►
From YouTube: Board of Commissioners Pre-Meeting (Feb. 18, 2020)
Description
Pre-Meeting of the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners from Feb. 18, 2020.
A
Call
the
meeting
to
order
so
since
we're
not
voting
on
anything
I,
don't
think
the
quorum
requirement
is
relevant
to
this
meeting.
We're
not
voting
on
anything
all
right.
Are
there
any
questions
about
any
items?
Only
February
18th
agenda,
all
right,
let's
go
through
the
preview
of
the
items
on
the
March
3rd
agenda.
The
first
one
is
the
issuance
of
resolution
approving
limited
obligation,
bonds
and
financing
documents
and
Dawn
warrants.
Gonna
present.
This
item.
B
Good
afternoon,
I
just
wanted
to
give
you
a
quick
heads-up
on
what
will
be
coming
your
way
on
the
3rd,
as
I
told
you
at
the
last
presentation
on
February
4th.
The
next
step
would
be
the
issuance
I'm,
not
so
the
issuance,
but
the
approval
of
the
resolution
for
the
issuance
of
the
bond
so
the
approving
resolution.
B
Basically,
it
establishes
the
official
statement
and
names,
the
chairman
of
the
board
and
myself
and
the
county
managers
representatives
of
the
county
to
act
on
behalf
of
this,
so
you'll
be
seeing
that
as
well
as
a
full
presentation
and
an
update
on
the
projects
on
the
third
happy
to
answer
any
questions.
If
you
had
any
all
right,
thanks,
Don
all
right,
I'll
see,
you
then
see
you
then.
C
Good
afternoon
hi,
my
name
is
Brooke
Haslett
I'm,
the
Buncombe
County
and
I'm.
My
manager,
I'm
gonna,
be
speaking
on
behalf
of
our
emergency
services
director,
due
to
my
historical
knowledge
on
this
particular
topic.
Great
so
I
wanted
to
present
some
information
on
the
third
addendum
to
the
9-1-1
call
center
intergovernmental
agreement
with
Asheville
city.
C
The
original
intergovernmental
agreement
was
signed
in
2003
and
established
a
consolidated
public
safety
communication
center
by
the
year
2006.
The
first
addendum
to
that
agreement
was
signed
in
2006
and
extended
that
original
timeline
for
one
year.
The
second
addendum
was
signed
in
2009
and
created
a
joint
agreement
for
operations
of
the
communication
center.
This
made
the
county
responsible
for
the
cost
of
all
9-1-1
equipment
to
answer
and
dispatch.
9-1-1
calls
within
the
center
in
2016,
the
North
Carolina
and
I'm
on
one
board
made
the
county
aware
that
our
Center
was
considered
co-located
and
not
consolidated.
C
This
meant
that
our
expenses
can
no
longer
be
reported
together.
They
had
to
be
split
per
agency
in
fiscal
19,
the
cost
for
the
Asheville
City
Police
Department
to
answer
and
dispatch
NAM.
When
one
calls
was
a
hundred
and
seventy
eight
thousand
dollars,
zero
percent
of
those
expenses
were
eligible
for
reimbursement
from
the
state.
C
A
C
So
the
third
addendum
allows
Buncombe
County
to
be
reimbursed
for
money.
That's
already
paid
for
9-1-1
equipment
used
by
the
Asheville
Police
Department.
To
answer
and
dispatch
number
one
calls
the
novel.
One
funds
do
not
cover
any
kind
of
salary
or
personnel
cost,
it's
strictly
for
the
equipment
and
phone
lines
to
take
and
dispatch
9-1-1.
C
A
D
I'm
really
excited
to
share
with
you
that
on
your
March
agenda,
our
chief
judge
Hill
will
be
coming
to
present
to
you
information
related
to
the
school
to
justice
partnership.
The
school
of
justice
partnership
is
initiative
through
the
North
Carolina
administrative
office
of
courts.
What
that
office
has
asked
is
that
over
time,
all
hundred
count,
100
counties
in
North
Carolina
convene
a
school
to
justice
partnership.
D
That
partnership
includes
multiple
community
stakeholders,
including
the
school
districts,
law
enforcement
and
government
and
the
judiciary
to
work
together
to
talk
about
some
of
the
issues
with
student
misconduct
in
our
school
districts
and
work
to
minimize
the
number
of
expulsion,
suspensions
in
school
arrests
and
things
of
that
sort.
Basically,
I
think
we
all
agree
that
students
should
be
in
school
and
not
in
the
court
system.
D
A
A
Thanks
to
that
update,
yeah
I
got
the
an
email
with
the
request
that
we
sign
it.
I
just
wanted
the
whole
Commission
to
be
aware
of
it
and
look
at
it
before
we.
We
do
that.
Terrific
all
right
next
up
is
the
French
Broad,
River
MPO
presentation
and
Matt
Cable
and
Tristan
Winkler
are
here
to
talk
to
us
about
this
item.
Asthma.
E
F
That
was
basically
when
I
was
gonna.
Just
mention
is
where
we
were
last
time
at
the
meeting
and
then
I'm
gonna
turn
it
over
to
Tristan,
because
he's
gonna
walk
you
through
just
the
general
structure
of
the
MPO
kind
of
how
they
function.
What
their
purposes
are
and
give
you
a
breakdown
of
membership
and
other
information,
so
I'll
turn
it
over
to
Tristan.
G
H
So,
very
generally
speaking,
what
an
MPO
is:
it's
the
forum
for
cooperative
transportation
decision
making
for
a
metropolitan
planning
area
and
for
our
area
we
cover
roughly
four
different
counties:
most
of
bunkum
all
of
Henderson,
a
large
chunk
of
Haywood
a
little
bit
of
Madison
County
around
the
Mars
Hill
area
and
a
tiny
little
bit
of
Transylvania
County.
That
is
the
planning
area
that
is,
the
area
of
the
MPO,
is
responsible
for
transportation,
planning
efforts
and
just
to
point
out
that
planning
boundary
is
largely
based
on
what
the
US
Census
designates
as
the
urbanized
area.
H
H
There,
it's
really
hard
to
define
who
should
have
the
say
over
the
roads.
Our
roads
are
seeing
more
and
more
Cross
County
commuters
from
every
single
County
from
Henderson
County
to
Buncombe
County,
there's
more
than
12,000
people
per
day
that
commute
going
from
Buncombe
to
Henderson
it's
around
9,000
per
day,
and
we've
seen
those
numbers
increase
every
single
year
from
2002
in
Madison
County.
H
H
Our
board
make
up
every
single
local
jurisdiction
within
the
NPO
planning.
Boundary
is
on
our
NPO
board,
but
for
the
largest
jurisdictions
Buncombe
County
Asheville,
as
well
as
Henderson
County.
They
receive
two
board
seats.
Every
other
jurisdiction
has
one
board
seat
and
we
also
have
four
at-large
seats
and
three
non-voting
seeds.
Just
to
point
out.
That
is
a
very,
very
large
board.
I
believe
we
have
the
largest
board
of
any
NPO
in
the
state
in
terms
of
our
funding.
80%
of
our
funding
comes
from
federal
sources.
H
H
So
for
us,
the
the
local
dues,
as
we
call
them,
is
split
up
amongst
dues-paying
members
based
on
the
population
from
the
2010
census
and
to
get
a
little
bit
into
the
acronyms.
Some
of
the
things
that
we
do
are
to
oversee
some
of
the
federal
transportation
funding
programs
that
includes
the
Surface
Transportation
Block
Grant,
sorry
s,
DB,
G
da.
That's
those
are
federal
funds
that
come
directly
to
the
MPO
for
programming.
H
We
have
programmed
more
than
35
million
dollars
in
the
six
years
I've
been
here,
fourteen
of
which
have
gone
towards
projects
in
Buncombe,
County
are
being
administered
by
Buncombe
County
Transportation
Alternatives
program.
That's
a
smaller
program,
that's
largely
geared
towards
bicycle
and
pedestrian
projects,
as
well
as
several
pots
of
federal
transportation
funds.
H
Taking
just
you
know,
when
people
say
someone
needs
to
fix
that
road,
what
does
that
fix?
Actually
look
like
and
making
sure
that
our
local
governments
priorities
are
being
incorporated
into
the
designs?
Ncdot
is
making
and
I've
tried
to
translate
our
numerous
plans,
the
CTP,
the
MTP,
but
while
we
have
a
lot
of
planning
efforts
going
on
very
simply
again,
all
we're
trying
to
do
is
figure
out.
What
are
the
priority
is
to
maintain
a
functioning
regional
transportation
network,
and
how
do
we
bring
that
to
fruition?
I
One
of
the
reasons
that
I
mentioned
this
last
time
is,
you
know
we
have
some
folks
on
the
board
that
serve
on
the
MPO
and
I
know
that
it's
been
very
helpful
in
getting
some
projects
done
with
that.
You
know
lately,
there's
not
been
I
mean
I'll
go
about
two
weeks
and
and
I'll
get
an
email
about
this
monster
project.
A
I
And
it's
a
you
know
a
great
work
and
just
want
to
make
sure
that
we're
able
to
communicate
that
to
our
constituents,
because
it
seems
like
that,
the
you
know
the
big
roads
get
all
the
the
publicity
you
know
in
Buncombe
County
at
26
or
or
the
connector
or
whatever
it
is,
and-
and
there
are
other
places
that
people
struggle
with
and
wonder
why
something's
not
happening
here.
So
if
as
a
board,
if
we
can
help
communicate
that
to
the
public
so
that
they
understand
how
these
dots
are
connected.
I
B
I
A
H
I
And
that
that's
I
mean
that's
obviously
a
big
deal
to
that
to
the
to
the
community
there
and
to
understand
how
that
you
know
work
was
done
through
advocacy
and
availability
of
that
of
that
grant.
You
know
as
as
good
information,
but
I
think
you
know
as
we
as
we
look
at
the
the
growth
in
Buncombe
County.
As
we
have
infrastructure
discussions.
You
know
people
have
questions
about
certain
roads
and
I
think
we
need
to
be
able
to
provide
that
information
from
your
board
to
this
board
and
get
it
out
to
the
community.
So.
B
H
H
H
We
submit
projects
to
the
state
and
work
with
the
state
to
determine
what
are
the
next
round
of
projects
to
be
funded
so
later
this
month,
we'll
be
updating
our
website
again
with
an
interactive
map
as
well
as
materials
for
the
public
to
look
at
the
the
list
of
priority
projects
in
the
NPO
and
that'll
be
out
for
public
comment
in
late
February
and
March
and
that'll
go
before
our
board
in
February,
as
well
as
March.
So.
I
Do
we
have
I
know
we
have
a
way
to
do
it
and
be
good
to
connect
your
website
to
our
website
and
I'm.
Just
thinking
out
loud
and
you
know,
I
don't
have
any
really
I'm
thinking
about
communication
or
communications
departments
being
able
to
kind
of
keep
this
information
out
in
front
of
the
public
because
it
I
mean
this
conversation
is
going
to
be
ongoing.
I
You
know,
as
growth
is
I
mean
it's
just
here,
but
but
people
need
to
know
that
if
it's
a
you
know
I-26
connector
or
if
it's
a
part
of
sardis
Road
or
if
you
know
and
wherever
they
need
to
be
able
to
have
access
to
that
information.
It's
pretty
calming
to
know
once
something's
approved
and
if
people
need
to
understand
this
is
this
is
vote
driven
on
the
MPO.
That's
why
you
have
to
balance
the
the
the
the
members
to
make
sure
that
I
mean
it
goes
all
over
the
district.
So
we.
H
Really
appreciate
that
you
know
we
know,
especially
in
terms
of
interacting
with
the
public.
It's
hard
when
the
first
thing
you
have
to
do
is
explain
what
an
MPO
is
and
does
before
you
can
start
to
get
more
information
from
them
or
give
them
more
information.
So
one
of
our
big
initiatives
has
been
trying
to
be
more
out
in
the
public
and
some
of
our
public
surveys,
I
think
they're,
starting
to
reflect
that
when
I
first
started,
we
had
12
people
respond
during
the
prioritization
process.
H
I
I
think
our
community
centers,
that
we
have
too
is
a
good
place
to
kind
of
get
out
there,
but
you
know
there's
a
lot
of
different
ways
to
to
give
this
communication
after
I
just
want
to
see
it
out
there
more
so
that
people
understand
what's
actually
happening
or
going
as
Bradley
said
in
the
next
five
years.
What
should
happen
if
we
have
the
funding
for
it.
A
Thanks
right
thanks
Justin
thanks
for
coming-
and
you
know
not
also
just
encourage
anybody
who
wants
to
learn
more
to
go
to
the
go
to
the
MPA
meetings
and
there's
you
know,
there's
an
addition.
All
the
information
on
the
website
there.
So
all
the
d-o-t,
the
federal
highway
staff
are
all
there
and
they
give
regular
updates
about
kind
of
what's
happening
right
now.
A
You
know
for
the
projects
that
are
gonna
get
built
over
the
next
year
or
so
like
which
ones
have
started,
which
ones
are
gonna
start,
and
you
know
most
of
these
projects
take
a
while
to
build,
and
so
it's
it's.
If
you
really
want
to
learn
more
about
what's
happening
in
the
near
future.
There's
great
kind
of
ongoing
updates
at
the
at
the
meetings
set
and
all
the
meeting
dates
are
on
the
MPO
French
Broad
River
MPI
website.
All
right,
that's
everything
that
was
on
our
agenda.
A
Are
there
other
items
that
people
would
like
to
talk
about?
We
are
kind
of
ahead
of
schedule
for
change,
so
I've
got
one,
but
does
anybody
else
have
any
other
items
all
right?
Well,
the
one!
The
one
other
item
I
wanted
to
well
actually
I-
do
have
a
question
about
the
meeting
tonight.
One
agenda
meeting
tonight
question
Averell,
so
we
have
on
the
agenda
this
evening
to
talk
about
the
employee
group
health
insurance
policy
changes.
Is
it
who's
gonna
present
on
that
item?
E
A
Terrific
all
right,
the
one
other
item
I
wanted
to
just
kind
of
talk
about
if
we
had
some
extra
time
today,
which
we
do
is
a
topic
of
I,
think
great
interest
in
our
community
long
term
and
and
currently
so
there
have
been
some
discussions
between
members
of
our
Commission
Commissioner,
Belcher
and
I
have
been
in
some
of
these
meetings.
Jazmin
Beach,
Ferrara
and
I
have
been
in
some
meetings
to
know.
A
City
Council
members
and
legislators,
and
people
in
the
public
have
been
talking
about,
have
been
talking
about
the
local,
Buncombe,
County,
hotel,
occupancy
tax
issue
and
possible
changes
to
that
tax
and
so
I,
just
kind
of
wanted
to
share
a
few
updates.
From
my
perspective
on
it.
This
is
ultimately
an
issue
that,
if
there's
gonna
be
changes
to
it
requires
changes
to
a
state
law,
a
local
bill.
A
You
know
we
have
a
Buncombe
County
hotel,
occupancy
law
now
which
prescribes
how
the
tax
works,
but
there
I
think
there's
there's
real
interest
in
an
effort
to
change
the
law
in
several
ways,
and
so
I
just
wanted
to
share
a
few.
My
personal
thoughts
on
this.
While
our
legislators
are
the
ones
he
would
have
to
make
the
decision
about
whether
to
take
it
up,
you
know
I
think
that
they
would
be
interested
in
what
the
you
know,
how
it
affects
the
City
Council
and
the
County
Commission.
A
So
it's
something
we
could
have
been
put
on
if
we
want
the.
You
know
that
and
I
think
this
is
a
topic
of
you
know
very
strong
interest
in
the
community
as
well.
Tourism
is
a
huge
part
of
our
economy.
It's
become
a
much
bigger
part
of
our
economy
in
the
last
five
or
six
years,
as
we've
seen
this
unprecedented
surge
in
visitation
and
hotel
construction,
especially
in
the
downtown
area
of
Asheville,
and
you
know,
while
I
think
everyone
acknowledges
that
tourism
brings
a
lot
of
benefits
to
the
community.
A
You
know
it's
grown,
so
much
I.
Think
there's
a
lot
of
concerns
about
some
of
the
you
know,
challenges
that
creates
as
well
and
the
tourism
tax
is
financially.
A
big
deal
generates
twenty
five
million
dollars
a
year
in
Buncombe
County,
which
I
think
per
capita
I,
don't
think.
Maybe
some
coastal
community,
but
no
one
else,
is
even
close
to
us
in
North
Carolina
in
terms
of
how
much
it
generates
for
a
community
of
our
size
and
and
under
the
current
state
law.
A
G
A
You
were
not,
you
were
not
yet,
no,
so
it
was
Holly
and
Miranda
and
me
and
you
you
you
and
I,
and
and
Ellen
and
Mike
that's
right
and
and
Dave
again.
So
the
hotel
tax
was
last
updated
about
five
years
ago.
It
required
the
County
Commission
to
vote
on
it
for
it
to
go
into
effect
the
changes
to
go
into
effect,
and
we
had
a
very
robust
debate
about
it.
A
A
Could
not
have
predicted
it,
so
you
know
the
the
the
tax
changed
two
years
ago:
increased
the
hotel
tax
from
4%
to
6%,
and
it
prescribed
that
the
new
revenue
generated
from
it
would
go
75
percent
to
advertising
25%
to
infrastructure
projects,
what's
known
as
the
tourism
product,
Development,
Fund
and
I.
Think
that
was
the
biggest
point
of
you
know
for
those
of
us
I.
Think
I
think
we
were
all
in
agreement
that
we
were
comfortable,
seeing
the
tax
increase.
A
A
I
probably
agree
with
you,
but
you
know
the
Legislature
passed
it
as
it
is,
and
you
know
it's,
it
may
not
be
possible
to
change
it
so
anyway,
it
went
into
effect,
but
I
I
think
partly
because
some
community,
you
know
I,
think
there's
also
a
lot
of
community
support
for
more
infrastructure
investment
and
other
needs.
I.
Think
there's
the
hotel
industry
has
indicated
some
openness
to
making
changes.
City
council
supports
it,
I
think
it's
you
know.
A
So,
if
we're
going
to
kind
of
lend
our
voice
to
this
process
in
the
hopes
of
actually
getting
a
bill
passed
this
spring,
then
you
know
the
times
coming
up
to
do
that
so
I
I
am
I've,
been
I've,
been
trying
to
kind
of
put
some
of
my
thoughts
down
a
paper
here
with
us
today,
I've
written
up
a
letter
that
outlines
kind
of
my
thoughts
on
this
and
I
wanted
to
share
this.
To
kind
of
you
know,
facilitate
conversation
about
this.
A
The
key
point:
the
key
policy
points
that
I
see
that
I
think
are
still
out
there
to
be
to
see
if
we
can
get
some
enough
agreement
on
them.
The
local
hotel
industry
is
indicating
that
they
are
supportive
of
going
to
as
from
7525
split
to
6633,
which
is
really
kind
of
what
we
were
advocating
four
or
five
years
ago.
If
we've
gotten
the
change
that
we
wanted,
then
I
think
it
lands
in
a
place
very
similar
to
that.
So
it
kind
of
does
go
back
to
that
when.
A
A
The
proposed
updated
legislation
would
take
the
entire
6%
and
would
allocate
at
66
33,
which,
if
we
had
done
50/50
five
years
ago,
it
actually
would
have
made
the
overall
formula
66
33,
so
it
just
kind
of
coincidentally
lands
in
that
in
that
same
place,
but
because
the
50
55
years
ago
was
only
on
the
new
two
percent
right.
So
it
didn't
change
the
earth,
the
other
parts
of
it.
A
A
There
are
some
statewide
industry
guidelines
that
have
been
developed
by
the
hospitality
industry
in
North
Carolina
that
they're
informal,
but
they
have
been
sort
of
accepted
by
the
General
Assembly
as
the
practice
for
how
these
funds
are
to
be
invested,
that
that
formula
recommends
a
66,
33
percent
allocation,
a
lot
of
other
towns
and
cities
across
the
state
do
do
it
differently,
but
the
statewide
hotel
industry.
Basically,
their
position
is,
if
you
want
to
do
something
different
from
that,
like
we'll,
probably
will
not
support
it.
Might
lobbying
against
it.
A
They
don't
like
the
precedents
of
changing
it.
So
another
issue
is
if
we
do
go
to
33%
for
community
investments
as
opposed
to
just
25%.
How
can
those
funds
be
used?
The
current
bill
spells
it
out
and
there's
a
lot
of
different
restrictions
on
how
it
can
be
used,
this
tourism
product
development
fund.
Ultimately,
the
TDA
makes
these
decisions,
but
the
legislation
itself
restricts
how
they
can
be
used
in
a
lot
of
ways.
A
I
A
Only
go
to
nonprofits,
so
there's
a
lot
of
restrictions
on
how
it
can
be
used.
The
state
industry
guidelines
document
simply
says
that
the
funds
can
be
spent
on
anything
as
long
as
it's
tourism
related
and
then,
and
it
allows
the
communities
to
decide
how
they
want
to
define.
What
is
what
is
tourist
related,
so
I
think
this
is
actually
one
of
the
most
important
points
here,
because
the
tourism
industry
has
been
growing
so
fast.
That
I
think
it
would
be
very
unwise
to
in
the
legislation
itself
restrict
how
the
funds
can
be
used.
A
What's
what's
important,
now
might
look
different
in
four
or
five
years,
and
so
we
should
you
know
ultimately
again,
the
TDA
is
making
the
decision,
but
the
City
Council,
the
community,
the
County
Commission,
should
be
able
to
have
input
on
that
on.
An
ongoing
way
to
you
know,
talk
about
what
the
priorities
are
going
forward.
So
I
think
that's
a
very
important
point
too,
to
stand
behind.
I.
Think
that
there's
other
issues
too
I,
don't
we
don't
need
to
go
into
all
of
them.
A
My
sense
from
these
conversations
is
that
the
the
hotel
industry,
as
I
said,
is
willing
to
make
some
changes
on
the
funding
formula.
I've
heard
a
lot
of
support
from
the
from
their
sector
that
they
want
to
restrict
how
the
funds
can
be
used.
So
that
may
be
a
place
where
you
know
there
are
some
differences
of
opinion.
A
So
you
know
I,
just
kinda
wanted
to
share
my
thoughts
on
this
because
there's
been
a
lot
of
one-on-one
conversations
going
on,
but
it
kind
of
feels
like
it's
time
for
this
to
be
kind
of
brought
to
a
more
public
level
of
discussion
and
in
terms
of
in
terms
of
this
letter,
you
know
my
thoughts
were
you
know.
We
still
haven't
really
kind
of
settled
on
this
issue
as
a
commission
yet
like.
When
are
we
gonna
adopt
resolutions?
When
are
we
not?
We
do
sometimes
just
create
letters.
A
You
know
if
there's
common
that
commonality
folks
who
are
supportive
can
sign
it.
Those
who
aren't
you
know,
there's,
that's
that's
fine,
too,
so
I
think
it
would
be
beneficial
for
the
Commission
to
to
let
our
legislators
know
what
our
thoughts
are
on
this.
So
that's
the
idea
of
the
letter.
If
people
have
feed
back
on
that
be
happy
to
hear
it
any
any
other
folks
who
want
to
share
their
two
cents
on
this
because
I
know
other
folks
have
been
in
these
different
community
conversations
as
well.
A
I
I'll
I'll
jump
in
there.
You
know
my
I
was
one
of
the
ones
that
voted
for
the
additional
2%
and
the
25/75
split.
I.
Don't
think.
I
was
as
concerned
about
the
split,
except
that
I
wanted
to
make
sure
that,
for
me,
I
was
excited
about
the
fact
that
we
would
have
25%
that
would
go
towards
capital
projects
and
that
that
money
would
be
derived
from
a
tax
that
is
paid
by
100
percent
people
outside
of
Buncombe
County.
I
So
that
was
the
big
reason
that
I
voted
for
that.
Since
that
time,
there's
been
a
lot
of
dialogue
about
the
amount
of
money
that
has
been
generated
and
should
that
money
be
adjusted,
should
that
money
should
there
be
a
concern
about
it
being
that
much
money
and
the
answer
that
is
probably
yes
most
of
that
is
that
is
a
it's
tourism
related.
It's
a
tourism
board.
There
guidelines,
one
who
can
be
on
that
board.
I'm
on
that
board.
Julie
may
fill
us
on
that
board.
We
are
non-voting
members.
I
We
just
represent
the
county
and
the
city
to
make
sure
to
just
add
to
to
advocate
and
to
listen
and
to
make
sure
there's
equity
throughout
the
county
and
that
we
feel
comfortable
in
what
the
Tourism
Board
is
is
doing.
I
think
there's
a
lot
of
conversation
recently
about
concern
of
infrastructure,
particularly
in
the
in
the
city
which
I
share
that
I
share
that
concern.
I
I'm
not
sure
that
these
the
there
there
seems
to
be
a
hang-up
on
the
specific
language
at
the
state
level
and
concern
about
the
Tourism.
Board
means
specific
I
know
there's
a
lot
of
conversation
about
about
transit
about,
maybe
even
some
of
that
the
transit
could
be
tourism
relief
and
that
some
of
that
focus,
some
of
that
money
could
be
directed
towards
that.
I
My
concern
is,
is
how
do
you
do
all
that
if,
if
I
was
doing
it
which
I'm
not
you
know
and
I,
this
taxes
created
by
the
by
the
hotel
industry
then
and
I,
was
within
that
group
and
I
wanted
to
improve
tourism?
I
wanted
to
improve
transit
related
to
tourism
and
what
I
would
probably
advocate
for,
and
maybe
there
needs
to
be-
maybe
there
has
to
be.
I
Maybe
this
is
a
reason
for
there
being
some.
You
know
specific
language
in
there
is
that
I
would
want
the
workers
that
I
had
in
Inca
or
I
would
want
the
workers
that
I
had
in
Swann
and
oil
to
be
able
to
to
expand
the
routes,
maybe
to
those
areas
where
people
could
get
on
get
on
the
bus
and
come
to
work
rather
than
you
know.
The
conversation
that
I've
heard
is
a
specific
amount
of
money.
Just
comes
out,
maybe
four
transit
and
goes
to.
There
goes
here
and
I'm,
not
hearing
a
lot
of
accountability.
I
Think
from
the
marketing
side
of
it,
I've
said
this
I
think
I've
shared
this
with
with
chairman
Newman
I
share
it
out
here
now
with
everybody.
Is
that
as
that
I,
don't
think,
there's
much
difference.
If
you
spend
twenty
million
dollars
a
year
for
for
advertising
versus
19
million
a
year,
I
mean
that
million
dollars
could
go
to
do
a
lot
of
work
on
the
product
development
side
and
may
not
be
necessary.
I
You
know,
in
the
future,
I
mean
that's
going
to
proportionally
grow
and
it's
going
to
get
to
a
point
where
it's
probably
too
much
now
how
we
adjust
that
I.
Don't
really
have
the
answer
for
that.
I
think
that
the
I
think
the
Tourism
Board,
the
hotel,
your's
or
but
at
some
point
I'm
going
to
make
some
presentation
to
the
board
to
us
I'm
assuming
about
this
yeah
and
we're
gonna,
have
to
agree
with
or
disagree
with
it
we'll
see.
So
what
do
you
think
so?
I
am.
A
Bill
and
they
went
around
us
and
then
they
dropped
it
on
our
desk
and
said
I
hope,
you'll
vote
for
it,
and
that
was
the
process
and
that's
part
of
the
reason
I
think
so.
Many
people
in
the
community
are
frankly
really
angry
about
this,
because
I
think
people
felt
like
it
got
jammed
down
their
throat
that
there's
no
accountability
here
and
you
know
we
have
the
worst
deal
in
the
state.
A
A
G
J
J
Okay,
well,
I'm
really
glad
we're
talking
about
it.
This
is
something
that
I
would
want
to
sign
on
to
I've
been
hearing
from
a
lot
of
folks
about
this
and
the
range
of
things
I
hear
go
from
hey.
We
have
like
critical,
pressing
problems
in
our
community
that
we
need
to
figure
out
some
way
to
use
public
funds
to
address
and
some
people-
and
you
know
this
is
one
of
the
first
places.
J
Is
debt
servicing
or
property
tax
I,
just
think
to
me
we're
at
a
place
where
we
just
need
to
name
that
really
clearly
and
part
of
my
motivation
for
us
wanting
to
elevate
this
conversation
is
that
I
think
from
all
shorter
and
longer
term
policymaking
perspective?
We
have
a
responsibility
to
get
ahead
of
the
freight
train
that
is
quickly
coming
at
us,
and
part
of
that
is
growth
and
development.
Yes,
but
part
of
that
is
also
just
the
wear
and
tear
on
public
infrastructure
the
demands
placed
on
infrastructure.
J
So
that's
one
of
the
ways
I
look
at
this
I
also
just
think
about
this.
From
a
perspective
of
parity
across
the
state,
we
are
a
clear,
outlier
and
I
think
that's
a
function
of
politics
that
happened
five
years
ago.
It's
a
new
day,
there's
a
new
board
here,
our
communities
change.
The
growth
of
the
the
revenue
generated
from
this
is
far
outpaced
when
anyone
would
have
projected
in
2016
all
those
things
to
me
say.
J
We
certainly
should
look
afresh.
Take
a
fresh
look
at
this
and
look
at
it
from
a
clear
policymaking
lens,
but
at
the
end
of
the
day
you
know
not
everyone,
I'm
hearing
from
is
necessarily
naming
the
occupancy
tax
issue,
but
almost
everyone
I
talk
with
in
our
community
today
is
in
one
way
or
another,
expressing
the
pains
of
struggling
to
make
ends
meet
or
not
being
able
to
find
housing
or
being
stuck
in
traffic
every
day
or
not
having
the
public
transport.
J
They
need
all
these
kind
of
circling
issues
that
I
think
we
kind
of
have
to
get
ahead
of
and
I
honestly
think
if
more
people
knew
that
there
was
a
twenty
five
million
dollar
fund
of
locally
generated
tax
dollars,
18
million
dollars
of
which
were
being
used
for
advertising
that
was
being
outsourced
to
a
firm
in
Atlanta
I.
Think
the
more
people
know
about
this.
The
more
folks
will
have
real
concerns
about
it
and
I
think
those
are
valid
concerns
so
I'm
glad
we're
taking
it
up.
J
I
would
I
would
like
to
sign
on
to
this.
I
want
us
to
be
in
discussion
and
dialogue.
I
think
we
do
need
to
be
realistic
about
what's
possible
in
terms
of
the
current
or
the
upcoming
short
cycle,
but
I
want
us
to
have
those
longer-term
conversations
and
to
me,
part
of
our
job
is
to
dovetail
that
longer-term
conversation
about
what
the
proper
appropriate
use
of
this
tax
fund
is,
with
our
longer-term
conversations
and
planning
around
land
use
around
how
we're
thinking
about
property
tax
in
the
years
to
come.
J
G
G
When
it's
out
there
now,
you
know
we
keep
it
going
sure,
but
I
think
it
would
be
only
fair
to
spend
50
50
because,
let's
face
it
with
the
hotels,
it's
25
million
now
in
a
few
years,
they'll
be
30
million
or
more
but
I
think
that's
only
fair
that
we
spend
5050
and
whatever
the
city
the
county
we
decide
this.
We
shouldn't
have
all
those
restrictions
either
because
look.
The
tourism
affects
every
part
of
the
city
and
county,
the
deputy
sheriff's
whatever.
G
G
A
Know
this
is
a
great
point
now
I
did
on
this
section
number
three,
it's
a
shorter
section.
I
was
yeah
trying
to
not
to
be
too
burr
boats
and
these
others,
but
this
one
I,
maybe
it's
too
short
I
just
says
it
says,
currently
the
community
voices
in
decision-making.
Currently
the
makeup
of
the
TDA
is
dominated
by
the
hotel
owners.
We
believe
there
should
be
more
community
voices
added
to
the
decision-making
process,
especially
as
it
relates
to
the
investments
in
the
non
advertising
funds.
You
know,
I
think
how
the
advertising
funds
get
spent.
A
G
A
I
K
The
stress
that
that's
putting
on
our
emergency
responders
our
911
call
system
EMS
our
firefighters.
We
absolutely
have
to
take
a
look
at
that
and
ensure
that
those
needs
are
being
met
by
the
number
of
folks
that
are
visiting
here.
The
one
thing
that
I
really
do
have
to
take
a
little
pause
with
is
in
talking
with
folks
who
do
locally
owned
small
businesses.
A
L
Just
listening,
I
mean
like
say
you
and
Joe
was
the
ones
here
five
years
ago,
and
you
know
I
won't
just
get
back
to
basic.
It
seems
like
they've
done
a
great
job.
Does
it
need
to
be
looked
at?
Definitely,
you
know
how
much
money
was
coming
in
three
year,
two
years
ago,
three
years
ago,
15
million,
so
we
have
got
to
a
point
where
it
could
go
66
33
years,
as
is
5050,
but
I
think
we
need
to
stay
within
word.
L
Do
the
dollars
go
on
the
let's
use
tourism
tax,
you
know
not
only
thing
is
using
this
extra
money
coming
in
can
help
where
we
don't
have
to
raise
property
taxes,
we're
using
it
for
something
else
that
we
don't
have
to
find
so
I
think
we're
kind
of
getting
way
way
off
track
is
the
more
we
talk
about.
This
is
yes,.
D
L
Worked
in
the
past,
it's
working
great
eventually
we're
gonna
get
the
30
million,
but
we're
gonna
have
money
to
do
other
things.
So
I
believe
we
need
to
sit
back
and
think,
keep
it
a
tourism
tax
dollar
and
then
find
a
way
that
it
cuts
us
from
having
to
spend
money
on
greenways
or
something
because
the
greenways
are
attracting
a
lot
of
people
here.
You.
A
Know
one
one
one
idea,
and
this
isn't
a
this:
isn't
the
letter
and
there's
other
ways
to
get
at
this
there's
a
lot
of
ways
that
you
could
work
this,
but
one
one
idea
to
kind
of
address
what
Commissioner
Edwards
is
saying,
but
you
know
think
about
how
to
get
more
funding
for
community
infrastructure
and
other
community
needs
would
be
to
basically
say:
okay,
look,
you
know
one
compromise
could
be.
We
go
to
6633
split
the
revenue
that
way
we
are
at
25
million
dollars.
Now
it's
this
huge
pool
of
money.
A
It's
expected
to
grow,
but
you
never
know
we
could
have
a
recession
and
a
couple
of
years
they
could
go
down.
You
know
so,
there's
it's
not
automatic!
That
goes
up,
but
we
could
say,
as
the
revenue
grows
beyond
25
million
any
additional
growth
beyond
25
million.
Let's
split
that
revenue
50/50
and
in
that
way
it's
not
reducing
the
advertising
funds
for
the
tourism
sector,
anything
below
what
it
would
already
be
reduced
by
going
to
66%,
which
I
think
there's
buy-in
for
that.
A
But
as
the
pie
grows,
let's,
let's
split
that
new
growth
5050
every
you're
still
gonna
get
more
advertising
money
than
we
have
today,
we've
already
huge
number,
but
as
the
sector
grows,
the
community
will
feel
more
benefits
from
it
as
it
grows
into
the
future.
So
it
is,
you
know,
I
think
it's
kind
of
a
good
solution
in
a
lot
of
ways.
It
is
different
than
the
state
guidelines,
I
mean
I,
think
I.
Think
realistically,
that's
probably
not
a
policy
that
is
realistic,
that
we're
gonna
be
able
to
get
through
the
legislature
this
year.
A
I
think
whatever
goes
through
this
year
is
probably
going
to
need
to
conform
to
the
state
guidelines,
because
I
think
the
state
hotel
industry
association
can
basically
say
you
know,
make
a
few
phone
calls
and
say
we're
against
it,
and
it
just
won't
happen
so
I
think
there's
kind
of,
though
what
can
we
get
done
this
year,
but
also
kind
of
trying
to
define?
Where
do
we
want
to
get
to
on
this
going
forward
and
that
sim
that
could
be?
You
know
a
solution
that
wouldn't
worry
people
in
the
business
community
too
much.
A
I
One
other
thing
I
appreciate,
commissioner
Edwards
bringing
that
point,
because
people
need
to
understand
that
this.
This
is
advertising
money
which
I
agree
with
Commissioner
Newman
that
it
has
grown
to
a
point
to
where
you
know
it's,
it's
realistic
to
look
at
that
now,
whether
this
is
exactly
the
way
it
ought
to
be.
I
don't
know
I
like
30
3366,
but
it
affects
a
whole
lot
more
than
hotels.
I
This,
the
this
advertising
I
mean,
if
you
think
about
20
years
ago,
and
you
think
about
the
amount
of
businesses
with
here
the
restaurants
that
were
here,
you
know
the
art.
Well,
you
know
everything
across
all
all
the
service
lines
and
consumables
I
mean
people
are
I,
mean
I.
Does
anybody
really
like
the
fact
that
all
these
people
are
coming
to
Asheville
I
doubt
anybody
here
is
gonna
raise
your
hand.
They
were
all
excited
about
the
amount
of
people
that
come
here
except
the
people
that
are
making
a
living
here.
I
They
love
the
people
that
are
coming
and
spending
the
money
they
just
don't
like
the
traffic
which
I
don't
like
nobody
likes.
They
don't
like
the
concern.
Some
of
this
is
coming
from
the
concern
that
some
of
the
infrastructure
in
the
in
some
areas,
a
city,
because
a
lot
of
the
the
some
of
the
downtown
pressure
has
created
a
situation
where
either
money
is
not
available
to
spend,
or
we
can't
keep
up
with
the
money
to
be
able
to
keep
up
with
the
improvements
to
the
infrastructure.
Is
that
a
fair
statement?
A
Yeah,
it
is
because
the
I
mean
a
the
city,
doesn't
get
any
of
the
hotel
tax
money
directly.
They
do
apply
for
funds
like
we
do
they've
got
some
good
rocks
funded.
You
know
Civic
Center
other
stuff,
but
they
don't
get
any
of
it
directly
in
the
sales
tax
distribution.
I.
Think
there's
this
widely
held
misconception
that
all
these
people
come
here.
They
buy
things
and
the
city
gets
that
money
because
they
bought
they
did
this
I
did
I
bought
something
in
the
city.
I
pay
the
sales
tax.
A
I
What
what
I'm
my
only
concern
is
I
just
want
to
make
sure
that,
as
we
look
at
the
formulas
that
we
have
good
lengthy
conversations
about
this
and
that
there's
accountability
because
I
mean
it's
even
been
mentioned-
that
here's
this
fund
and
it's
a
lot
of
money
and
then
now
we
want
to
be
able
to
use
it
for
this.
This
and
this.
I
You
know
for
me
that
what
excites
me
about
that
money
is
being
able
to
utilize
it
in
the
county
and
the
city
in
other
areas
to
improve
the
destination
to
where
it
makes
it
a
better
place
for
people
to
live.
Well,
that's
a
real
broad
statement
and
we'd
have
to
have
some
accountability
in
that,
because
my
definition
may
be
different
than
than
yours,
and
that's
the
only
thing
concerns
me
when
we
use
terms
like
tourism
related
I.
I
Just
don't
know
what
that
means,
and
I
just
I'm,
hoping
that
we'll
put
some
either
we
will,
or
the
hotel
industry
or
the
state
will
put
in
some
accountability
in
that,
because
I
don't
want
to
create
something
where
people
just
start.
You
know
counting
that
fund
from
money
that
it's
I
think
not
intended
to
be
useful.
I
think
I.
A
G
A
Not
saying
there
shouldn't
be
guidelines
and
some
agreement
on
you
know:
hey
here
are
a
bunch
of
things
that
you
know
we
as
a
community
and
certainly
the
tourism
industry.
You
know
has
a
lot
of
input
on
this.
We
would
like
to
see
funded
over
the
next
five
to
ten
years,
but
I
think
that
should
be
designed
decided
here.
You
know
at
the
TD
I
mean
the
currently
the
TD
a
can
set
those
kind
of
policies
we
can
put
in
our
opinion
about
it.
A
You
know
which
is
you
know
they
can,
you
know,
take
it
or
leave
it,
but
by
deciding
it
locally
it
can
also
be
changed
locally.
You
know
the
TDA
can
in
three
years
from
now
four
years
no
can
say
you
know,
there's
some
new
things
here
that
we
didn't
see.
Then
they
can
adjust
a
plan
if
you
put
it
in
the
bill,
we
might
be
living
with
this
thing
for
the
next
ten
or
twenty
years,
and
you
tie
it
ties
our
hands.
A
So
that's
why
I
think
it's
so
important
that
those
policies
get
decided
in
a
local
plan
created
with
you
know,
with
the
tourism
of
del
development
authority
with
community
input
rather
than
getting
put
in
a
bill,
that's
gonna,
be,
you
know,
potentially
very
difficult
to
change
in
the
future.
So
what
this
has
been
a
good
discussion,
I
don't
want
to
cut
it
off,
but
we
are
at
past
or
o'clock.
Now
now
you'll
see
I
dated
this
letter
in
the
future.
So
it's
the
ideas
like
this
is
you
know
that
were
some.
A
I
For
everyone's
thoughts
on
this
or
last
comment,
I
want
to
comment
on
on
Commissioner
on
Al's,
about
the
voting
versus
non-voting
I've
been
on
there
for
six
years,
whatever
a
long
time
as
a
non-voting.
Member
and
I
can
tell
you
that
during
that
time,
it's
like.
You
know
that,
based
on
input
from
the
community
and
based
on
time
and
input
from
this
board,
we
have
been
able
to
receive
our
share
without
even
without
being
a
non-voting.
So
you
can
make
you
you,
you
can
make
an
impact.
You
know
whether
you
have
a
voter.
I
G
H
G
A
A
The
board
is
almost
entirely
hotel
owners
and
there's
like
one
kind
of
like
non
hotel
community
position,
but
it
could
be
broaden
in
other
ways
to
in
terms
of
just
having
kind
of
other.
You
know
just
other
perspectives
at
the
table
too.
All
right
thanks,
everybody.
We
are
over
time.
So
let's
adjourn
this
meeting
that
will.