Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country | Founded 05-05-05

February 22, 2007 issue

Boone Council Hears Multiple Water/Sewer Requests

Story by Sam Calhoun

The Boone Town Council received multiple requests for water and sewer service at the council’s regularly monthly meeting last Thursday, February 15.

New Hotel on Highway 105

Hotel developer Ashok Patel, representing Jamus FLP No. 3, appeared before the Boone Town Council to request 8,418 gallons of water per day to service a 101-unit, full-service hotel and restaurant.

Patel said he and his business partners have leased a 3.2-acre parcel of land next to Peabody’s Beer and Wine Merchants from Catacorner Investments with the intention of buying the land if the water and sewer service is approved. The Boone Town Council granted the request.

Patel has helped develop four hotels in Boone, one of which is the Quality Inn Appalachian Conference Center that was sold to ASU. Patel said he hopes the new hotel will fill the void left by the loss of Boone’s only full-service hotel.

Patel told council members that the new hotel will not need water until fall 2010—the estimated date of completion—and that Jamus has approached several franchisers for the site, including Marriott Courtyard and Holiday Inn.

Blair Farm

Sharon Blair Tolbert asked the council to waive water service fees for the historic Blair Farm off Deerfield Road. Tolbert explained that water service had been provided to the farm in the past and that reconnection is needed for pressure-washing the exterior of the historic farmhouse. Fees are based on the number of bedrooms and bathrooms expected to be in a home, and Tolbert said that because the farmhouse is a renovation project, she doesn’t know how many bedrooms and bathrooms the completed structure will have.

Director of Public Utilities Rick Miller explained that Tolbert can hook up an outdoor faucet for construction purposes with a construction meter. Miller said that no fee would be involved until the construction was finished and an impact fee could be determined.

Watauga High School

Watauga County Manager Rocky Nelson asked the Boone Town Council last Thursday to waive all fees associated with the construction of the new Watauga County High School.

Nelson told the council that the new high school would provide community meeting space and would service the youth of the Town of Boone. The fee waiver, Nelson said, could be the town’s donation to the school project.

Miller estimated that the project would require roughly $76,000 in water and sewer fees and Director of Development Services John Spear estimated that close to $50,000 in building permit fees, bringing the total to roughly $125,000 for the project.

The Boone Town Council denied Nelson’s request to waive the fees.

Elk Motel

Floyd Garrison, owner of the Elk Motel at 2588 Highway 321 South, ask for water and sewer service to be extended to his 30-room hotel that serves primarily as an apartment complex. Garrison said that if he did not receive service, he would be forced to close the hotel that provides housing to blue-collar local workers.

Garrison asked the council for an extension of approximately 1,750 feet of water main and 2,400 feet of sanitary sewer main. Miller estimated the cost to the town of approximately $120,000.

The council members decided that the town could not bear the cost to extend the mains but if he explored other options, such as grants, to assist in the cost that they would reopen the case and try to find a solution. The council denied Garrison’s request.      

Laurel Ridge Housing LLC

Tom Honeycutt appeared for the second time to request for water and sewer service to property located at the northwest corner of Poplar Grove Road and Highway 105. Honeycutt previously presented his request at the council’s January meeting. At that time, the board tabled his request.

Honeycutt’s proposal is to build an affordable housing complex on the site, but most of the property is in the town’s secondary pressure zone and the town code does not allow service extension into a secondary pressure zone. Council member Bunk Spann and Mayor Pro-Tem Lynne Mason both said that they desired to see the project work but their hands are tied by the code.

“Unfortunately, this is the wrong piece of land for this project right now,” said Mason.

Council member Dempsey Wilcox pointed out that the council has the power to change the regulation.

In fact, at a meeting on February 5, the members of the water committee briefly discussed the restrictions in the secondary pressure zone, but reached no consensus. Council member Janet Pepin pointed out that the committee did not have adequate time to address the issue and that Laurel Ridge Housing case was put back on the town council’s agenda too early.

The council advised Miller that the water committee needs to meet as soon as possible to reconsider the code. The council once again tabled the Laurel Ridge Housing service request.