfolk Southern Railway, approved, Feb. 9, following a unanimous vote by the Black Mountain Town Council, will clear the way to extend on-street parking along Sutton Avenue.
The topic was one of many discussed by the board in its three-hour regular monthly meeting, which included a proposed ordinance to extend operating hours for Lake Tomahawk Park and Town Square, consideration of a lease for golf course maintenance equipment and a 3-2 vote to continue funding the municipality’s annual Fourth of July fireworks display.
The meeting marked the first under interim town manager Richard Hicks, who is in his fourth week in the office. He told the council that staff will focus primarily on advancing pending FEMA projects in the coming months.
Among the items presented under new business was a proposed lease with the railroad company that would allow the town to add parking spaces on the east end of Sutton Avenue. The area, immediately north of the train tracks, has been discussed multiple times by elected officials and town staff, who were directed in January of 2025 to pursue an agreement with Norfolk Southern.
The section was blocked with large wooden beams and metal stakes last fall, before the town council again instructed staff to secure a lease with the railroad company.
Hicks presented the council with an amended version of the current lease between the town and railroad company that allows public parking on other sections of the street.
“That lease was $1,500 per year,” he said. “To amend that lease to include the second area where we’ve asked for parking would increase that to $12,000 per year. I’ve seen this statewide, where CSX and Norfolk Southern are looking for additional sources of income.”
The town will immediately remove the crossties and posts that are currently blocking the area and add gravel upon execution of the agreement, Hicks added. Permanent improvements will be considered as the town prepares its 2026-27 budget, prior to July 1.
“This is something we’ve been working on for months, and I hate to see the new price tag,” Councilmember Doug Hay said. “It was a shock, but parking spaces downtown and in the central business district are needed and this will continue to support those efforts.”
Potential budget concerns prompted a split vote when elected officials considered two proposals from pyrotechnic companies for the town’s annual Fourth of July celebration. Tennessee-based Pyro Shows submitted a bid of approximately $20,500, while Black Mountain-based Pyro Wright priced the display at $18,500. Both companies included additional costs for shows commemorating the 250th anniversary of the country’s founding.
“There will be a lot of interest in fireworks this year, so both companies reached out and basically said if you want to be on our schedule for July 4, we need to start looking at it now, not in May or June when we’re doing the budget,” Hicks said, adding the town should anticipate “a lot of unknown expenses” in the next fiscal year.
Those unplanned costs, including the railroad lease, led to a feeling of trepidation for Councilmember Pam King.
“I do think there are times in life, where as an individual, as a family or as a municipality, you have to say, ‘we can’t afford it this year,’” she said. “Whether that’s a nicer vacation or a new car, or in this case, this town is hurting. Our general fund was low and we’ve been spending money, a lot, lately.”
An unclear understanding of the town’s current financial standing exacerbated concerns she had last year, King added.
“At some point you have to put on your big boy and big girl pants and say we just don’t have the money,” she said. “So, I’m going to be a no vote on the motion, but I can certainly understand why folks want fireworks and I enjoy them, too.”
Councilmember Alice Berry responded to Hay’s motion to approve the Pyro Wright bid by reiterating a position she expressed last spring.
“I also want to speak to those who are traumatized by loud explosive devices and there are wildlife that do not benefit from this,” she said. “Perhaps it’s an unpopular position, but I would be in favor of discontinuing fireworks, at least for this year.”
Vice Mayor Archie Pertiller, Jr. classified the annual fireworks display, visible from the central business district, as an event that brings the community together.
“It’s also good for our businesses downtown, so I would be in favor of it,” he said.
Councilmember Ryan Stone emphasized the “intrinsic value” of presenting a gathering that brings hundreds of people to the center of the town.
“I’m with Archie and Doug on this, as well,,” he said. “I’m a stickler for costs, probably more than anyone else on the board… As we continue to recover, people are still craving that sense of normalcy, when we have events like the Fourth of July, Holly Jolly or our Halloween festivities.”
The value of the event, he added, exceeds its costs.
“I think it’s important we continue to do this,” he concluded.
A business item that called for extending the hours of a pair of local parks carried over from January, when the town council directed staff to amend the code regulating operation of the parks. Hay, who brought an original recommendation to change the current hours of 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. While King expressed concerns about lighting around steps on the east side of town square, police chief Steve Parker suggested maintaining consistent operating hours for both parks.
“The more you open up the hours, the more chances people are sitting in their cars doing drugs, or other things,” the chief said. “It is not 20 years ago, things have changed.”
Parker was amenable to whatever elected officials decided, he added, but recommended operating hours of 5 a.m. through 10 p.m. The tennis courts at Lake Tomahawk are open until 10:30 p.m.
Both Mayor Michael Sobol and Pertiller recalled being at the lake until after 10 p.m.
“I remember being at Lake Tomahawk way after 11 p.m.,” Pertiller said. “I fished, and I would be there until after midnight. I always felt safe.”
The council voted unanimously to extend the hours for both parks to 5 a.m. through 11 p.m.
A proposal to receive financial consulting assistance from the N.C. League of Municipalities was also approved unanimously, after Hicks presented an amendment to the town’s current Disaster Recovery Services memorandum of agreement with the association that represents nearly 550 members. The service, valued at $30,000, is necessary for the town, which has been without a full-time finance director since last August.
“Fortunately, we found out they have allocated $30,000 to assist us, so those costs are free,” Hicks said. “We’ve been told if that $30,000 isn’t enough they will revisit it.”
Organizing the town’s finances is a top priority, the mayor responded.
A town facility impacted by Helene emerged as another priority, when the manager presented a discussion to consider a lease proposal for golf maintenance equipment. An agreement with Wells Fargo to procure multiple John Deere mowers and sprayers through a 60-month lease for $335,554 was set to expire Wednesday, March, 11. The monthly cost for the equipment, which will replace similar items destroyed in the 2024 flood, would be approximately $5,600.
“We are at the point where you need these pieces of equipment. It doesn’t make a difference if you have 9 holes or 18 holes, you still need the same pieces of equipment to maintain the course,” Hicks said.
The golf course has been borrowing its current used equipment for nearly 10 months, according to Black Mountain Golf Course Manager Brent Miller.
“That runs out, March 1, so we really don’t have much of a choice here, we’re going to have to get the equipment while it’s available, if we’re going to operate,” he told the council.
The council voted unanimously to approve the lease.