Growth is an issue throughout most of Western North Carolina. But it ranks especially high on residents’ minds in Weaverville.
The town of about 5,000 people in Buncombe County has seen its population double in the last 25 years — and it’s expected to double again in the next three years. That’s largely because of the construction of a new AdventHealth hospital and other related development.
Next week’s municipal election marks a key moment for the town as it faces some big decisions about its future.
On a recent afternoon, Ricky Ponder was walking his dog on a small road near U.S. Highway 25-70, next to several new apartment complexes. Towering over the highway — and next to a large construction site — was a large sign declaring, “Future Home of AdventHealth Weaverville.”
Ponder, a 61-year-old Weaverville resident, said he’s looking forward to the day the new hospital opens, since it’ll provide a much-needed alternative to Asheville’s Mission Hospital.
“The hospital’s a good thing,” he told BPR. “We need it here in Weaverville. Mission needs some competition. It should’ve never been sold in the first place — a non-profit to a profit’s never a good idea.”
But Ponder also said he’s concerned about things like whether the town’s water and sewer plants are resilient enough to handle the growing population.
“Buncombe County as a whole needs to focus a little bit more on the growth so that they don’t overload the infrastructure,” he said.
In this year’s municipal elections in Weaverville, three Town Council seats and the mayor’s office are on the ballot. Six candidates are vying for Town Council: Mark Endries, Jennifer Young, Fred Borth, Phil Barnett, Eleanor Mrozkowski and David King. Two candidates are running for mayor: Dee Lawrence and Andrew Nagle.
At a candidate forum in Weaverville’s Town Hall last week, every office-seeker raised the issue of the hospital and the big changes ahead. There were few disagreements, and the candidates largely voiced support for each other’s viewpoints. The event was moderated by the town’s current mayor, Patrick Fitzsimmons, and former mayor Al Root.
In a comment that underscored the choices facing the town, mayoral candidate and current Town Council member Dee Lawrence told the audience, “Everybody that I’ve talked to knocking on doors for the last three months has said something about, ‘What are you going to do about managing the growth?’”
The election is the first since AdventHealth announced its plans to build its new hospital on the 30-acre site off U.S. Highway 25-70. The hospital could have anywhere from 93 to 222 beds, depending on state approval and pending legal challenges from Mission Hospital.
Whatever the hospital’s size, it’s a transformational moment for the town, according to candidate Jennifer Young, a registered nurse and Weaverville planning board member.
“Having AdventHealth move into our community is the biggest thing that’s happened to Weaverville in its 150-year history,” Young said during the candidate forum. “We are very fortunate that we got the Certificate of Need for this hospital to come out here.”
Across the board, voters and candidates said they believe the hospital’s arrival is a good thing for Weaverville. Some pointed out that it’ll expand the town’s tax base and boost the local economy. Others said they’re looking forward to having a nearby choice besides Mission, which has faced allegations of understaffing and complaints over patient safety ever since it was bought by HCA Healthcare in 2019.
But there are still a lot of growth-related concerns that the town and its electoral hopefuls are only beginning to grapple with. These include traffic congestion, pedestrian safety and the big question of housing — where to build it, how much of it to build, and whether enough of it will be affordable.
Candidate Eleanor Mrozkowski highlighted the competing priorities facing Weaverville. She said she commutes along U.S. Highway 25-70 every day and that it’s important to make sure the transit corridor doesn’t become another bottleneck for people.
But, she noted: “It’s also important that as we bring in all these new jobs for the hospital, that we build housing for them right there so that they aren’t driving across town and adding to the Main Street bottleneck, or living in other communities and not adding to our tax base.”
Emergency services are also a big issue. Andrew Nagle, a former Town Council member running for mayor, said the town needs more fire stations to better reach its expanding population. He said fire engines are currently having to work their way through the congestion of Main Street because there aren’t enough stations located away from the city center.
“We’re going to have to expand it,” he said. “Especially with the growth and being stuck at the Five Points down by Tractor Supply and that being our only place to start saving people — it just isn’t going to work out with this type of growth.”
Other types of spaces like skate parks and athletic facilities will be needed as well, candidates noted, as the town prepares for the arrival of new residents, including more families with children.
Some new amenities are already underway that could appeal to a variety of residents. Phil Barnett, a Town Council hopeful who chairs Weaverville’s Economic Development Advisory Committee, said an old factory on Reems Creek Road will soon be renovated to house an art gallery, artist studios, a few breweries. Also, the Grail Moviehouse, which was formerly in Asheville and was destroyed by Hurricane Helene, is expected to move to the area.
He also noted that there are “two investors that are really excited about building a paddle sports facility there — both inside and outside — that would include pickleball.”
One issue town staff are already working hard on is bringing public transit to Weaverville, according to Scottie Harris, Weaverville’s town manager, who was appointed earlier this year and who isn’t running for office.
“You can’t wait until the hospital gets here and then say, ‘Oh, by the way, how do we get people here?’” Harris told BPR in an interview. “You’ve got to start [getting] these plans in place. And that’s why we’ve started those discussions on hopefully being able to create bus stops and routes and different things in there.”
Ultimately, Harris said, the success of the town’s future development depends on the involvement of residents.
“Get out, be involved — not just during election season,” he said. “Tell us what the needs are and let’s collaborate together on how to find solutions for those needs.”
Weaverville residents can vote early through Saturday, November 1st. Election Day is Tuesday, November 4th. For more details, check out our municipal elections guide here.
