Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Paving and sewer projects, equipment upgrades and community events discussed

 

TRYON—The Tryon Town Council held its regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, May 21, to discuss the 2024/2025 budget. 

Town Manager Jim Fatland explained to the board that the budget audit report was finished. An audit presentation will take place at the budget work session, which will be held on Friday, May 31, at 9 a.m. in the Tryon Depot meeting room. After the work session, the town council will have ten days to review the budget and ask any questions it may have. 

The proposed budget included several upcoming projects, including the paving of Carolina Drive by Red Bird Road and the entire lower section of Laurel Way. These projects are tentatively scheduled to be completed on June 10.  

Fatland continued by reminding the board of the recent attempts to purchase a new dump truck and lawnmower, and asked the board to consider buying used equipment instead to get the equipment faster.

“One of the challenges we had this past year is that equipment in the town is very old,” said Fatland. “When you have bad equipment, it does affect morale. We spend a lot of money at Stott’s Ford for maintaining equipment.”

Future plans also include providing more street lights and sidewalks downtown, as well as public restrooms. 

“I think that’ll happen this year. We’re just waiting for the location and costs. That’ll be an agenda item for you later this year,” Fatland said regarding the restrooms. 

In addition, the Braewick, Hidden Hill, Oak, Markham and Grady sewer projects “have already been set in motion,” according to Fatland. 

Later in the meeting, the Tryon Downtown Development Association also announced that the 2024 Tryon Beer Fest will be held on November 2 of this year, and there are also plans for a Barbecue Brawl to be held on September 21. The Barbecue Brawl will be similar to the Guns n’ Hoses Chili Cook-Off held earlier this year, where attendees enjoyed samples and voted for their favorite. 

Tryon Mayor Alan Peoples also announced an open invitation to celebrate the life of his late wife, Harriet, at the Sunnydale Building on June 2 from 2 to 5 p.m. Mayor Peoples said there will be beer and wine, and the memorial is open to the public.