Town of Black Mountain exploring temporary options to house fire and police departments
Navigating Displacement from public safety building represents top priority for elected leaders
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
April 15, 2026
The Town of Black Mountain is considering options for temporary housing for its public safety departments, which were displaced from their shared facility, last March, following concerns over the structural integrity of the building. Photo by Fred McCormick
Nearly a month after Black Mountain Police and Fire Departments vacated most of the public safety building at 106 Montreat Road, due to concerns with the structural integrity of the nearly 40-year-old facility, chiefs representing each agency, on April 13, provided elected officials with an update, as the town council held its regular monthly meeting.
The presentation from Fire Chief John Coffey and Police Chief Steve Parker emphasized challenges in an “unstable and unsustainable” environment.
Town officials, in a March 12 emergency meeting, agreed to relocate both departments to temporary accommodations at the Ridgecrest Conference Center, and later the parsonage of the Black Mountain Presbyterian Church. The town council, in a special call meeting, April 1, allocated approximately $179,000 to fund a pubic safety temporary facilities project ordinance.
The current situation, Coffey told the board in his opening statement, is impacting safety, response capability and service to the community of both public safety departments. The fire chief characterized the displacement as a “growing operational risk” that is being managed daily.
Representatives from Mosely Architects and engineering firm McGill Associates, on March 9, presented a comprehensive study of the facility to the town council, estimating a total deferred maintenance cost of approximately $2.2 million. While the professional opinion of the architect who examined the building was that the living quarters were unsafe to occupy, the bays that house the fire equipment is suitable for its current use.
While administrative personnel from both public safety departments and law enforcement officers have been working in rented space at the Ridgecrest Conference Center, on-duty firefighters are stationed at the church property directly across the street from the station. Staff will relocate from the conference center to a vacant building on the property of Givens Highland Farms, Monday, April 20, after the facility offered to allow the town to lease the space through October for $1, according to the town manager.
“However, this is not an ideal solution, it was the only viable option to maintain response capability,” Coffey said. “We have kept our apparatuses secured in the station’s bays, which is critical. This is millions of dollars worth of equipment and maintaining security and preventing tampering is non-negotiable.”
The displacement has created a “measurable delay in response times,” while Buncombe County Emergency Medical Services personnel are being housed in Swannanoa, the fire chief added.
“Despite that, we’re doing everything possible to meet the (Insurance Services Office) standards and state requirements,” Coffey said. “At this time, morale has been significantly affected, and our firefighters are operating in conditions that are far from normal.”
The recent resignation of two senior positions within the police department have created a “staffing crisis,” according to Chief Parker, who spoke to his staff about potential concerns.
“You have a patrol staff that doesn’t really have a bathroom or a place to unwind, and Ridgecrest isn’t the best environment to go up three flights of stairs and then on to an emergency call,” he said. “Currently, we have seven vacant positions, total. We’ve had multiple retirements that have come around the same time, and you can’t always forecast that.”
Morale within the BMPD is a “critical concern,” Parker continued, before adding that officers feel “underpaid, underappreciated and not adequately valued.”
“This is direct feedback from your workforce,” he said. “If the trend continues, the risk of losing more experienced personnel is real.”
Parker added that staff with the department do not feel as though their concerns are not “being heard” as loudly as local residents advocating for repairs to other town-owned facilities.
Those projects are not necessarily in direct conflict with each other, the town manager said in a follow-up interview after the meeting.
“They’re all separate projects and all moving at different paces and timelines,” Hicks said. “Most of this will involve FEMA and some grant funding, but if FEMA doesn’t pay for trailers to temporarily house the departments, we’ll have to look at our budget to figure out how to pay those costs.”
The departments asked the town council for “decisive action” and to reaffirm public safety as a top priority.
A request for FEMA to fund temporary housing for the departments was submitted in early April, according to Parker, while town staff continues to evaluate the cost of purchasing a used triple-wide modular facility from the City of Hendersonville.
“That’s something the council will need to know, as far as a game plan, or Plan A and B, from you guys, so they can make the decision on what to do,” Mayor Michael Sobol said. “Do you think maybe by the middle of the month, if we call a special meeting, will you have some pathways?”
The departments are communicating with FEMA and Buncombe County Emergency Management to coordinate a long-term temporary solution while the town continues to assess the public safety building.
“We need two triple-wide modulars, one for fire and one for police,” Parker said. “We also need a conex box for ammunition and evidence.”
Additional information will be required before the town council can make a final decision, according to the mayor.
“Right now, it’s in flux, as far as what you need, what you want and what FEMA is going to do,” Sobol said. “If you can tie that package together and come back to us, that would be a good thing.”
While personnel prepare to move to a temporary location at Givens Highland Farms, town staff will meet with FEMA representatives, Thursday, April 16, according to Hicks.
“That meeting will be to receive an update on all of our FEMA projects, so hopefully we can receive more information on this specific project,” he said.