Lansing area residents and town aldermen met with representatives of LifeStore Bank last Wednesday to discuss new banking services for the town.

The town’s only bank, First Citizens, plans to close its Lansing branch in May. Town aldermen expressed unhappiness with the closing at February’s board meeting and decided to consider using another bank for their banking needs.

LifeStore Bank representatives met with the town at the fire department to answer questions about banking services, said Lansing Town Clerk Bernice Prestwood.

“No decision was made,” Prestwood said. “There will be more discussion at the March 12 meeting (of the board of aldermen). The main thing we want is a bank down here. But LifeStore said they can’t promise to come to Lansing at this time.”

The building currently occupied by First Citizens Bank is leased from James Blevins Sr. of Burlington, said Prestwood.

At their last meeting, the aldermen discussed possible uses for the building once First Citizens has left, and that included seeking another bank to locate in Lansing. LifeStore has several branches in Ashe County, the closest to Lansing being in Warrensville.

Customers of First Citizens Bank in Lansing will not have to move their accounts or take any action when the branch closes.

According to Barbara Thompson, manager of corporate communications for First Citizens Bank, those accounts will remain with the bank and customers can access them at another branch or online. First Citizens has a branch in West Jefferson, eight miles from Lansing.

It will be a seamless transition, and customers will notice no difference, Thompson said.

Customers of First Citizens Bank in Lansing were sent letters at the end of January about the bank’s planned closing in May.

According to Thompson, the closing of the Lansing branch, open since 1985, is a business decision.

“The bank is always evaluating its branch network, and this was a business decision to close as there is another office in close proximity,” Thompson said, noting that the West Jefferson branch will remain open.

“People are banking in many different ways,” Thompson said. “We looked at the best way to allocate resources, and will continue to offer tremendous service to customers in the area.”