Town Denies County’s Request To Waive High School Construction Fees By Frank Ruggiero The Boone Town Council denied a request from Watauga County to waive approximately $130,000 in fees associated with the construction of a new Watauga High School. County manager Rocky Nelson appeared before the town council at its regular meeting last Thursday, and first provided background and the current status of the project. The county spent approximately $7 million on assembling a 90-acre parcel in the Perkinsville area. The main portion of the property, Nelson said, will be located near Daniel Boone Drive’s current location. Construction of the facility is expected to cost $50 million, while the project carries a total price tag of $65 million. Nelson said a recreation center would be built in the future near Old U.S. 421, and that the school board opted for construction management at risk. As for construction firms, he said the county chose Barnhill Contracting Company and J.R. Vannoy & Sons Construction Company. Regarding the property, he said, “We’ve ordered every study known to man on this property,” and referred to an area identified as a graveyard. A graveyard survey is currently underway, Nelson said, and ground-penetrating radar will be used after the ground has thawed. Through old deeds, he said the county was able to identify a three-tenths of an acre area for the graveyard, and that the study radius was expanded outward to survey sixth-tenths of an acre for graves. Should such methods prove fruitless, he said a foot of topsoil will be removed for study by a geologist. If graves are identified, he said the county would remove them and replace them in a graveyard on site. Further, Nelson said an archaeological survey indicates the upland portion of the property may contain artifacts of Native American significance. If such artifacts are found, he said the state historic preservation organization will be brought in to excavate. He said asbestos testing has been conducted on houses on all the properties purchased, and that the school should be occupied by August 2010. Nelson said the architects are working on assembling materials for a conditional zoning application and road closure, both of which will come before the council in spring or early summer. The project is making good progress, he continued, with a lot of citizen involvement. “We’re making good progress,” he said, and referred to the impending surveys. “People will see dirt being moved in the next three weeks.” Nelson then moved on to the request, asking the council on behalf of the commissioners to waive all fees associated with the project, including annexation, zoning map amendment petitions, zoning applications and building permits. While the county understands the town is not in the school-building business and that schools are not necessarily a function of town government, Nelson said the beauty of the facility is that it will provide a variety of public services, such as an auditorium available for public and community use and recreation facilities, including tennis courts, gymnasiums, baseball, softball and soccer fields. The project would add three-quarters of a mile to the town’s greenway trail, connecting into the ball fields and green space, as well as to the front of the school. Green space will be added, as well as the 80,000 square foot recreation center, which will include an indoor pool and a teen center. How Much? Council member Rennie Brantz asked for an estimate of the associated fees. Rick Miller, director of Boone Public Utilities, calculated water availability fees for the project. Usage would be 13,869 gallons per day, taking into account the houses purchased during the process, accounting for a $34,672.50 usage fee for water. The sewer fee would cost $41,607, bringing the availability fee total to $76,279.50. John Spear, director of Boone Development Services, said building permit fees would be in the neighborhood of $42,000, along with a $250 annexation fee. A conditional zoning district application would cost between $500 and $1,000, Spear said. As far as commercial zoning, Spear estimated the fees at $5,000. Legal Hurdles Town attorney Sam Furgiuele said there were two obstacles to meeting the request, one referring to the project’s public benefit. He referred to a case in the late 1980s, where the board of education sued the town. The town had allocated a percentage of its profits from the ABC store to the board of education, and when the board of education requested more, the town refused and the board subsequently sued. In 1992, the N.C. Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the town, finding that “providing funds for education of children in the county to the board of education was outside legal, statutory authority to the town,” Furgiuele said. “That’s certainly an impediment,” he said. “In terms of waiving these fees, in essence you’re donating that money for the development of the school. I think that’s very problematic in light of that 1992 Court of Appeals decision.” Another obstacle, Furgiuele said, is that the town may not waive more than $500 in fees, and that only for hardship cases. Nelson said the county would welcome the town’s support in any way possible. Mayor Loretta Clawson said the request seemed impossible at this time, and Furgiuele suggested discussing the matter of waiver petitions at the council’s retreat this Friday.