An application to use Bridge Park and Main Street for the annual Pride event has led the Town of Sylva to a larger discussion about safety and the use of town resources for events held downtown.

Town Manager Paige Dowling officially presented the proposed 2023-24 budget to the Sylva Board of Commissioners during its May 11 meeting. Next, the public will have its opportunity for input during the 5:30 p.m. T, May 25 meeting of the town board.

Sylva has approved a zoning map amendment request in order to allow for the possible construction of an affordable housing development on Savannah Drive.

Residents in the Town of Sylva will be able to keep poultry in the downtown business district after commissioners voted to adopt an ordinance amending town code earlier this month.

Sylva has received the results of an in-depth botanical survey of Pinnacle Park revealing that the property is a bonanza of biodiversity. Now, the town is partnering with Jackson County and the Jackson County Tourism Development Authority to fund a master plan implementing survey recommendations.    

I live in an old farmhouse that is literally falling apart. Each spring, clouds of termites rise in the bathroom and the bedroom, coating the windows and covering the kitchen stove and the mirrors in the bathroom with tiny wings — wings that clog my vacuum cleaner for weeks.

After pressing the brakes on Sylva’s municipal grant application, county commissioners have decided to approve a portion of the grant, none of which will go toward a public mural that had been cause for concern among commissioners.

Sylva taxpayers may be looking at a one-cent tax increase in the coming 2023-24 fiscal year. In return for that increase, the town would see the Main Street Sylva director’s position move from half-time to full-time with greatly expanded responsibilities. 

The Sylva Board of Commissioners selected Brad Waldrop as its newest member, filling a seat that had been vacant since the resignation of Mayor Lynda Sossamon in January. 

The Town of Sylva began its budget process last week with the first workshop of the year. Staff and elected officials discussed the possibility of a coming recession, ongoing projects in the town, as well as budget needs for the coming year.