The Town of Black Mountain will move forward with temporary repairs of the upper level of the Lakeview Center for Active Aging, following an Oct. 28, special call meeting.
Elected leaders, with Ryan Stone absent, voted, 4-0, to approve a budget amendment funding the $15,000 project.
The two-level town recreation structure overlooking Lake Tomahawk experienced significant flooding during Tropical Storm Helene, which resulted in approximately four feet of water throughout the lower level. During the remediation process, crews discovered previously undocumented fire damage to the structural support system beneath the top floor, which was mostly unaffected by the natural disaster.
While the bottom floor was closed to the public, due to extensive damage, the compromised support beams led to a determination that the upper level was unsafe for more than eight occupants. The facility, serving as a temporary work space for four recreation staff displaced from their offices in the aftermath of the storm, has been unable to host senior programs since.
Engineering reports form two firms, one received in November of 2024 and the other at the request of Mayor Michael Sobol last July, recommended joining additional joists to the existing support structure to meet the assembly load capacity standard of 100 pounds per square foot. Three seniors urged the town council, in its Oct. 13, regular monthly meeting, to authorize funding for the project.
A follow-up special call meeting on the topic was announced the next week, as elected officials were updated on the current status of the structure. A press release, issued, Oct. 23, by the Town, announced Arete Engineering completed a site visit to the property and was in the process of developing a detailed damage assessment, outlining the extent of the storm damage and requirements to bring the entire structure into compliance with the National Flood Insurance Program.
Recent changes in funding availability through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Public Assistance program allow the Town to move forward with temporary repairs to the building, according the press release.
“We’re asking for $15,000, and I think that should be enough to cover this as a budget amendment from the general fund to get the upstairs of Lakeview back up and going for the seniors and other folks,” Town Manager Josh Harrold told the board to open Tuesday’s meeting.
The next steps in the process, he told the board, will require staff to seek bids, in addition to others previously presented by the mayor. Town staff is in contact with Arete, which is assessing requirements related to the future of the overall building, situated within a floodplain, assistant manager Jessica Trotman told the board.
“I have reached out to them, separately, to prepare the documents for the building permit,” she said.
No immediate timeline for the completion of the repairs was given during the tense 18-minute meeting, but the town manager indicated the engineering firm’s documentation related to the repair would likely take “a couple of weeks” to complete.
“I don’t know for sure, but it doesn’t seem like something that will be that challenging, dealing with the upstairs,” Harrold said.
Sobol pressured town staff to expedite the project, questioning the requirement to obtain floodplain permits for repairs on the second level. That standard, Trotman responded, is required for any building within a floodplain.
“Even if it’s interior work, you have to have a floodplain development permit, that’s the federal law,” she said. “The reason is that you have to track investment in structures over time, because it tips at a certain percentage and the building has to come up to all applicable codes.”
Councilmember Alice Berry encouraged patience from the public.
“Mayor, I hear your frustration about the time this is taking, but this is not something we want to cut corners with,” she said, adding the town needed to follow proper procedures.
The mayor expressed exasperation with the process of repairing the structure, which, prior to the storm, served as a central venue in which the town hosted recreational and educational activities for local seniors.
“As long as this has taken, and it has taken over a year, it’s very frustrating. I’m very frustrated, as are the citizens in this,” he said, encouraging the town manager not to seek another bid for the project.
“None of these bids were received under anyone’s authority, therefore we’re going to do it the correct way,” Harrold responded.
Sobol countered that he sought approval from the manager before soliciting estimates for the repairs.
“You came (to me), because you would not leave me alone,” Harrold said. “Yes, that’s correct. It continues and continues and continues, just like it is right now. We’re ready to vote on it, and go to work. That’s all that needs to be said.”
Vice Mayor Archie Pertiller, Jr. expressed his personal support for re-opening the senior center, while addressing the tone of the conversation on the topic.
“It amazes me, how, as a community, we came together during (Helene), like we were one big family, with everybody working together, nobody calling each other names and nobody arguing with each other, and we were doing the best we could to hold this town together,” he said. “Now look at us, arguing with each other.”
Sobol quickly responded to the comment.
“I don’t think anyone has called anyone any names today,” he said. “You talk about showing who you really are, I am damn proud that I am trying to get this senior center open.”
Councilmember Pam King acknowledged the mayor had done “a lot of work” addressing the issue.
“We all understand you have been focused and working on a lot of things for the town,” she said. “That doesn’t mean the rest of us haven’t been working hard, too, and it doesn’t mean staff hasn’t been working hard. It’s not a competition.”
She called the situation involving the senior center “really unfortunate.”
“Nobody wanted the senior center to stay closed any longer than it had to, but as information unfolded and evaluations and assessments of buildings transpired, we realized the situation evolved and our options changed,” King said. “To say we could’ve done something (in 2024) is not accurate.”
King asked for a vote on Hay’s motion to fund the repairs.
SOURCE: Fred McCormick
The Valley EchoOctober 28, 2025
