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

No Tax Increase in Proposed Blowing Rock 2008-09 Budget

Story by Anna Oakes

Blowing Rock Town Manager Scott Hildebran does not recommend a town property tax increase for the coming fiscal year. Hildebran presented his budget proposal to the Blowing Rock Town Council at its monthly meeting on Tuesday.
The recommended $6.4 million budget is an 8.1 percent increase over last year’s adopted budget of $5.9 million. It maintains the current property tax rate of 28 cents per $100 valuation.

Blowing Rock residents could see an extra $5 charge on their monthly water bills. The recommended budget suggests the charge as a way to help finance the construction of a pipe and other equipment to connect the Blowing Rock water system with that of Boone and Appalachian State. The project is estimated to cost about $4 million. Grants awarded to Boone and Blowing Rock will cover about half that cost, and Blowing Rock will apply for a low-interest loan from the state to pay for the rest of it.

In addition, water customers who use more than 5,000 gallons during the bimonthly billing period will pay an additional 25 cents per every 1,000 gallons. The surcharge is recommended to encourage conservation, Hildebran said.
The budget also includes an increase in commercial solid waste fees to cover an increase of landfill tipping fees by the county and state from $45 per ton to $49 per ton.

Recommended new town employee positions include a part-time parking enforcement position and a part-time building inspection position. The budget recommends an average 5 percent raise for town employees and 5 percent increase in law enforcement salaries.

The town’s cash reserves are projected at $2.05 million for June 30, 2008—or 45.44 percent of fiscal year 2007-08’s General Fund expenditures. Total debt service expenses for 2008-09, for the General Fund and Water/Sewer Fund, are $1.2 million or 18.6 percent of the total budget. The fiscal year 2007-08 debt service expenditures were $450,680—7.6 percent of the total budget.

A copy of the recommended 2008-09 budget is available for public inspection in the Blowing Rock Town Hall. Work sessions to review the budget will be held by the Town Council at 4:00 p.m. on Monday, May 19, Tuesday, May 20, and Tuesday, May 27, if needed, in Town Hall. The council has final approval of the budget.

Also at the meeting, Joann Mitchell, executive director of the Blowing Rock Art and History Museum, presented a joint venture agreement to the Town Council for consideration. The town and museum have agreed in principle to construct adjacent museum and parking facilities simultaneously to save on costs—the museum will pay for the museum facility, and the town will pay for the parking facility. The council has discussed plans for a parking deck in that location.
However, Mayor Pro Tem Keith Tester questioned the wording of the agreement—specifically one sentence printed in bold: “BRAHM and Town agree that the art and history museum phase of the project and the public parking facility phase of the project shall be constructed simultaneously.”

In previous discussions, the two parties had agreed that BRAHM would pay for the costs of design for both the museum and the parking facility, Tester said. The parties determined that the town could choose not to build a parking facility if it did not approve of the design, and BRAHM could then pay to build its own surface lot instead, he added. Tester expressed concern that the joint agreement did not include these stipulations and was too binding for the town.

“If we sign this agreement, do we obligate the town to build this parking facility?” he asked. He said he would need to see specific designs and cost estimates before committing to build the parking facility.

Mitchell withdrew the joint venture agreement, and the council agreed to produce its own version of the agreement with the stipulations Tester suggested. BRAHM hopes to begin construction on the project in August.

Two current council members, Tommy Klutz and Albert Yount, have expressed opposition to building parking decks in downtown Blowing Rock. In March, they voted against a contract for building a two-story deck in place of the current lot at the American Legion building on Park Avenue. The council approved the project 3-2.

The council approved a request by Chetola Mountain Resorts for a conditional use permit to build two condominium buildings just above and behind Shoppes on the Parkway. Chetola will construct a 4-unit and 6-unit building for a total of 10 three-bedroom units.

The council also approved a conditional use permit for significant construction at the Grover C. Robbins Memorial Pool. The town will build a new pool, pool house and showers, public restrooms and a new picnic shelter and playground. The $1 million pool will be financed through grants from the state and various community organizations.

The town approved rezoning of the Gideon Ridge area that will be annexed into the town limits on June 30. The area includes the Blowing Rock visitor attraction. It will be zoned R-15, single-family residential. The properties previously were similarly zoned under Caldwell County zoning.