Commissioners:

In other business
By Scott Nicholson
nicholson@wataugademocrat.com

During the same Tuesday meeting in which the Watauga County Board of Commissioners moved forward on a $70 million financing plan for a new high school, they faced another $82,3888 in permitting fees.

The commissioners had earlier approved $42,000 for the facility’s building permit from the town of Boone.

The other required town permits include an additional $3,255 in permits for related support buildings, $2,854 in fire inspection fees and $76,279 in water availability fees. The Boone Town Council denied waiver of the fees last week, though Watauga County’s attorneys believed the town had the right to waive the fees. The commissioners will address the fees during their next meeting on March 3.

Deed is done
The commissioners also received the deed for the current high school property from the school board, which will lease the property back for $1 a year. The property contains seven different parcels, and the county plans to sell the property once the new high school is open in 2010.

Hospitality House
Hospitality House director Lynne Mason asked the commissioners for permission to apply for a $1.1 million grant for a new homeless shelter.

The county last month donated nearly two acres in the Bamboo area for the project, and the Hospitality House will sell three downtown facilities to help pay for construction. Mason said plans for the facility had grown to 18,000 square feet from the original 10,000 square feet. Mason said the project budget was $4.5 million, including construction, site preparation and furnishings. The commissioners approved the grant application for federal community block funds.

Play Money
Kathy Parham, director of the Children’s Playhouse of Boone, noted the board’s support of the high school and said the seeds of success in education and life started well before children entered the school system. She said the Children’s Council had provided $10,000 a year for parent-support services and asked the county to boost its $2,500 annual contribution to $12,500.

Parham said 90 percent of the members are from the county and the playhouse offers monthly parenting classes. She said 25 percent of the participating families received scholarships based on a sliding-income scale.

Parking update
Architect Bill Dixon gave an update on the construction of a courthouse parking lot and said the lot would be usable in three weeks, though paving would take place later in the spring. The 32-space lot is at the intersections of Queen and Water Street on the site of the former law enforcement center.

Trucking trouble
The commissioners reviewed a letter asking state representatives to change the state statute regarding 53-foot tractor trailers. Planning director Joe Furman said the state statute was at least 20 years old and the current trucking standard was 53-foot trailers. The Economic Development Commission presented the letter, and Furman said there was a fine involved with using such trailers unless the trucker had a special permit.

Commission chairman Jim Deal said the issue had first come up in 2005 because local businesses needed the law changed and the county had several trucking companies in operation. Deal said companies had to use the trucks and risk getting a ticket, calling it a “serious issue.”

Commissioner Mary Moretz said she couldn’t support the move because “safety is an enormous issue,” and there were 13 truck incidents on U.S. 421 over a three-year period. A letter from a state traffic engineer said 11 of the incidents involved truck speeds and brake failures, with eight involving 53-foot trailers. She said while she supported economic development, she believed safety was more important.

The 2005 letter encouraged the North Carolina Highway Patrol to enforce dimension standards on trucks and write citations when such trucks were on unauthorized roads.

Commissioner John Cooper said the proposed change would allow such trailers only on the roads built to federal specifications and didn’t mean that 53-foot trailers would be used on every road in the county. The commissioners approved sending the letter to state representatives by a 4-1 vote, with Moretz opposing.

In other news...
The commissioners voted to waive tipping fees for demolition at the Horn in the West grounds in Boone, which will be undergoing renovation. County manager Rocky Nelson estimated the fees would be between $450 and $900 for 2008.

The Watauga County Emergency Management Services advisory committee requested consolidation of E-911 dispatch be placed on the agenda for the next joint meeting of the county, the towns of Boone and Blowing Rock and Appalachian State University. The committee supports a consolidated dispatch, which is used in 52 of the state’s 100 counties.

The commissioners appointed William P. Aceto as the alternate extraterritorial jurisdiction representative on the Boone Board of Adjustment, Jim Bryan to the Farmland Preservation Advisory Board, Wendell Ellis to the Watauga County Recreation Commission, and Dave Robertson and Missy Harrill to the Tourism Development Board.