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Sylva officials to celebrate watershed’s conservation
By Lynn Hotaling and Stephanie Salmons

Sylva’s elected officials, along with The Land Trust for the Little Tennessee and Region A Council of Governments will host a brief event at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 4, at Sylva’s Town Hall to celebrate the permanent conservation of the town’s 1,088-acre Pinnacle Park.

The park, which comprises the town’s Fisher Creek watershed, was one of the largest unprotected properties remaining in the Plott Balsams; Sylva officials last month finalized the contract to protect the property.

The town acquired the tract in 1912, and it served as the town’s source of drinking water until 1992, when the Tuckaseigee Water and Sewer Authority was formed. TWSA continued to use Fisher Creek to supply its customers until the authority’s Cullowhee water treatment plant was completed in 1997. Sylva leaders leased the town’s former watershed to the Pinnacle Park Foundation, which is headed by local attorney Jay Coward, in 1995. The term of that lease is 25 years.

The Herald learned from Coward Tuesday (Nov. 27) that the Pinnacle Park Foundation board intends to “extinguish” its lease on the property during a Dec. 4 PPF board meeting prior to the 10 a.m. celebration.

“Our intent was always that the ultimate goal was a permanent conservation easement for the watershed,” Coward said during a Nov. 27 telephone interview. “The lease was put in place to safeguard the property from development until a permanent conservation agreement could be negotiated.”

According to Kate Parkerson of the Land Trust for the Little Tennessee, the town of Sylva contributed millions of dollars of land value, which was matched by a $3.5 million dollar grant from the CWMTF “to protect in perpetuity the water quality and natural heritage of the watershed.”

During Tuesday’s event, special recognition will be given to state Sen. John Snow (D-Murphy), state Rep. Phil Haire (D-Sylva), and the N.C. Clean Water Management Trust Fund.

Pinnacle Park was also a topic during Sylva’s Nov. 15 town board meeting when officials heard from Bill Gibson, director of Region A/Southwestern Commission and a member of the Pinnacle Park Foundation board.

With the PPF planning to vacate its active watershed management role, the town would be “well disposed” to join with other groups or volunteers that would like to help maintain Pinnacle Park, Gibson told town board members.

North Carolina’s Clean Water Management Trust Fund holds the conservation easement, but that group will not be involved with the long-term management of the watershed, which is essentially left to the town board, Gibson said.

“I think coming up at your Dec. 4 celebration it would be good to announce a general notion of how you will manage that property in the future,” Gibson said.

The contract with the NCCWMTF is very specific about things that are prohibited and allowed Gibson said, adding that a continued partnership with an organization such as the Pinnacle Park Foundation could help make sure potential uses are consistent with the requirements.

“One of those ways is to continue some integration with the Pinnacle Park Foundation,” Gibson said. “Have a partner with you so there is a partner organization with you that can put together volunteers so that will not be a big financial burden or management burden. Also, there could be outside monies available that could not necessarily come to and through a local government, they would have to come to and through a non-profit group such as a ‘friends of the park’ group.”

Board member and vice mayor Maurice Moody, who presided in the absence of Mayor Brenda Oliver, said he appreciated Gibson addressing the board.

“We do appreciate what the Pinnacle Park Foundation has done up there in the past, but we have a small board here this morning so I don’t think we will make a decision, but we have discussed using volunteer organizations to help maintain the park. So we will certainly keep your comments in mind,” Moody said.

In addition to Oliver, board members Danny Allen and Ray Lewis were absent from the meeting.