Highlights from the May 20 County Commission Meeting

My attention has been primarily on the commission's decision to cut $10,000 that it has in past years given to Hospitality House, one of several budget lines for private agencies, public/private partnerships that benefit our community. While there could be ways in which this cut would have made some sense as part of a larger crisis in our budget, there is no current crisis, and the reasons they provided made no sense. You can read more on that issue in this report.

Here, I will try to briefly cover the highlights of what else occurred at the May 20th County Commission meeting. During the public hearing portion, most statements were about the hospitality house. One speaker shared false propaganda as if it was factual, so no need to say more about that here. One speaker thanked the county for supporting typical funding for the library, but regretted that they did not commit more funding for capital improvements that would have helped them complete a much-needed renovation, a cheaper alternative to expanding to address increased use. Additional speakers spoke eloquently of the value of libraries, which we wholeheartedly support. One speaker thanked them for the support of the Southern Appalachian Historical Society, and wanted to let them know about their plans to partner with Blue Ridge Community Theater, to revise the script to focus more on people, not battles. 

Then during the regular business, Craig Hughes, Applecart director, thanked them for the funding increase and spoke to how they were managing and limiting costs, as well as the purchase of a charging station and a double-decker bus. There was a brief conversation of the unique challenges faced by an electric bus in winter, addressed through the use of gas-powered auxiliary heaters. The commissioners also floated the possibility of a collaboration with AppalCART to provide bad-weather storage of a newly-acquired mobile health unit that is shared among three communities and counties.

A representative from Vaya gave a long update about how one contract is moving from them to BCBS, but they will handle Medicaid services specifically for adults or youths with severe issues or disorders. Apparently, it is challenging to place some of these kids in appropriate facilities, especially in the mountains, and they're working to build capacities in the western part of the state. 

Next, Board of Elections director Matt Snyder gave an update on their work to assess and purchase the most advanced tabulation system, both because our equipment has become outdated and because of new federal requirements. They tried to plan for potential executive orders that might affect these options.

Tyler Rash, tax administrator, reported on monthly tax collections. 

A few change orders and amendments on various issues were approved, as well as a replacement for a local board.

During the comments following the meeting, the chair reported on his meeting at the Parkway with one of our Senators and a U.S. Representative to discuss concerns about it being closed during the height of the tourist season. He suggested there would be positive news soon, and a few days later, I saw a report on Watauga Online stating that the Parkway would stay open for the summer and fall.

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You can read more reports on commission meetings on our main site Monitoring the Watauga County Commission.