Town manager says post office parking is outside town authority; Watauga County rep announces new ambulances arriving mid-December

Blowing Rock — Interim town manager Lane Bailey told the council on Dec. 8 that the town has received complaints about parking enforcement at the post office and that the site is privately leased, placing enforcement and rate-setting outside town control.

"We have no control over that," Bailey said, describing outreach by town staff and by county representative efforts to have the fees reduced. Bailey said town representatives and the mayor have contacted U.S. Representative Virginia Fox (named in the transcript) to seek assistance; he said a manager's contact with the property owner indicated a possible reduction of the parking fine from about $97 to $40, though timing and final disposition were not yet confirmed.

In related operational updates, Todd Castle, identified in the transcript as a Watauga County representative, told the council the county is close to placing a new ambulance service in operation. Castle said new ambulance units have been purchased and photographed, described the units as looking "like fire trucks," and said the county expects the units to begin running around Dec. 15. He added the county spent significant funds on the vehicles and is working with town officials to identify property for a local unit in Blowing Rock.

Bailey also praised Matt Blackburn and the public-works crew for their snow response and said orientation and municipal-government training for new council members will be scheduled in the coming days.

What happens next: The town manager and county representatives will continue coordinating with federal and county offices on parking and emergency-service logistics; no formal council action on the parking issue was recorded in the public session.