Town of Beech Mountain tells their story

The Town of Beech Mountain in western North Carolina is unique in a number of ways: It sits at the top of a mountain, at approximately the same elevation as the Mile High City of Denver, Colo., making it the highest incorporated entity east of the Mississippi River; town lines straddle two separate counties, Avery and Watauga; and while the town has a permanent population of approximately 680 people, that number swells to around 10,000 during the winter months as tourists flood to the ski resorts. But as town manager and fire chief Bob Pudney will tell you, what truly makes this mountain town special are the people.

“The people are the greatest asset that we have here. And then the woods and the mountains and the beauty,” Pudney said. “But it is the people that drive the town and make it a nice place to be.”

Because of the seasonal crowds, the town is also unique in its management as town leaders must provide services that are able to handle these crowds, while still operating on a small-town budget. One challenge that rose to the attention of town leaders was the need for better access to EMS professionals, especially near the top of the mountain. Pudney shared that there could be a substantial lag in these services arriving, particularly in poor weather. As the town dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic, this need became even more apparent.

At the start of the pandemic, the town expected to suffer financially as they are a tourist destination; however, they found the opposite to be true as many people began working remotely and left the crowded cities for scenic retreats such as Beech Mountain. Combine this increase in population with the known challenge of reaching the top of the mountain, then add in the COVID-19 precautionary measures required by EMS professionals, and it became clear to town leaders there was a need for a better solution in handling emergent medical needs.

Around the same time these challenges were arising, the federal government passed the American Rescue Plan (ARP) which allocated funds to municipal governments across the country, with Beech Mountain receiving approximately $103,000. Beech Mountain chose to use the funds for revenue replacement which opened operating capital for another project—bringing an EMS unit to the mountain.

The town previously had Avery County providing EMS ambulance transport to the town from the base of the mountain, which meant a substantial delay in getting those medical services to the top, especially if the weather was poor. So, the town invested their ARP dollars into bringing a full-time EMS unit to the town, with the funds predominantly going towards the building of living quarters at one of the town’s fire stations. The town has now contracted with Watauga County to provide that full-time EMS unit and it is making a significant and tangible difference. Where previously, on a good day, it would take 20 minutes to respond and could take up to an hour in poor weather conditions, EMTs are now able to respond within minutes.

“The bottom line is it has actually saved measurable lives. We took $103,000 of ARP money and turned that into lives saved,” Pudney said. “There have been heart attacks, traumatic injuries, strokes that those people would not have survived in the old system because of the delay, particularly during the wintertime. … So, for relatively few dollars we have saved dozens of lives with those dollars.”

“Beech Mountain is in a unique situation because of its location,” Regina Mathis, N.C. League of Municipalities’ ARP field representative, said. “I think they were spot-on in choosing to set up an EMS station because it is literally a lifesaver for the residents and the tourists and visitors.”

Beyond this direct impact from ARP funds, the town has joined with the League to provide another type of safety in the form of cybersecurity analysis and improvements. The League’s cybersecurity team works with towns to ensure they are well equipped should they face any cybersecurity threats. Additionally, the town has also received legal assistance through the League to aid in the development of policies and procedures that are required for the use of ARP funds and will also better equip the town to apply for state and federal funding grants in the future, furthering the reach of ARP dollars.

“We have a substantial amount of state and federal grant funding for infrastructure and getting those policies and all the issues put together—we would not have done it without [the League], quite frankly,” Pudney said. “We use the League for all kinds of resources.”

Beech Mountain provides a concrete example of how towns are investing ARP dollars in ways that are transforming their communities. The impact of so many lives saved cannot be quantified. Town leaders want to showcase how they have prioritized the safety of their residents and visitors by leveraging the opportunities provided by the American Rescue Plan.

“I would like people to know that coming to Beech Mountain is safer now because of these dollars. I am not certain that we would not have been able to do it, but this certainly made it much easier,” Pudney said. “It is difficult to carve out $103,000 in the town budget to do anything and so this was the opportunity that the elected officials took to make the community safer.”