Profile: Jeremy Blocker wants to see Boone succeed
The following is part of a series of candidate profiles for the 2007 Boone municipal election, to be held Oct. 9.

By Frank Ruggiero
ruggiero@wataugademocrat.com

Seldom does one hear of a probation officer hoping to serve time.

But such is the case with Jeremy Blocker, a candidate for one of three seats opening on the Boone Town Council.

As a probation officer, Blocker said a seat on the council would be a natural fit for a man who enjoys public service, but the desire to serve is based around his time spent in Boone. A resident of 14 years, Blocker said, “I really do consider Boone home, and I want to see it continue to grow. I love this place, and I just want to see it succeed.”

To succeed, he said there should be a good balance among priorities. With issues of finding a new water source and a subsequent limit on growth, Blocker said, “There has to be growth in order for anything to survive. You just can’t stay stagnant – we need a nice balance, something that benefits both sides.”

In terms of growth on the part of Appalachian State University, Blocker said people must first acknowledge the university as a fundamental part of Boone. Having played for the Mountaineers basketball team from 1993-94 and 1996-97, Blocker can appreciate this firsthand. He graduated in 1998, having majored in criminal justice and minored in sociology.

“Not only is [the university] smack dab in the middle of Boone, but it’s an entity that has its due right,” he said.

Regarding ASU’s proposed college of education building, which, as planned, does not adhere to town land-use standards, Blocker said there are always compromises that can be worked out. “We, as the town, need to have a good relationship with ASU – not only for the balanced growth of Boone, but for the growth of ASU, as well,” he said.

Blocker also supports the growth of educational opportunities for children, including after-school care.

“I know there are some good after-school programs right now, but Yadkin County has a YMCA, Avery County just got one, Wilkes has one, and I look at Boone and see all the economic growth and all the children, and what have we done?” Blocker asked. “We built a skate park for them, but where can our kids go after school?”

Blocker said he would support a “YMCA-type facility,” which could also be used by the public for more general purposes. While the Appalachian Regional Healthcare System’s Wellness Center is a boon to the community, Blocker said not all families can afford membership. A YMCA, on the other hand, would allow low-income residents similar opportunities.

Public need would also be determined by the public, Blocker said, explaining that increased community awareness and participation would yield residents a long-term and vested interest in their community.

In terms of business, Blocker said he’d like to see the town council take a welcoming approach to big-box businesses, rather than impose regulations that limit such businesses’ size – provided the business promotes better opportunities for residents.

“I see it as creating more jobs, expanding the tax base, so you don’t have to raise the taxes for residents,” Blocker said. “Why should Boone residents have to travel off the mountain to a Best Buy or Target, when we could bring them up here?”

Water and sewer lines have already been extended down the U.S. 421 corridor towards Deep Gap to service the Food Lion shopping center, and Blocker suggested that area would be ideal for such growth.

Small business is also viable, he said, noting that Boone is a prime location for small businesses. However, Blocker said he didn’t believe big-box retailers would affect such businesses. “Everybody said Staples would close down W.J. Office City, but they expanded to meet the demand,” he said.

A particularly contentious issue from the last couple of years is steep slope and view-shed development; particularly, the regulations passed by the current town council. Blocker said he’d like to bring the issue back to the table. He referred to the public hearing in which hundreds of people, including landowners and residents, turned out to speak on the matter, with the bulk of attendees contesting the then-proposed regulations.

“When [hundreds] constituents are telling you they don’t want something, they don’t want it,” Blocker said. “And it seems to me the town council already had their mind made up. I want to bring back where people that elect me have a voice, can come talk to me, and I’m never going to have my mind made up on any issue beforehand. I hear all sides, and I don’t think that’s what this town council has done.”

Regarding steep slope development, Blocker said he’d be open to amending the regulations, scrapping them, or doing something altogether different. “I think there needs to be a reasonable standard,” he said.

While he’d like to see the steep slope regulations change, Blocker would prefer to see single-family neighborhoods remain as is, with the exception of occupancy violations.

As a worker in the legal system, Blocker said a safer community would be a priority, where public safety would not be jeopardized by the presence of sex offenders and violence.

“With me being in probation, I deal a lot with the Hospitality House and the Elk Motel, and I’d like to see a little bit more safety concern,” he said, suggesting more stringent screening requirements for the Hospitality House.

Blocker was one of several candidates interviewed by the political action committee, Citizens for Change. After the interview, the PAC, which opposes current steep slope and view-shed regulations, decided not to endorse Blocker.

Blocker said he was not seeking their endorsement but decided to proceed with the interview. He said he was later told by member Jeff Templeton that the group would not endorse him as their views were “too far apart.”

“However, I wasn’t seeking their endorsement and was not bothered by not receiving it,” he said. “I am seeking the support of all Boone voters, not the support of any special interest groups or PACs.”