Robbinsville – The Town of Robbinsville will continue looking at the possibility of allowing the use of golf carts inside town limits.
Graham County citizen Darryl Slaughter – who uses his golf cart for transportation and mobility – asked the board to consider an ordinance allowing the registration of golf carts in town limits at the Aug. 4 board meeting. The board unanimously voted to continue looking into the matter.
Golf carts would only legally be allowed on town roads, not state rides passing through town limits.
Carts would, however, be allowed to cross state roads.
“You could go left or right, but not parallel,” pointed out Robbinsville Mayor Steve Hooper.
Board attorney M. Ellen Davis said the board would need to have a public hearing and adopt a resolution to pass such an ordinance.
Davis also said the town would have to issue permits to golf cart owners wanting to drive their carts in town limits.
“It would define what a golf cart is and the maximum speed of a golf cart,” Davis said.
Both Alderman Debbie Beasley and Alderman Brian “Taco” Johnson emphasized that it would be a process.
“It’s not going to happen overnight,” Johnson said.
The issue was considered after Slaughter first came to the board at its June meeting.
“We’re going to proceed and see what kind of steps we’d have to take but we’re going to see if we can make this come to light,” Johnson said.
Other news and notes
The board also set the date for a public hearing on the annexation of the land off Tallulah Road, where the former Huddle House sits.
The land was purchased by Hackney Petroleum, who owns the gas station next door and filed a petition for annexation. A public hearing on annexation for the land is scheduled for Sept. 1 at 1 p.m. and is a requirement for the annexation process.
The board also approved a $3,000 bid from E&D Contracting for the repair of the Junaluska Water Tank by a 2-1 vote. Alderman Shaun Adams had the dissenting vote.
Following an update on the town hall mold issue, the board unanimously voted to authorize Tim Creasman to improve the sidewalk and drain for the town hall basement, at a cost of $2,750.
Aldridge Brothers was also unanimously approved as the contractor for the Ghormley Street, Godfrey Street and Ward Street had projects in the amount of $53,000.
“We patched it, but we realized that we’re going to have to completely repave it, because the patch only lasts for a short time,” Johnson noted.