It Takes a Village (Hall)

Pat Christie, Martha Orr, and Michelle Parker. The administrative staff at Flat Rock Village Hall.

Village Hall at Flat Rock is quiet these days. All the meeting rooms are closed, and meetings are canceled through the month of April. No Village Council meeting. No Planning Board meeting. No community engagements of any sort as the Village waits out COVID-19 with fingers crossed and lots of hand sanitizer.

But through it all, the Village staff is still at work. So it is a good time to recognize them and the great work they do for our Flat Rock.

Michelle Parker is Village Clerk. Michelle has worked for Flat Rock Village for 19 years - originally starting out as Deputy Clerk. As Village Clerk, she is Secretary to the Flat Rock Village Council and compiles all the minutes of their meetings. She also handles the accounting function, overseeing payroll, accounts payable, and tracking revenues. She works with the Council Members on creating the annual Village Budget and assists with the accounting for The Park at Flat Rock Foundation as well.

Michelle says people would probably be surprised to learn that the Village only has four employees. “The Village has a lot of volunteers that help keep our staff size small,” she explains.  When she’s not working, Michelle helps care for her mother and enjoys spending time with her 19-year-old son.

Flat Rock’s Deputy Clerk and Tax Collector is Martha Orr. Martha came to the Village office from a similar position in Mills River 11 years ago. Martha grew up near Rosman and currently lives in Brevard. After high school, she worked for Dupont for 30 years. When the plant shut down, she went back to school at Blue Ridge Community College to get an associate's degree in business. While there, she was offered a chance to work for the Town of Mills River and ended up spending 4.5 years there as Tax Collector and Deputy Clerk. 

Martha’s tenure as Flat Rock Tax Collector has been a success, to say the very least. “I am the only tax collector in the state of North Carolina that is consistently 100% collected,” she explains with a smile. When asked the secret to this perfect success rate, she says, “I think the key is making people realize that you understand their situation. Just being kind and understanding.”  

Martha is also Secretary to the Planning Board, the Board of Adjustment, the Park Commission, and the Historic Landmarks Commission. In her free time at work, she’s the first voice you are most likely to hear when you call Village Hall.

In her time off, Martha enjoys supporting and following the musical career of her daughter who has a band called Keturah and the Blown Glass Band. Martha is particularly excited that Keturah is heading to Nashville in April to record her music.  

Flat Rock’s Village Administrator/Zoning Administrator is the “rookie” of the staff. Pat Christie has been with the Village for a little less than two years, and like Martha, Pat arrived in Village Hall after a stint with Mills River serving most recently as the Park Director.

In Flat Rock, Pat had the unenviable task of replacing Judy Boleman who worked for the Village for 20 of its first 23 years as an incorporated municipality. But decades of experience and the fact that she was recruited by Judy to apply for the position have allowed Pat to hit the ground running, and the transition has been a smooth one for the most part.

Pat’s career started in Code Enforcement in Florida where she worked for PInellas County for 20 years. During her 11 years working for Mills River, Pat started out in code enforcement before becoming Park Director. In Flat Rock, Pat has responsibility for making sure that Village ordinances are followed. She oversees all activities dealing with zoning -specifically permits, subdivisions, and variances. She also is responsible for monitoring flood plains, historic landmarks, tree preservation, and the Village sign ordinance.

Pat finds people in Flat Rock relatively easy to work with - especially compared to her experience in Pinellas County. “I used to run into all kinds of situations in my previous life down in Florida,” Pat says. “But here it's been relatively rare. If you have someone who's done something - didn't know they need a permit for instance - they have generally been very good about it. Once they realize it, they're quick about applying for and getting the necessary permit.”

Pat also appreciates that villagers tend to be very professional. She appreciates the quality of the help she gets from all the volunteers that serve on the Village Council and various boards and commissions. “They tend to come to us from professional careers and they bring that experience to the table,” she says.

When not working, Pat enjoys parks, hiking, waterfalls, music, and the occasional trip to a local brewery.

The fourth member of the Village Hall staff is Park Ranger, John Wilkerson. We profiled John earlier here.

Flat Rock is a small municipality, but even a small village requires a lot of expertise and management skills to operate effectively and efficiently. Fortunately for Flat Rock, Village Hall is home to an excellent team of administrators.