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CHIMNEY ROCK, N.C. — I was the only member of the public and the only reporter in the room on Tuesday, April 14, as the Chimney Rock Town Council held a special meeting focused on finances, recovery efforts, and an upcoming municipal election.
In attendance were Town Administrator Stephen Duncan, Mayor Peter O’Leary, Mayor Pro Tem Buck Meliski, Town Council Members Patrick Warncke and Bruce Godzik. Council member April Schick was absent. Also in attendance were previous Mayor Barbara Meliski, who helps run the town’s office, her son, a local business owner, J Meliski, who is contracted as the town’s engineer with McGill Associates, and Kristen Sottile, a local business owner who also contracted to assist with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) projects.
The near-empty room stood in stark contrast to the week before, when mainstream media hand-picked by the Homeland Security Office of Public Affairs (OPA) descended on the tiny mountain town during a high-profile visit by DHS Secterary Markwayne Mullin, who was accompanied by Senator Ted Budd, Congressman Tim Moore, Congressman Chuck Edwards, State Senator Tim Moffitt, State Representative Jake Johnson, State Rep. Jennifer Balkcom and other elected and appointed officials, including Chimney Rock Volunteer Fire Chief Chris Melton. Melton was not present at Tuesday’s meeting, who works as a paid assistant fire chief for Lake Lure.
OPA did not include me, WCAB News, and many of my print and digital media colleagues I’ve spoken to in their press release about Mullin’s visit. Melton did not mention the visit to my WCAB colleagues on the morning radio show.
Town officials did not discuss the visit during the meeting.
According to the town’s website, two council seats — held by Schick and Godzik — will be on the ballot Nov. 3, 2026, as their four-year terms expire. The candidate filing period runs from noon July 6 through noon July 17 and will be administered by the Rutherford County Board of Elections. Godzik is not eligible to run for re-election, according to current residency rules. It is unclear if Schick plans to run for re-election.
During the meeting, officials reviewed the timeline and requirements, including a $10 filing fee and residency within village limits. According to the town’s website, “Candidates must be permanent residents living within the municipal limits of Chimney Rock Village.”
Godzik’s position comes amid continued recovery from Hurricane Helene, which destroyed his home and business at 435 Main St., Coffee on the Rocks. Several other properties and businesses along the Rocky Broad River were also destroyed in the historic storm. Property records show he still owns the land and recently had an eminent domain attorney send a notice of action to the N.C. Department of Transportation for “inverse condemnation,” when they created a temporary road using his now-vacant property.
The NCDOT issues were uncovered in my investigative reporting research following the meeting, it was not discussed.
Godzik told me he now lives in Lake Lure and operates a pop-up shop out of Chimney Rock Smokehouse. The restaurant, which survived Helene, is directly across the street from Godzik’s property. It is owned by planning board member Nick Sottile and Kristen, his wife, who was at the meeting. The Sottiles also own and operate the Broad River Inn.
Much of the discussion at the meeting centered on how the town is managing the financial strain of rebuilding.
Officials outlined a potential plan to secure a revolving loan of up to $5 million to keep projects moving. The approach would allow the town to pay upfront costs for construction and engineering, then seek reimbursement from the state — typically within two to four weeks — and reuse the funds as they are repaid.
Town leaders said they may need approval from the state’s Local Government Commission to move forward with a loan of that size.
Despite the complexity of tracking FEMA funds, grants, and private donations, the town’s draft audit came back largely clean. Officials reported no major deficiencies in financial controls, aside from a delayed submission attributed to the volume of post-disaster documentation.
Council members also began outlining the next budget, noting that revenues — including parking income — have remained steady. Still, they warned that water and sewer base rates may need to increase slightly due to higher operating costs tied to the rebuilt system.
Property values, while beginning to recover, remain below pre-storm levels, which could put pressure on future tax rates.
The council set April 21 for its official audit review and signaled more budget discussions ahead.
Following the meeting, officials confirmed to me that Mullin was not the first member of the Trump cabinet to visit the town. The two others did not host events in the town. Previous Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem stopped when she visited Bat Cave, as did Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Lee Zeldin, who passed through during his visit to Lake Lure. Zeldin is widely considered the likely permanent pick by President Trump for Attorney General, which is currently led by Acting AG Todd Blanche following Pam Bondi’s departure.
From my seat — the only one in the audience not being paid by the town — the meeting underscored the quiet but consequential work shaping Chimney Rock’s recovery, far from the spotlight that filled the town just days earlier.
Rutherford County Sheriff speaks on Chimney Rock recovery
The small town of Chimney Rock Village is patrolled by the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office, with cooperating agreements with the Lake Lure Police Department, the Chimney Rock State Park Rangers, NC Highway Patrol, and, since Helene, Apex, a private security firm, in addition to the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office, which covers neighboring Bat Cave.
Chimney Rock roundtable held with new DHS Secretary
Multiple elected and appointed officials participate in a roundtable led by Senator Ted Budd during the first trip of new Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin
