Fwd: Black Mountain Public Safety Building Debate Continues as Officials Weigh Repairs, Replacement

The Town of Black Mountain could still be months away from deciding the future of its public safety operations after the former Public Safety Building was deemed unsafe earlier this year, forcing police and firefighters into temporary facilities.

The issue was discussed again during Black Mountain Town Council meetings Aug. 6 and Aug. 10 as town officials, public safety leaders and residents continued to grapple with the condition of the building, emergency response times and the cost of a permanent solution. 

Police are operating from a retirement facility, while firefighters have been working from a church and another temporary location.

Black Mountain Police Chief Steve Parker told town leaders the arrangement is creating operational challenges.

“I've never seen where public safety is working out of a retirement home, and fire is working out of a church with an ad hoc house,” Parker said. “These conditions are not good.”

Parker said the temporary arrangements are affecting emergency response.

“We find ourselves struggling with increased response times, and seconds can matter in someone's life,” Parker said.

Parker said the building has experienced structural problems since at least 2012, but Hurricane Helene accelerated the deterioration.

“After the hurricane, we saw a significant increase in structure degradation,” Parker said.

He also described problems inside the building, including deterioration of the ceiling.

“[The] interior ceiling has started collapsing in, and the lights have actually fallen down,” Parker said.

Repair or replace?

Town officials are now considering whether to renovate the existing facility or construct a new emergency operations center elsewhere.

Before making a final decision, officials have requested an assessment of what it would take to repair the current building and how much those repairs would cost.

Mayor C. Michael Sobol acknowledged that the facility needs work but questioned whether the entire building should be considered unusable.

“Does it need some repairs? Absolutely, it does. There's no question about it,” Sobol said. “But is it unsafe? Well, right now, the fire department's still using part of it, so it can't be totally unsafe.”

Sobol also emphasized that the town has a responsibility to balance public safety needs with the cost to residents.

“We will always provide the needs of the fire department and the needs of the police department, but not the wants,” Sobol said.

Parker rejected the characterization of the building issue as a matter of wants.

“It's not a want, this is a need,” Parker said. “There have to be tough choices made because the citizens' lives matter, right? That's what matters here.”

Years of warnings

The dispute comes against a longer history of concerns about the facility.

Black Mountain police and fire officials recently said engineering studies dating back more than a decade identified problems with the building.

The departments said a 2011-2012 study by Medlock & Associates Engineering identified major repairs needed to prevent further deterioration. They said the recommended work was not funded or initiated.

A previous fire chief raised similar concerns in 2019, followed by another engineering assessment and recommendations. According to the departments, that work also was not funded or initiated.

Another building study was initiated in August 2024, before Hurricane Helene.

The departments said a December 2024 engineering assessment documented unstable subsurface soils, deterioration of the original foundation and a stormwater line beneath the building that could be contributing to settlement.

“That’s at minimum three engineering assessments spanning more than 15 years, reaching the same conclusion,” the department said in a lengthy statement on Aug. 12.

The town's current debate therefore extends beyond whether the building needs repairs. It also raises questions about how long the problems have been known, what recommendations were made and why significant work was not completed earlier.

Looking for outside money

Parker said police and fire officials are attempting to limit the financial burden on Black Mountain taxpayers.

“We're going after grants, congressional funding, and filing a second FEMA appeal to make sure that we have funding,” Parker said.

The police and fire departments previously said their chiefs had secured more than $400,000 in donated temporary housing and worked with state officials to obtain more than 16 acres of land for $1.

The departments have also said they have pursued grants, federal assistance and other outside funding rather than simply asking local taxpayers to finance a replacement facility.

No permanent decision yet

For now, Black Mountain's public safety operations remain divided among temporary locations while town officials evaluate their options.

The town has not announced when the latest assessment will be completed or when a final decision will be made on whether to repair the existing facility or build a new emergency operations center.

Parker urged officials to stop delaying the decision.

“Go ahead and stop punting the ball down the road because it's been punted for a long time,” Parker said.

The project estimate is $20 million, according to a recent presentation.

The debate now leaves Black Mountain with two competing priorities: providing police and firefighters with a safe and functional facility while protecting taxpayers from an unnecessarily expensive project.

The town's challenge will be determining the actual cost of each option — and whether years of deferred action have made the eventual solution more expensive.