New housing development, community orchard and more on Clyde's plate
Feb. 18—The Clyde governing board met on Thursday, Feb. 9, for their monthly town meeting.
The menagerie of topics included a 13-home subdivision, new tree going up, an old tree going down, and an introduction to Haywood Regional Medical Centers new CEO. Here are some highlights:
Housing development
A 13-home subdivision on 8.5 acres is coming to the Clyde area, located outside of town on Mulberry Street going toward Stamey Cove. The Brinkley Family Farms Subdivision already clear the town planning board and came before the town board for final approval, which passed unanimously.
The development will have half-acre lots. There is no water and sewer out toward Stamey Cove, so homes will be on wells and septic. A land disturbing permit has already been granted by the county. The developer is Brinkley Family Farms LLC out of Kings Mountain, North Carolina.
Community orchard
Plans were unveiled to turn vacant property that was part of the 2004 flood buy-out into a community orchard.
Over 36 varieties of apple trees have been purchased by the town, as well as a slew of other plants, including blueberry bushes. The orchard will be open to volunteers who wish to plant and tend the community garden alongside the town public works department, eventually producing fruit for all to enjoy.
The orchard will be located on a corner lot at Broad and Spruce streets. The property was flooded during the 2004 floods and became part of the FEMA buy-out program, getting deeded to the county.
A motion was passed to formally ask the Haywood County commissioners to use the lot for the community orchard. The project fits with Clyde's designation as Tree City U.S.A. town.
Removing a tree
The board voted unanimously to remove a tree that is shielding a speed limit sign on the east side of town. The tree will be taken down and a new tree, of a type not yet determined will be planted elsewhere in the town.
New HRMC CEO
Haywood Regional Medical Center CEO Chris Brown, who took the helm in November 2022, introduced himself to the town board members. Brown spoke of improvements and topics that would be a focus under his leadership
—Improving imaging
—Expand on primary care providers.
—Expand orthopedic providers.
—Grow emergency department and urgent care.
—Debt-ease access
—Upgrade cardiology equipment.
—Grow behavioral health patient experience.
—Satisfaction of care.
Brown also said HRMC still relies on contract healthcare workers to fill gaps but hopes to recruit more hires with sign-on bonuses and outreach programs to Haywood Community College and other schools in the area.
Tourism check-in
Lynn Collins, director of the Haywood Tourism and Development Authority, gave a report on tourism and development for the town of Clyde.
—Room tax collections on overnight stays is up 7% over this time last fiscal year and 25 % ahead of projections.
—The number of vacation rentals on the market has increased from 90 to 113.
—Vacation rental bookings are also up, with 102 booked listings in December 2022 compared to 88 in December 2021.
Collins also shared data of tourist behavior collected from smart phones. Visitors who opt-in to Geo tracking allows the TDA to capture data on where they are going while they are here.
The E-Z Stop in Clyde was the number one most-frequented stop for visitors, The Pioneer restaurant made number three, with Walmart coming in second place. Though it is not in the town of Clyde, Walmart made the list as it is often frequented by tourists who are visiting locations in the town of Clyde.
Collins also said a major increase in traffic coincided with the opening of the Skyland Camp for Girls.