To some, they might seem like pet projects, budgetary fat in tough times, or frivolous earmarks.

But Waynesville leaders are defending $100,000 in annual contributions to a slate of 30 nonprofit organizations as a form of economic development, community advancement and social uplift.

Lake Junaluska’s bid to merge with the town of Waynesville flickered to life in the state legislature last week after languishing in political purgatory for the past year.

What began as a vision to convert a shutdown state prison in Waynesville into a halfway house, homeless shelter and soup kitchen has spiraled into a larger vision of transforming society one life at a time.

Saddled by a higher cost of doing business and hits to its bottom line, Waynesville aldermen were poised to pass a three-cent property tax increase this week, the town’s first in over a decade.

Nonetheless, the town’s total budget for the coming year will still shrink slightly — dropping from $30 million to $29.7 million. 

A group of vacant, ramshackle buildings at an anchor intersection on South Main Street in Waynesville has been purchased, signaling continued revitalization could be in store for the rag-tag corridor.

Waynesville leaders will face a tough choice in coming weeks: either raise the property tax rate by 3 cents or cut town services and amenities.

That’s the message Town Manager Marcy Onieal shared with Waynesville aldermen at a budget workshop last week.

Bouncing around her gallery like a rubber ball, the energy of Teri Siewert is contagious.

“The ambiance here is something you can’t buy or make, it’s either there or it’s not, and it’s definitely here,” she said. 

The Shelton House, which is home to the Museum of North Carolina Handicrafts, opens for its 35th season this summer. 

Undulating mountains surround the town of Waynesville, a welcoming community that is the perfect combination of nature, tourism and Appalachian culture.

Plans are moving forward to convert the old state prison in Hazelwood to a resource center for the hurting, homeless and recently incarcerated. The trio of Christian ministries teaming up to make that happen are already thinking about how they’re going to raise the estimated $300,000 they’ll need to get the facilities up to snuff, but they’re waiting on an official contract to kick their fundraising efforts into high gear.