Pless’ meeting with Maggie Valley town board postponed.
Mark Pless was a no-show at the Maggie Valley town board meeting Tuesday night, disappointing many who had planned to attend and witness the exchange between Pless and town leaders.
Pless had asked to appear before the board to discuss possible legislation that would allow property owners in Maggie Valley to be removed from town jurisdiction — which means they would no longer have to pay town property taxes. Pless had made the request through Alderman Philip Wight. According to other board members, Wight is the only Maggie alderman the state representative will speak to.
At an earlier meeting, Maggie aldermen expressed confusion over the proposal to give property owners a way to opt out of being part of the town but agreed to place Pless on the agenda. Pless had business in Raleigh that prevented him from attending after all.
Maggie Valley Mayor Mike Eveland said he was looking forward to the chance to talk with Pless about Maggie’s needs after Helene.
“He won’t take our phone calls. The people of Maggie Valley deserve the same attention that other municipalities in Haywood County and across the region are getting from their representative,” Eveland said. “I think it would have been a great opportunity to talk about our needs. We would certainly like to have a relationship with our representative.”
Pless has been at odds with Maggie after introducing a suite of bills two years ago limiting Maggie’s ability to regulate development. But with the town facing $4 million in storm damages, Eveland was more interested in having an opening to parley with Pless about restoration.
“Please come and let’s have a conversation about what you can do to help us at this time,” Eveland said.
Throughout the day Tuesday, town hall fielded phone calls from residents who intended to come to the meeting. Only a couple who hadn’t gotten the memo showed up anyway.
While Pless hasn’t spoken to Maggie leaders in two years other than Alderman Wight, he’s publicly criticized the board on more than one occasion — the most recent of which was when taking the mic during a GOP rally in the Ghost Town parking lot in the fall. The Maggie Valley town board is majority Republican, the same party as Pless.
