Robbinsville – The Robbinsville Board of Aldermen voted unanimously to begin the annexation process for a Tallulah Road property, accepting an annexation petition for certification by Town Clerk Sonya Webster.
At the request of its new owners, the board voted to begin the annexation process for the property where the now-closed Huddle House restaurant is located. The property was recently purchased by the owners of The Local Market convenience store located next to the Huddle House, who submitted a petition for annexation with plans to possibly build a new station on the land at some point.
Board Attorney M. Ellen Davis said that the path to annexation would take some time.
“You don’t vote to annex today,” Davis said. “As I explained, it takes about three months. What you vote on today is whether you’re going to set your clerk to do the certification. Then the clerk comes back and needs to verify the petition. “
The clerk would then come back at the next meeting with a certificate of sufficiency for annexation by petition.
After the three months, the law would require the board to hold a public hearing on the proposed annexation, after which it would be able to vote on the issue. The board would be allowed to vote immediately following the public hearing.
The property in question is non-contiguous with the town.
Other news and notes
The meeting also included an updated on the status of the town’s American Rescue plan money.
Webster said the town had not yet received the funds.
However, Mayor Steve Hooper said there was possibility of another grant for health coming to the county and other western North Carolina locales.
“There’s going to be some money that’s going to be coming down the line that there aren’t any heavy strings attached to,” Hooper said.
He said the funds included a grant for health projects for a large portion of western North Carolina, including Graham, Swain, Cherokee and Clay counties, as well as the Qualla Boundary.
“Just about anything having to do with health is just about guaranteed some money – somehow, somewhere,” Hooper said. “The governor has got people that are going to be touching base with us.”
He said the town would likely receive approximately $92,000 from the grant.