June 17, 2025

Rain was an assured forecast for last weekend, but the Highlands Motoring Festival and car show dodged the rain showers. The car parade on Friday evening just avoided the evening rains, and miraculously, there was no rain all day on Saturday, so the car show went off without interruption.

Congratulations to the organizers of the motoring festival. Again, it was a great event that will help nonprofit organizations in the community. The show also fills the town with visitors and residents.

I want to especially thank the Highlands Police Department for their efforts to manage traffic during this busy weekend. From managing traffic around the car parade Friday night to controlling traffic downtown throughout the weekend, they did great work.

The June meeting of the Highlands Town Board of Commissioners will be this Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Highlands Community Center next to the ball field. As always, the meeting can be remotely accessed by going to the YouTube link on the town website.

The new Highlands Town App has a quick link to the town website, allowing access to the YouTube link and meeting. The town app can be downloaded for free at an App Store or by scanning the QR code on the town advertisement in the Highlands Newspaper. As we go into the hurricane season, I advise everyone to have the app on their cell phones. Our police, firefighters, and public works staff can post real-time emergency messages on the app.

The main event of the meeting will be the approval of the town budget for the forthcoming fiscal year, which begins on July 1. A public hearing concerning the budget will be held prior to the adoption of the new budget. Some may ask, what if the board did not approve the new, proposed budget? In that scenario, funding levels of the current budget would remain in place and continue, and no new infrastructure projects would move forward.

Another public hearing concerning the floor area ratio in the B-1 commercial zone will be held. This change would increase density and floor space in the zone. The rationale for this adjustment is that B-1 is the area where more density can be accommodated compared to the lighter-use zones such as B-2, 3, and 4.

Another item on the agenda will be a presentation by Mike Kistner of the Cashiers Boys and Girls Club. Over the past several years, there have been discussions about a partnership between the town recreation department and the Boys and Girls Club in developing after-school and summer programs at the recreation department. Mike will provide an update on where the Boys and Girls Club stands on this effort and the paths in moving forward with this project. Providing after-school programs is a critical part of providing childcare for working parents in the area. The construction of classrooms at the Highlands School for a Pre-Kindergarten program is well underway.

I hope everyone will join us at the meeting or on the YouTube channel.

MAYOR PAT