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The Valdese Town Council also opted not to move forward with building a sidewalk along Lovelady Road from Laurel Street to Valdese Lakeside Park.

Delayed pool covering

Plans for the Valdese swimming pool's cover have been kicked around since the bubble cover, used in the winter for 20 years, became irreparable. It was last used in winter 2023 and remains uncovered.

On Dec. 2, the council voted to approve a nearly $1.8 million bid from Houck Contracting to build a permanent aluminum structure with removable side panels over the pool. At that meeting, the council also accepted a $500,000 grant from the North Carolina Parks and Recreation Trust Fund to be used for accessibility at the pool.

Council Member Gary Ogle made the motion during the Dec. 2 meeting to accept a bid from Houck. In December, council members also voted to start a fundraising campaign to raise $300,000 to help pay for the new cover.

Ogle, who serves on the parks and recreation committee and said he is a proponent for a permanent pool cover, voted Monday night with council members Glenn Harvey and Heather Ward to postpone the project for six months.

The council members said the money will be needed in this year’s budget for the fire and police buildings.

During the open forum portion of the meeting, Rick McClurd spoke against the permanent pool enclosure, arguing that not many town residents use the public pool during the winter. He said about 61 residents use the pool during the winter, while between 50 to 100 people from outside the town use it during winter. People living outside town limits pay more to use the pool than residents.

Council Member Rexanna Lowman said those numbers don’t account for the Silver Sneakers members who use the pool.

McClurd said the town needs to put the project on hold to build or renovate police and fire department buildings. The combined public safety building that housed the two departments was deemed unsafe and the departments had to move into temporary buildings last year. The town is evaluating where to house the departments.

Susan Stevenson addressed the council as well. She said winter swimming is important for senior citizens, who have limited activities in the town.

“They go to the pool. With no cover, there is no winter activity,� Stevenson said. “So they lose their activity level.�

She said the pool cover is also beneficial for young people, with swim teams holding meets at the pool and winter birthday parties. She implored the council to stand by previous action and approve the permanent enclosure.

Sidewalk extension to Lakeside Park

The town council did not make a motion on a sidewalk extension project that was funded by a grant.

The town was approved for a $1.1 million grant for a sidewalk extension along Lovelady Road from Laurel Street to Crescent Street. The town's cost would be $286,000, said Interim Manager and Finance Director Bo Weichel.

The grant would require a second phase of the project to extend the sidewalk from Crescent Street to Lake Rhodhiss Drive, which goes up to Valdese Lakeside Park.

Weichel said the second phase would likely cost the town about $500,000.

Harvey said the project would be a sidewalk to nowhere.

"It might be 10 or 15 years before we get a sidewalk from Crescent down to the park," Harvey said.

The council did not make any motions on the project at Monday's meeting. Without a motion, Mayor Charlie Watts said the item was dead.

During public comment, McClurd not only spoke out against the pool enclosure but the Lovelady Road sidewalk project as well.

McClurd said he doesn’t think the council needs to take $300,000 out of the town budget for the sidewalk project.

Mark Small said there is a difference between wants and needs, saying there are more critical needs than the sidewalk project.

Allen King, the father of Council Member Heather Ward, spoke against the sidewalk project. He said the $300,000 for the sidewalk project could be spent on a police or fire building.

Beth Heile, president and founder of Friends of the Valdese Rec, spoke during the open forum portion of the meeting. She said it would be disappointing if the previously-approved Lovelady sidewalk project doesn’t move forward.

Margaret Friedel spoke in favor of both the pool and sidewalk project. She said not to use the federal grant the town received for the sidewalk project would tell the federal government not to take the town seriously when it applies for future funding.

Another speaker, Linda Cabot, had a larger question for the council.

“I have a question tonight. What has happened? What has happened to our town?,� Cabot said. “I've been here all my life and up until just recently, we sort of ticked along and did our thing and were a much-admired small, little town. Now we seem paralyzed. We can't move forward. We can't cover the pool. We can't build what we need for our police and fire. We can't find a town manager. We can't go ahead with the sidewalk project. And lastly, we're spending way too much money on our town attorney. I'm just real disappointed in the way this is going.�

Cabot said the town is in the same place it was a year ago.

“Your citizens want you to move forward with things,� Cabot said. “We don't know why you can’t. Why is it that we just come back month after month and try to redesign something?�

She said the town needs to move forward because if it doesn't, the council will never find a town manager who wants to work for the town.

The town has had three interim managers since the council terminated its last full-time manager, Seth Eckard, more than a year ago.

The Monday night meeting was the first regular meeting that saw a full board since Roger Heavner resigned from the Ward 2 seat three weeks after being appointed.

Melinda Zimmerman was sworn in Monday to serve out the Ward 2 unexpired term of Paul Mears, who moved out of town and stepped down from the board in October. Mears’ term ends in November. Zimmerman is a retired pharmacy director for Broughton Hospital and serves in her church, First United Methodist Church, as well as Burke United Christian Ministries.