Maggie Valley finds potential new home for community quilters
It appears that Maggie Valley has found a new home for the Maggie Valley Quilters.
Club members were recently informed by town leaders that they would have to leave their long-time quilting space in the Flossie White room in town hall.
The decision went over like fraying stitches on a patchwork quilt.
The quilters club was scheduled to address alderman at the board’s monthly agenda setting meeting Tuesday morning to express displeasure about being evicted.
But no one from the group attended Tuesday’s meeting, as it appears the town has found a landing spot for the passionate and dedicated quilters.
Now the two sides just have to come together.
Mayor Mike Eveland said after Tuesday’s meeting that the Maggie Valley United Methodist Church has offered the quilters a space to practice their trade. Town officials, members of the Maggie Valley Quilters and church officials are scheduled to meet at the church today at 1 p.m. to discuss the proposal.
Maggie Valley United Methodist Church recently announced that it is permanently closing its preschool at the end the school year, freeing up space for the quilters to possibly make the move just down Soco Road from town hall.
The town made several inquiries around town attempting to find the quilters a new home, but Eveland said Maggie Valley Methodist is a promising location.
“We are going to meet with the ladies (Wednesday), and we are going to look at it,” Eveland said. “They are going to look at it and see if they are OK with it or not. It would be the end of April or the first part of May that room would be available and they would be able to move in.”
Town leaders cited two reasons for asking the club to find a new home. The room was heavily damaged during Hurricane Helene last September to the tune of almost $13,000.
Mold was a problem in the flooring and walls, and flood damage forced the removal of asbestos. In addition, the floor had to be pulled up and replaced, the walls treated for mold and the room repainted.
But more importantly Maggie Valley leaders also told the club that the fast-growing town needs the space for meetings, particularly working meetings that take place around tables loaded with documents and maps. For at least 23 years, residents in and around Maggie Valley have gathered at the old Maggie School, also known as town hall, to quilt.
“The town has grown and changed, and the town needs a board room,” Town Manager Vickie Best told The Mountaineer last week. “We need a place to meet that’s bigger than the conference room and smaller than the main board room.”
