FEBRUARY 11, 2010 ISSUE
Boone Council Appoints Parking Task Force Members, Considers Water Allocations
The Boone Town Council made appointments to a new Downtown Parking Task Force, heard a report from the ABC Board and considered water allocations to various projects at the second part of its monthly meeting held January 21.
Appointments to Downtown Parking Task Force
The temporary Downtown Parking Task Force will make recommendations to the Town Council regarding downtown parking based on input from a downtown parking charrette held December 1, 2009.
Individuals appointed to the task force included John Cooper, downtown property owner; Rich Jacobs, downtown merchant; Jason Berry, Downtown Boone Development Association; Joe Furman, Watauga County planning director; Chris Turner, Chamber of Commerce; Scotty Prevost, community member; Steve McLaurin, McLaurin Parking; Thomas Brigman, ASU student; and Bunk Spann, Boone Planning Commission.
Three positions, to be filled by a member of the Tourism Development Association, a member of the ASU administration or parking department and a Boone Town Council member, remain open.
Council Members Andy Ball and Stephen Phillips agreed to develop recommendations for the objectives of the task force and present them to the council at the February 1 quarterly public hearing.
ABC Board To Launch New Grant Program
Candy Winebarger, chair of the Boone ABC Board, presented the quarterly ABC distribution report to the council. Sales from October to December totaled $1,348,341.
Total sales for the 2009 calendar year were $4.6 million, up 20 percent over 2008. Winebarger attributed the increase to liquor-by-the-drink sales.
Winebarger also announced the beginning of a new grant program. The ABC Board voted to allocate 2 percent of quarterly profits to grants, which will be dispersed in July of each year. She said any nonprofit or governmental entity is invited to apply for the funds, though the ABC Board is primarily interested in funding programs related to law enforcement, alcohol education, drunken driving and underage drinking.
Referring to recent publicity over the misuse of ABC funds by ABC boards elsewhere in the state, Winebarger said the Boone ABC Board runs “a very tight ship.” The local board is fourth in the state in profits and is self-supporting, she said.
The General Assembly could consider changes to the North Carolina ABC system this year, she noted. North Carolina is a control system—meaning that all liquor is sold through locally controlled ABC stores. Other states allow private sales of liquor or a hybrid of a private and control system.
Winebarger noted that the state is seventh in ABC revenue, but 45th in per capita consumption.
“The control system works,” she stated.
Old Shadowline Plant Site Targeted for Upscale Apartments
Ambling Development, a housing development and property management company based in Georgia, appeared before the Town Council to request a water and sewer allocation of 69,938 gallons per day for a planned apartment complex to be located at the site of the old Shadowline Plant at Shadowline Drive and State Farm Road.
The proposed project would consist of 205 units, with 466 total bedrooms. The upscale complex would include a 25-by-75-foot swimming pool and movie theaters. The project is scheduled to be ready for occupancy in August 2011.
Public Utilities Director Rick Miller reported the town does not have enough water left in its yearly allotment to allocate the amount of water needed for the project. Public Utilities Ordinance 05-01, adopted in 2005, limits the amount of water the town can allocate to new projects each year.
The council voted to table the request to allow time for the Water Use Committee to determine if water previously allocated to other projects can be reprioritized to allow for an allocation to the Ambling project. Council Member Jamie Leigh called the project a “fabulous plan.”
“We should try to find that water,” said Council Member Rennie Brantz.
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