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By Scott Nicholson
The Watauga County Board of Commissioners approved a resolution
to apply for approval of borrowing up to $70 million for construction
of the new Watauga High School.
The financing would have to be approved by the Local Government
Commission and would also include paying back the county for money
already spent on land purchases and preliminary construction expenses.
The resolution notes the county doesn’t expect property tax
increases to repay the loan, since it is selling the current high
school property. The construction price for facilities is set
at a guaranteed maximum of $47.2 million, with another $11.2 million
committed in land purchases, site testing, studies and design
work. A public hearing on the proposal is scheduled for the next
regular meeting at 6 p.m. on Feb. 19.
After closed session, in which the commissioners discussed personnel
matters, economic development matters and attorney-client matters,
the board approved paying the town of Boone $42,055 for permits
relating to the high school project.
Shelley Lackey, public relations director for Smoky Mountain Center,
gave the commissioners an update on its work as the new local
management entity for regional mental health care and substance
abuse, having taken over the role from New River Behavioral healthCare
last year.
Smoky Mountain Center still contracts with New River to provide
services in both clinical and emergency situations and has agreed
to assist a pilot program that will place in-patient psychiatric
beds at Cannon memorial Hospital in Linville. On Feb. 5, the center
is meeting with hospital administrators and law enforcement agencies
to discuss crisis services and the requirements for placing patients
under involuntary commitment.
The meeting will focus on the status of in-patient hospital diversion
programs, New River’s emergency response, and challenges
facing service providers and officers with the often-long waiting
times and a shortage of state psychiatric beds. Smoky Mountain
Center is also participating in a statewide review of all the
state’s local management entities, conducted by the N.C.
Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance
Abuse Services.
The commissioners approved the seeking of a grant for more recycling
bins. Watauga recycling director Lisa Doty presented the grant
request, which will be made in conjunction with the town of Boone’s
recycling program to lower costs. The grant application to the
N.C. Department of Environment and Natural resources is for more
18-gallon recycling bins and home recycling bins, which will be
placed at county recreational facilities and to help restaurants
meet the requirements of a new law that links alcoholic-beverage
licenses with mandatory recycling plans.
Doty said though most restaurants had larger recycling bins designed
to roll onto trucks, the smaller bins would help them sort materials
inside the establishment. The county has only a handful of residential-size
recycling bins left out of 300 ordered last summer.
If approved, the grant could bring $21,480 and require matches
of $943 each from the county and the town of Boone. It would also
be used to purchase compost bins for in-town residents.
The Downtown Boone Development Association has expanded its “gateway
project,” getting permission to use a small piece of county-owned
land for an entrance sign to welcome people to the town of Boone.
The county had earlier approved the use of a piece of land at
the Human Services Center on King Street to feature benches, a
sculpture pad and pathway near an AppalCART bus station. DBDA
assistant director Mary Baker said the work would likely be completed
by June, with the sculpture to be added later. Up to three artists
will be selected to design the benches as a public art program.
Baker said a property owner near the Poplar Grove connector and
King Street intersection has agreed to collaborate on the project
to enhance visibility and improve the area’s appearance.
Dick Hearn presented a proposed resolution in support of guardrails
for Blackberry Road in the Aho community. Hearn’s request
noted a steep drop off of several hundred feet on a route used
by school buses. The resolution was approved and will go to the
N.C. Department of Transportation.
The commissioners also received a report on the 2009-2015 Transportation
Improvement Plan, which features the King Street widening U.S.
321 improvements through Blowing Rock, and improvements to N.C
194 from Valle Crucis to Avery County as the top-ranked items.
Among unfunded projects, the commissioners support the Daniel
Boone Parkway, improvements to U.S. 421 and U.S. 321 from Boone
to Tennessee, and improvements on U.S 321 from Vilas to Avery
County. The list was submitted at a N.C. Department of Transportation
hearing on Jan. 22.
The commissioners also approved the release of school building
capital funds to replace roofs at Bethel Elementary School and
Valle Crucis Elementary School. The total amount for the two projects
$199,000.
The commissioners approved a contract of $71,805 for Triangle
Fencing Company to provide fences for two athletic fields the
count is developing at the recreational complex on the former
Anne-Marie Drive in Boone. |
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