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Morganton proclaims Public Power Week and Fire Prevention Week; parks director outlines trail and facility openings
Summary
Council issued proclamations for Public Power Week, Fire Prevention Week and Chamber of Commerce Day, and Parks & Recreation director Brian Fish reported near-term openings for a Greenway segment and an upcoming mountain bike trail opening, plus several park repairs and program updates.
The Morganton City Council opened the Oct. 6 meeting with several proclamations and a Parks & Recreation briefing.
Mayor Ronnie Thompson read proclamations recognizing October 2025 as Public Power Week and Fire Prevention Week and proclaimed Oct. 15, 2025 as Support Your Local Chamber of Commerce Day. Brooks Kirby, electric services director, accepted the Public Power Week proclamation and introduced his senior staff. A fire division representative reminded residents about lithium-ion battery safety and school outreach during the fire-prevention proclamation remarks.
"I know, in the years that I've been able to serve on city council, I've gotten so many compliments of our electric services department on your response time," a council member said while presenting the proclamation to Brooks Kirby. Kirby thanked staff and recognized technical and line supervisors by name.
Brian Fish, director of recreation, gave a parks update. He said signage for a long-delayed mountain bike trail should be installed by the end of the month and the trail could open in November with maintenance work; a section of Greenway behind Town Tavern that connects to the soccer complex would open the following day. Fish also said design work for Catawba Meadows and the soccer complex is moving toward contract award, that Bethel Park's pickleball and futsal courts are complete, and that some restrooms likely will not be ready until 2026 but the park could open sooner once bridges and paving are finished. "We're hoping 5 to 6 months, a rough estimate to get that going and hopefully completed by next summer," Fish said of the Catawba Meadows timeline.
The council also recognized Jesse Paris, the city's director of finance, for receiving the inaugural Cardinal Award from the North Carolina State Auditor for work on government transparency and accountability.
No formal actions were attached to the proclamations; the items were ceremonial and informational in nature.
