Maggie looks forward to lower tax rate, growth

Mar. 9—The Maggie Valley Board of Aldermen met Monday morning to discuss the potential 2021-22 budget.

While nothing was voted on, and it's still too early to know exactly what the tax rate will be and where the money will go, the town seems optimistic about its fiscal future, services it provides and long-term projects.

Near the beginning, Mayor Mike Evaland quickly pointed out that the town will likely come out of the economic downturn spurred by the pandemic better than initially thought.

"It's all good news, we just don't know how good," he said.

"It seems like we're in a lot better position than some towns," Alderwoman Twinkle Patel added.

While the town doesn't quite have all the data to pinpoint a new property tax rate yet, Town Manager Nathan Clark was able to provide a decent prediction based on the fact that property valuations are likely to increase the town's overall tax base. The current rate is .43 cents per $100 of value, but to minimize the increase in property owners' tax bills, Clark recommended dropping that rate.

"Based upon where things are and what we want to do, we need to be somewhere in .38-.41," he said.

Clark also noted that certain things — and especially larger projects — have become more expensive in recent years, which changes how much money may be needed to keep things going.

"For every dollar of value in 2015 is 1.10 in today's terms," he said.

Economic development

Considering Maggie Valley's reliance on the tourism industry, economic development was also a major topic of conversation.

With that in mind, one topic discussed was festival ground events, especially the town's Backyard Fourth of July celebration. Over five years ago, when the event was known as "Red, White and Boom," it featured a carnival and ran the town about $150,000. Its current iteration, which features a backyard-style barbecue and fireworks, costs closer to $15,000.

While there wasn't much disagreement that the current format is the right way to celebrate, they did discuss how to get the most boom for their buck from the fireworks show, which, given the geographical orientation of the launch site, is one of the best in the region. Public works director Mehaffey said there is little room to add more racks for more shells, but it is possible, considering the tree canopy is the most limiting factor.

"We can maybe trim some of that and add another three or four racks," he said.

Clark mentioned that another key to economic development — as well as infrastructural developments — is for the town to apply for more outside grants. But when it comes to those grants, which are often so competitive, anything worth doing is worth doing right.

"To be able to bring these grants before agencies, we have to have the right details," he said.

The biggest buzz around Maggie Valley right now is the boon that might come from the development of the Ghost Town in the Sky amusement park, which has sat abandoned for years. Clark noted that the potential buyer/property developer who's eyeing Ghost Town already has purchased at least two properties in town — one along Moody Farm Road for a 23-unit subdivision and a campground.

"He's got his toe already in the development waters," Clark said, noting that could be a good sign of the developer's commitment to Ghost Town.

Clark finished by noting that board members can do their part to attract business to Maggie Valley, using the anecdote of how Dave Angel came to open Elevated Mountain Distillery in town. Basically, once Clark saw that he'd won a competition and wanted to open a distillery, he just reached out and said, "Why not Maggie?"

"Sometimes it's as simple as a phone call when you see something new and good," Clark told the board.

But as Maggie gains notoriety, that may become less necessary as development seems to be on the horizon, either way. Clark said, for example, just recently, a software developer bought 500 acres and an attorney from Florida acquired 400 acres.

"If there was any doubt, there should be none anymore that this is a desirable destination," Clark said.

Quality staff, quality services

A major point many brought up was the immense pride the board has in town employees and the services they provide, from public safety to planning to public works.

"There's that relationship where town staff is willing to lend a hand whenever they can," Clark said.

To the board, the key is to balance fiscal responsibility with providing services that best suit Maggie Valley's needs.

The Maggie Valley Police Department may be the most rapidly changing department the town has. A lot of the newest shifts Chief Russ Gilliland is looking toward in the coming year have been spurred by the current climate around policing and the systemic changes likely on the horizon. To keep up, Gilliland is hoping to get between $7,000 and $10,000 to pay the law firm Smith, Rogers and Aldridge, which specializes in representing law enforcement, to go toward creating a new policy manual that provides a new focus on training, de-escalation and use-of-force protocol.

In addition, it was discussed that a few other relatively large items will be in the proposed budget, including money for another Dodge Charger, another Dodge Durango, body-worn armor and in-car camera systems.

Larger projects

While much of the money in each year's budget goes toward services, it's often large-scale projects that draw the most attention. Many of the projects discussed at Monday's meeting won't surprise anyone.

Some projects, such as some larger sewer system improvements, have a longer timeline of three to five years or even beyond, but some are imminent. Many of the most visible projects involve road improvements. While some — such as the $42,000 Rocky Top Road improvement — will affect side roads. The one most people are wondering about is the long-discussed Soco Road improvement. Clark addressed that, noting that all NCDOT projects were halted in March 2020, including that one.

But now that the department's budget uncertainties spurred by the pandemic have been straightened out, many projects were given permission to resume. Clark said the town has been meeting with NCDOT representatives, as well as American Engineering, to discuss updates.

"The project could be completed within a year or two," Clark said.

Board members discussed how, in the past, parks have provided a chance for residents to see exactly where their taxpayer dollars have gone. Those parks, which capitalize on the town's natural beauty and often provide creek access, have been overwhelmingly popular.

"Those parks are a visual and people get to see where their tax dollars are at," Eveland said.

Next up may be a park, or even just a statue, to honor our nation's veterans. While all of the aldermen seemed in favor of the idea, it was Phillip Wight who most adamantly voiced his support.

"To me, this is something we have to get done, we have to honor our veterans," Wight said.

One slide in Clark's presentation showed a potential design that featured a depiction of an older man with a cane in a bomber jacket and garrison cap rising out of a wheel chair to salute. The board agreed that right in front of town hall would likely be the best place for such a statue.

Another project discussed was simply a 5,000-square-foot warehouse for town works to use as storage for decorations, such as the large ski town display that decorated the eastern entrance into the valley beginning late last year.

"Until a new storage facility is made, our winter lighting program is on hold," Clark said.

While that warehouse is estimated to cost $125,600, Public Works Director Mike Mehaffey noted that it would eliminate the $10,000-per-year storage rental fee the town is currently forking over.

Economic development

Considering Maggie Valley's reliance on the tourism industry, economic development was also a major topic of conversation.

With that in mind, one topic discussed was festival ground events, especially the town's Backyard Fourth of July celebration. Over five years ago, when the event was known as "Red, White and Boom," it featured a carnival and ran the town about $150,000. Its current iteration, which features a backyard-style barbecue and fireworks, costs closer to $15,000.

While there wasn't much disagreement that the current format is the right way to celebrate, they did discuss how to get the most boom for their buck from the fireworks show, which, given the geographical orientation of the launch site, is one of the best in the region. Public works director Mehaffey said there is little room to add more racks for more shells, but it is possible, considering the tree canopy is the most limiting factor.

"We can maybe trim some of that and add another three or four racks," he said.

Clark mentioned that another key to economic development — as well as infrastructural developments — is for the town to apply for more outside grants. But when it comes to those grants, which are often so competitive, anything worth doing is worth doing right.

"To be able to bring these grants before agencies, we have to have the right details," he said.

The biggest buzz around Maggie Valley right now is the boon that might come from the development of the Ghost Town in the Sky amusement park, which has sat abandoned for years. Clark noted that the potential buyer/property developer who's eyeing Ghost Town already has purchased at least two properties in town — one along Moody Farm Road for a 23-unit subdivision and a campground.

"He's got his toe already in the development waters," Clark said, noting that could be a good sign of the developer's commitment to Ghost Town.

Clark finished by noting that board members can do their part to attract business to Maggie Valley, using the anecdote of how Dave Angel came to open Elevated Mountain Distillery in town. Basically, once Clark saw that he'd won a competition and wanted to open a distillery, he just reached out and said, "Why not Maggie?"

"Sometimes it's as simple as a phone call when you see something new and good," Clark told the board.

But as Maggie gains notoriety, that may become less necessary as development seems to be on the horizon, either way. Clark said, for example, just recently, a software developer bought 500 acres and an attorney from Florida acquired 400 acres.

"If there was any doubt, there should be none anymore that this is a desirable destination," Clark said.

The board is planning to conduct an April work session to determine exactly what will be in the actual budget.