County urges

Boone post office to stay
By Jason Reagan
reagan@wataugademocrat.com

The Watauga County Board of Commissioners breezed through 17 agenda items in about an hour on Tuesday evening in a session that included several housekeeping items and a wave of concern about the announced sale of the downtown Boone Post Office.

The commissioners listened to county manager Rocky Nelson read through a resolution urging the U.S. Postal Service to preserve the historic building’s heritage and to keep a post office in downtown Boone.

“The downtown post office location serves as a vital community center and a place for residents and businesses to meet and use post-office services,” Nelson read, pointing out the building was constructed in 1938 as part of the Works Progress Administration and houses a locally relevant wall mural depicting Daniel Boone.

Commissioner Mary Moretz suggested the resolution include a statement asking the federal agency to consider either giving or selling the building to the county and the board agreed to add a few more sentences to it before presenting at its next meeting on Jan. 22 for approval.

Later, after some discussion in closed session, the commissioners reopened the public meeting and announced they had directed the county attorney to prepare a request for proposals to finance the new Watauga High School campus. The proposal will seek financing for an amount up to $70 million.

“After the proposals are received and evaluated, a public hearing will be conducted prior to a decision,” county manager Rocky Nelson said.

“The financing plan will also be contingent on approval by the Local Government Commission.”

N.C. Forest Service district forester Hunter Birckhead presented a plaque of appreciation to representatives of the Ginn Corporation for achieving certification in the Firewise Communities program for the 5,000-plus-acre Laurelmor community in southeast Watauga County.

The program helps developers, local officials, residents and firefighters develop plans to make a specific area less susceptible to the ravages of wildfires and help homeowners develop a contingency plan before a wildfire happens.

Birckhead said Laurelmor was one of the first developments in western North Carolina to garner the certification.

Local accountant Bryce Holder will continue to conduct the county’s audits for the next three years. Holder proposed a slight increase for each of the three years. He charged the county $45,900 for the last audit and his proposal calls for an increase to $47,950 for the fiscal year ending June 2008; $50,350 for 2009 and $52,900 for 2010.

Board vice chairman Billy Ralph Winkler, who sat in for the partially absent Jim Deal, called the proposal a “reasonable increase,” and it passed unanimously. In fact, the vote set an amiable tone for the rest of the meeting since every vote was unanimous 4-0.

Watauga County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Kelly Redmon wants to see more hours worked on drug cases and asked the board for permission to apply for an $18,000 matching state grant to fund overtime for drug investigators.

Redmon also asked for permission to apply for a grant that would place laptop terminals in patrol cars. Redmon said Sheriff Len Hagaman wanted to make the entire department wireless in terms of computing within five years.

Both grants would require some matching by the county and they both passed.

County recreation director Steve Poulos asked the board to approve an increased fee schedule for some of the department’s offerings including youth and adult sports programs (see inset box for the complete schedule). Having already passed the county recreation committee, the proposal received the board’s OK.

County tax administrator Kelvin Byrd presented the monthly revenue collection report, noting Watauga County took in $13.26 million in December — $10.1 million via tax collections and solid-waste fees; $695, 213 from fire-district assessments and $2.389 million from the towns. Delinquent tax reports were due to be released this week as well.

The board tabled a proposal to transfer a tract of unused property to Hospitality House. The Boone-based homeless shelter and service agency plans to relocate its operations from downtown Boone on King Street to Brook Hollow Road near the Health and Hunger Coalition. Hospitality House hopes to build a new facility at the site to include temporary shelter for 70 homeless people including family spaces.

Later, in closed session after consulting with county attorney Anthony di Santi, the board agreed to transfer ownership to Hospitality House with the provision that the tract will revert back to the county, should the property ever be used for any purpose other than maintaining service for the homeless
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Under state law, discussions of land acquisitions or sales are exempt from open-meetings law.

Two resolutions honoring the Watauga High School Pioneers football team and the Appalachian State Mountaineers for successful seasons drew immediate unanimous approval.

The county board will next meet at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 22 in a joint meeting with the county school board to discuss the construction and progress of a new Watauga High School. The meeting will take place in the commissioners’ boardroom in the county administration building. Phone (828) 265-8000 for more information.

Watauga County Recreation
2008 Fee Increases
Youth Programs      Current     Proposed
T-ball/Coach Pitch      $30          $30
Major I/Major II         $47          $50
Junior/Senior              $47          $50
Girls Coach Pitch        $30          $30
Girls Fast Pitch          $42           $45
Football                     $60          $63
Basketball                  $45          $50
Junior Tennis             $72          $75
Soccer U-6 & U-8      $30          $30
Soccer
U-10, U-12, & U-15   $30          $30

Adult Programs
(most are team fees)
Summer Adult Softball $425/490 $425/490
Fall Softball                 $325        $325
Soccer                         $400        $450
Volleyball                    $225        $225
Basketball                $390/445    $400/455
Officials Training
Class                           $20        $25