►
From YouTube: Commissioners' Briefing (Nov. 2, 2021)
Description
Briefing of the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners for November 2, 2021. Briefings take place on the first and third Tuesday of each month at 3pm, just before the 5pm Regular Meetings. The purpose of the Briefing is to discuss future agenda items and County business with staff in an open, transparent manner. No official actions take place during the Briefings.
A
Let's
quickly
review
the
agenda,
we're
going
to
get
a
covet
update,
we're
going
to
have
a
garage
facility,
update
substance,
use
disorder,
behavioral
health
collaborative
grant,
discussion,
discussion
of
the
collaborative
mobile
medical,
assisted
treatment,
team
grant
and
then
we're
going
to
have
interviews
with.
I
think
three
organizations
related
to
the
american
recovery
act.
Funding
applicants
that
we
had
some
follow-up
questions
with.
A
A
A
So
when
we
get
to
boards
and
commissions
this
evening,
if
there's
agreement
by
the
board
it'd
be
appropriate
to
have
a
motion
to
amend
our
resolution,
creating
that
subcommittee,
so
we
can
appoint
one
additional
at-large
member
and
then,
if
that's
approved,
we
would
then
go
ahead
and
make
the
appointments
at
our
meeting
tonight
all
right,
very
good.
Well,
let's
go
ahead
and
get
started
with
the
briefing
agenda
and
we're
going
to
get
started
with
a
coveted
update
and
stacy
saunders
is
here
to
help
us
with
that.
Thank
you
for
being
here.
Stacy.
B
B
B
Our
current
metrics
do
continue
to
show
promise,
so
I
I
am
here
with
with
some
good
news.
The
case
rate
has
dropped
to
107
and
that's
down
from
119
on
the
week
prior,
the
rate
of
decrease
in
cases
actually
has
slowed
slightly
in
the
last
two
weeks,
still
leaving
us
in
an
area
of
high
transmission.
So
that's
why
you're,
seeing
that
case
rate
still
in
that
blazing
red
color,
our
percent
positivity
currently,
as
of
yesterday,
was
4.7
percent.
This
is
the
first
time
that
we
have
seen
that
under
five
percent
since
july.
B
Deaths
actually
increased
since
week
prior,
we
actually
had
seven
new
deaths
of
our
friends
and
neighbors
and
family
members
that
were
reported
since
previous
week.
This
results
in
an
increase
in
our
death,
our
death
rate
from
1.9
last
week
to
2.7
deaths
per
100
000.,
the
hospitalization
rates
remain
encouraging
and
they
remain
low
and
stable
at
this
time.
B
This
slide
actually
shows
that
slower
decline
that
I
was
talking
about,
you'll
see
with
our
delta
surge.
That
was
a
rapid
and
steep
increase
in
cases
and
then
coming
off
the
other
side
of
that
it
it's
a
bit
slower.
We
actually
plateaued
at
the
top
for
a
little
while,
and
then
it's
coming
down
a
little
slower
like
almost
like
step
wise.
B
So
that's
that's.
Why
we're
seeing
that
case
rate
just
continue
to
stay
in
that
high
cases
across
the
board,
however,
are
decreasing.
The
greatest
proportion
still
remains
in
our
25
to
49
year
olds,
and
this
has
been
generally
true
throughout
the
pandemic,
as
this
population
tends
to
make
up
the
bulk
of
our
workforce
and
typically
has
more
potential
for
interaction
and
exposure.
C
B
During
that
time
period
we
did
see
our
vaccination
rates
increase
in
all
age
groups
during
that
time,
with
the
greatest
increase
in
our
12
to
17
year
olds
and
our
18
to
24
year
olds,
which
increased
in
each
one
of
those
groups
and
they
each
increased
by
four
percentage
points
during
that
last
month.
So
I
just
want
to
say
thanks
to
all
the
efforts
of
our
buncombe
county
team,
both
at
hhs
at
emergency
management
and
our
our
extended
team
for
all
that
work.
B
Work
in
high
risk
settings
that
increase
their
risk
of
exposure
or
folks
who
live
or
work
in
congregate.
Settings
that
might
include
things
like
our
homeless
or
rescue
shelters,
our
detention,
centers,
our
migrant
farm
housing
and
even
dormitories,
and
then
the
j
j
booster
was
actually
recommended.
Two
months
after
the
initial
dose
for
folks
the
biltmore
church
booster
site.
We
did
sunset
that
on
october
22nd
and
we've
been
providing
all
doses
for
second
third
and
boosters
at
our
40
cox
location
as
we
gear
up
for
the
five
to
11
year
olds.
B
So
since
september
27th,
when
boosters
were
recommended
for
pfizer,
we've
administered,
2283,
total
third
doses
or
boosters
of
any
type,
and
so
the
reason
you're
seeing
it
as
third
doses
and
boosters,
is
the
state
system
where
we
put
in
all
that
information
around
vaccine
doesn't
separate.
Third
from
booster,
so
they're
kind
of
put
together.
B
And
I
wanted
to
share
a
little
bit
of
the
progress
toward
the
5
to
11
year
old
vaccination.
The
fda
did
provide
emergency
use
authorization
last
week.
The
asip,
which
is
that
advisory
committee
on
immunization
practices,
is
meeting
today
and
tomorrow
and
the
five
to
11
year
old
vaccine
discussion
is
on
the
agenda.
B
When
asip
makes
their
recommendation.
It
must
be
followed
by
the
recommendation
of
the
cdc
director
before
it's
officially
recommended.
Usually
that
happens
fairly
quickly,
but
could
take
up
to
a
day
or
so
and
then
we'd
be
waiting
for
north
carolina
department
of
health
and
human
services
to
be
sending
the
standing
order
for
us
to
be
able
to
then
administer.
B
The
first
one
will
be
at
asheville
middle
on
november
13th
and
november
20th
at
north
buncombe
december
4th
at
irwin,
high
and
december
11th
at
owen
high
and
then
off
to
the
right
there.
Actually,
the
second
bullet
point
there
that
we
have
been
really
fortunate
in
this
region
to
have
a
fema,
a
national
resource
being
the
fema
vaccine
team.
B
They
were
scheduled
to
be
discontinued
at
on
december
1.,
we've
received
an
extension
until
december
14th
for
that
team
to
stay
in
western
north
carolina,
and
so
that's
an
added
bonus
for
for
us
and
that
our
team
had
really
wanted
to
do
up
to
six
schools,
and
we
really
only
had
the
timeline
for
four.
So
our
fema
partners,
with
the
help
at
mayheck,
who
are
coordinating
the
fema
team,
are
going
to
add
on
two
more
of
those
schools
for
us
on
december.
B
4Th
and
11th
the
locations
are
to
be
determined
at
this
time,
but
that's
going
to
be
happening
as
well,
and
then
I
just
wanted
to
add.
As
far
as
five
to
11
year
olds,
north
carolina
department
of
health
and
human
services
is
also
going
to
have
essentially
a
family
vaccination
site
they're
going
to
have
about
10
10
to
12
across
the
state.
B
B
On
november,
8th
we've
been
doing
our
vaccine
communications
to
area
pediatrician
and
family
medicine
practices,
giving
them
information
about
cvms,
which
is
the
coveted
vaccine
management
system
that
the
state
has
and
vaccine
for
children
program
and
as
we
get
the
additional
provider
guidance
we'll
be
sharing
that
with
our
providers
as
well
in
the
community,
and
then
our
vaccine
information
to
parents
and
caregivers.
We
do
have
a
parent
town
hall
planned
for
november
9th.
B
What
we
found
is
that
they
valued
an
experience
or
quality
time
over
a
monetary
type
of
incentive,
so,
based
on
that
survey
of
research,
our
team's
been
working
with
area
attractions
and
partners
to
identify,
if
there's
a
possibility
to
do
an
incentive
or
some
type
of
giveaway.
That
provides
an
experience
that
brings
friends
and
families
together,
post-vaccination
so
more
to
come
on
that
one
and,
as
always,
just
want
to
take
a
moment
to
remind
folks
who
have
not
gotten
their
coveted
vaccine
to
please
consider
to
do
so.
There
are
numerous
locations
within
our
community.
B
You
can
check
out
myspot.nc.gov
and
it's
also
time
for
your
flu
vaccine,
so
many
of
the
same
locations
that
are
administering
covid19
vaccines
also
have
flu
vaccine.
So
please
protect
yourself.
This
season
and,
as
I
said
earlier,
cova
19
is
circulating
widely
around
us
in
our
community.
It's
actually
the
most
predominant
respiratory
illness
right
now.
So
if
you
are
having
symptoms
any
of
these
symptoms
that
are
listed
on
the
slide,
please
get
tested.
B
This
is
not
the
time
to
shrug
it
off
and
think
that
I
just
have
a
cold.
This
is
the
time
to
confirm
and
be
certain
that
it's
not
covered
so
go
get
tested
and
there
are
several
testing
options
in
our
area
and
you
can
find
them
at
find.
My
my
testing
location
website
or
you
can
visit
hera's
convention
center
monday
through
friday,
10
to
2,
where
the
state
partner
star
mid,
is
also
testing
individuals
and
while
of
course,
vaccination
is
our
best
tool
to
prevent
illness.
B
If
you
do
contract
cova
19,
please
be
aware
that
monoclonal
antibody
treatment
is
available.
It's
available
to
those
who
have
had
symptoms
of
cova
19
for
10
days
or
less
and
have
been
exposed
to
cova
19.
If
taken
early,
it
can
reduce
the
risk
of
severe
disease,
hospitalization
and
death,
and
you
can
find
a
location
for
monoclonal
antibody
treatment
at
covid19.ncdhhs.gov.
B
And
lastly,
just
some
infection
prevention
efforts
that
I
wanted
to
share
around
what
our
team's
been
doing,
we're
working
with
fall
holidays
and
festivities.
So
we
did
release
several
halloween
messages
this
year,
helping
folks
put
simple
measures
in
place
to
have
a
safe
and
healthy
halloween.
I
want
to
thank
all
the
parents
and
the
kiddos
who
did
end
up
practicing
those
measures
during
their
trick-or-treating
and
then
our
comms
team
also
has
created
a
helpful
guide
to
other
fall.
B
Events
like
thanksgiving
as
those
are
approaching
quickly,
so
I
just
want
to
urge
everyone
in
this
space
and
who
are
listening
to
us
on
streaming
to.
Please
be
thinking
now
about
how
you
want
to
make
your
family
gatherings
safe
and
healthy
this
year
and
as
we
continue
to
release
messaging,
you
know
around
all
of
our
fall
festivities.
We
also
continue
to
message
around
the
three
w's,
particularly
as
we've
extended
our
face
covering
requirement
in
buncombe
county
through
november
30th.
B
A
D
D
This
building
will
be
roughly
22
000
square
feet,
has
10
bays,
combined
storage
for
three
divisions
and
also
the
room
for
all
of
our
supervisors,
maintenance,
techs
and
all
all
that,
so
here's
the
concept
elevation
view
of
the
county
fleet
service,
the
building.
As
you
can
see,
this
is
just
a
side
view
of
the
conceptual
drawing.
D
D
We
also
want
we
are
not
required
to
have
certification.
So
it's
totally
up
to
us.
If
we'll
certify
the
building
or
not,
this
building
will
generate
less
waste
and
use
less
electricity,
we're
working
with
architects
and
engineers
and
firms
on
how
we're
going
to
achieve
the
lead
gold.
We
do
know
the
building
will
come
with
solar
ready,
it'll,
also
be
ev
ready,
be
working
on
waste
management
as
far
as
water
consumption
and
the
high
energy
efficient
hvac
systems.
D
So
here's
the
tentative
timeline-
those
were
the
conceptual
drawings
that
I
just
showed
you
life
cycle,
cost
analysis
we're
going
to
come
back
to
the
board
of
commissioners
in
january
february.
We're
going
to
go
through
the
drawings
and
plan
reviews
in
march.
We
hope
to
get
this
out
and
april.
We'll
start
construction.
A
All
right
so
mike
on
the,
I
think
the
presentation
said.
The
plan
is
to
actually
install
solar
on
this
that's
building
when
it's
constructed,
as
opposed
to
just
sort
of
designing
it.
But
so
that's
the
plan
but
you're
going
to
do
some
additional
life
cycle
analysis
and
bring
back
that
information
for
us
to
look
at
that's.
D
E
Good
afternoon,
commissioners,
I'm
stony
blevins,
I'm
your
health
and
human
services
director
and
I'm
really
excited
today
to
bring
you
a
wonderful
opportunity
being
presented
to
us
through
dogwood
health
trust
and
this
opportunity
really
comes
on
the
heels
of
a
recently
formed
behavioral
health
justice
collaborative
which
is
a
work
group
of
the
justice
resources.
Advisory
council
and
the
departments
that
are
working
together
in
this
collaborative
effort
are
hhs
social
work,
hhs,
public
health,
emergency
services,
our
justice
department,
as
well
as
the
sheriff's
department.
So
it's
really
an
exciting
interdepartmental
kind
of
integrated
approach.
E
These
funds
were
to
either
facilitate
or
coordinate
planning
to
conduct
needs
assessments,
data
collection
and
analysis
to
promote
partnership,
building
within
the
departments
or
across
the
county,
to
develop
the
implementation
of
plans
to
sustain
funding
and
to
promote
capacity.
Building
so
when
we
heard
about
this
opportunity,
we
got
together
and
we
jumped
on
it.
We
decided
to
submit
a
grant.
E
E
What
we
would
decided
to
do
with
this
money
is
really
to
hire
two
positions
to
focus
on
this
county-wide
sort
of
an
enterprise
level
positions,
one
would
be
a
behavioral
health
manager
and
that
person
would
be
responsible
for
leading
the
collaborative
for
working
on
the
integration
of
all
these
various
department
projects
and
multiple
grants,
with
sort
of
an
integrated
whole
person,
whole
county
approach.
I
would
also
do
a
lot
of
community
work
and
send
our
message
out
into
the
community.
E
E
So
what
we
hope
to
do
really
is
coordinate
and
integrate
existing
behavioral
health
services,
I'm
so
proud
of
buncombe
county.
It's
amazing
to
me,
since
my
arrival
in
early
2018,
what
we've
accomplished
in
this
area,
around
substance,
use
disorder
and
other
behavioral
health
challenges
and
then
to
create
a
sustainability
plan
for
these
current
efforts
and
also
what
I
would
call
an
expansion
plan
or
an
innovation
plan
about
how
we
can
build
on
our
success
and
continue
to
grow,
we'll
also
collaborate
with
community
partners
in
system-wide
efforts.
E
We're
doing
some
of
this
work,
I
think
about
our
care
coalition,
which
is
made
up
not
only
of
partners
but
of
private
citizens
who
meet
to
discuss.
Opioid
and
other
substance
use
disorder
efforts
and
then
we
will
certainly
track
and
analyze
data
for
successful
trends
with
an
equity
lens,
which
I
think
really
flows
nicely
into
our
county
strategic
plan
and
the
efforts
that
we're
making
there.
E
So
next
steps
we'll
bring
an
action
on
november
16th
asking
the
board
to
accept
the
award
from
dogwood
health
trust
with
a
budget
amendment.
To
also
add
these
two
fte
positions
and
appropriate
the
funds
after
that,
if
we
are
approved
we'll
begin
an
immediate
competitive
recruitment
and
selection
effort.
So
hopefully
we
could
have
a
person
these
two
positions
on
board
shortly
after
the
new
year
when
the
funds
arrive,
and
then
we
will
just
continue
in
that
planning.
E
F
Just
to
say
this
is
tremendous
news
and
thank
you
so
much
to
the
staff
who
worked
on
this,
and
it's
just
incredible
to
have
this
level
of
support
from
dogwood
for
a
position
like
this,
especially
in
this
moment
it's
exciting
to
see
that
road
map
and
timeline
up
ahead
and
as
we
get
closer
to
where
we'll
be
beginning,
the
the
planning
process
on
opiate
settlement
dollars.
I've
been
on
a
number
of
calls
this
past
week
around
it.
I
know
we're
getting
closer
and
closer
to
that
date.
F
It
would
be
great
to
have
some
opportunities
for
community
input
and
that
process-
I
imagine
y'all-
are
already
envisioning
that,
but
maybe
we
can
just
sort
of
start
floating
some
of
that,
so
community
members
can
start
to
get
this
on
their
radar
screen
and
again
just
appreciate
the
tremendous
work
and
and
responsiveness
to
the
opportunity
of
this
moment.
Thank
you.
G
Good
afternoon,
commissioners,
I'm
here
today
to
share
some
great
news
with
us
about
a
500
000
award
from
dogwood
trust,
if
approved
accepted
by
the
commissioners
on
november
16th.
These
funds
will
be
used
to
fund
the
expansion
of
our
community
paramedic
team
to
include
medicaid
assisted
treatment.
It
will
also
provide
a
peer
supervisor
that
will
work
with
members
of
the
community
to
actually
form
collaborative
outreach.
G
G
G
I
H
Thing
is:
can
you
talk
speak
more
to
the
non-profit,
support
the
100
000
and
talk
a
little
bit
more
about
that
and
then
the
other
question,
because
I
know
we
have
a
paramedic
shortage
and
we're
going
to
be
addressing
that
and
I'm
just
curious
how?
Because
we're
going
to
need
more
paramedics
for
this
and
I'm
curious
if
you
can
speak
to
the
impact
on
that
shortage
and
then
the
hiring
plan
with
this
going
forward
too,
because
we
know
that's
a
critical
area
for
us.
Okay,.
G
Certainly
so
one
of
the
things
that's
first
and
foremost
in
our
we've
had
a
lot
of
community
partners
is
in
being
involved
in
our
code
purple
response
and
to
our
outreach
with
behavioral
health
services
and
the
mat,
and
so
what
we're
envisioning
is
to
take.
There's
there's
many
agencies
in
the
community
that
are
working
peer
support
level.
G
You
know,
and
we
encounter
that
work
every
day
with
our
community
paramedics,
and
so
one
of
the
things
that
we
hear
back
from
their
level
is
being
able
to
fund
enough
people
to
work
with
us.
So
one
of
the
things
that
we
do
with
mayheck
is
once
a
week
we
have
a
resident
psychiatrist
that
actually
rides
with
our
community
paramedic
team
and
during
that
week
it's
always
like
that.
G
G
Now
is
there
a
constant?
You
know
turnover,
you
know
yes
nationally.
There
is,
but
buncombe
county
has
only
experienced
five
percent
turnover
in
our
request
and
what
we're
trying
to
do
is
really
get
ahead
of
where
a
lot
of
places
are
in
the
moment
and
not
having
enough
staff
not
having
enough
staff
to
meet
the
increase
in
call
volume.
G
It's
really
not
having
enough
people
that
plagues
us
right
now,
as
the
issue
of
we
having
an
increased
call
volume
that
has
put
a
higher
workload
on
those
folks.
So
what
I'm
hoping
that
the
community
paramedic
program
does?
Is
we
slowly
hire
people
and
integrate
them
into
the
system?
At
the
same
time,
we're
bringing
people
in
on
the
peak
truck
side
from
the
request
later
on
tonight
is
to
make
sure
that
there's
a
balance
reached
that
we're
decreasing
our
opioid.
G
Always
waking
up
after
the
treatment
and
refusing
the
treatment
or
further
transport
the
hospital,
which
leaves
us
kind
of
an
elaborate
situation
at
the
county
that
we
got
a
patient,
refusing
services
and
we're
not
able
to
transport
so
we're
our
hope
is
that
that
community
paramedic
is
going
to
be
able
to
stay
with
that
patient
bridge
them
to
care
and
connect
them
to
long-range
care
and
therefore,
over
time,
eliminating
our
overdose
deaths.
The
amount
that
we
continue
to
have
in
the
community.
G
So
we
know
the
program
is
working
and
we
know
the
benefits
of
it,
and
it's
it's
going
to
be
one
of
those
things
that
we
got
to
continually
adjust
and
balance
as
we
move
ahead
because
of
our
paramax
shortage
and
that's
why?
Having
this,
these
extra
requests
that
we're
coming
to
the
commissioners,
for
you
know,
really
aligns
with
this
plan
that
will
decrease
our
overall
call
volume
and
also
provide
much
more
needed
assistance
and
improve
our
response
times
in
the
community.
So
answer
your
question.
F
This
decrease
happening
around
overdose
to
some
bunch
of
county,
a
five
percent
decrease
and
in
so
many
other
places
we're
seeing
the
numbers
head
in
the
other
direction,
and
I
think
you
know
at
a
time
when
there's
been
a
lot
of
bad
news-
is
something
to
really
take
note
of
and
and
appreciate
the
work
that's
happening
on
the
front
lines,
and
I
would
say
you
know
from
the
work
you
all
are
doing
to
the
targeted
work
the
sheriff's
office
is
doing
around.
You
know
targeting
larger
suppliers.
It's
it.
F
I
think
we're
really
starting
to
see
some
of
the
impact
of
the
investments
and
priority
we
placed
on
this
in
buncombe
county
show
up
in
lives
being
saved,
so
just
want
to
thank
you
and
your
staff
for
that,
and
also
hope,
more
folks
in
the
community
are
are
tracking
that
as
well.
This
is
a
a
lot.
You
know
many
many
years
of
work
going
into
starting
to
see
some
results
and
shifts
like
that.
F
G
You
know,
we've
we've
seen
less
than
30.
That's
actually
dropped
out
of
that
program,
so
you
know
the
the
data
and
the
information
on
that.
I
think
when
we
mix
that,
with
the
mat
treatment,
that's
going
on
in
the
detention
center
with
what's
going
on
in
the
field,
we're
going
to
see
this
start
to
turn
around.
G
I'm
very
hopeful
of
that
as
we
move
forward,
and
I
just
really
can't
tell
you
how
much
you
all
support
behind
this
and
dogwood
health's
trust
their
support
behind
it.
Financially,
I
mean
everybody's
kind
of
coming
together
to
make
the
right
things
happen
at
the
right
time,
and
I
appreciate
y'all
and
commend
you
all
for
that
support.
A
A
Next
up
we're
going
to
have
a
discussion
about
several
proposals,
the
counties
received
under
the
federal
recovery
fund
and
we
had
some
follow-up
questions
with
some
of
the
applicants
who
had
submitted
proposals
rachel.
Do
you
have
anything
to
share
to
kick
us
off
on
this
or
just
want
to
get
oriented
on
this.
C
C
As
a
reminder,
the
first
round
of
awards
was
made
in
late
august
and
since
then,
commissioners
have
been
gathering
information
from
the
community
through
community
input
sessions
and
gathering
information
through
written
up,
written
follow-up
questions
to
some
applicants
through
public
comments
from
all
applicants
and
today,
you're
hearing
from
presentations
from
three
organizations
that
submitted
proposals
that
are
related
in
the
small
business
support
space.
We're
going
to
hear
from
city
works,
usa,
the
black
wall
street
initiative
here
from
eagle
market
streets,
community
development
and
here
from
mountain
bizworks,
specifically
the
mountain
community
capital
fund.
C
A
Terrific
thanks
rachel
and
thanks
to
each
of
the
organizations
for
being
with
us
today
to
talk
a
little
bit
more
about
it.
The
fact
that
we
wanted
y'all
to
come
back,
you
know
all
the
different
applicants
gave
very
short
overview
presentations
anyway.
This
is
an
indication
that
these
were
proposals
that
the
commission
was
interested
in
and
wanted
to
kind
of
take
a
little
bit
of
a
deeper
dive
on,
and
maybe
have
a
little
bit
of
some
time
to
have
some
discussion
as
well.
A
A
J
Good
afternoon
I
am
jay
hackett,
and
this
is
bruce
waller
and
we're
here
to
discuss
the
black
wall
street
avl
project.
Thank
you
for
this
time
and
opportunity.
Our
goal
is
to
establish
an
effective
black
business
incubator.
Black
wall
street
has
found
a
great
opportunity
in
preparing
black-owned
businesses
to
generate
revenue,
while
engaging
with
the
growing
tourism
industry
in
buncombe
county.
In
july,
the
bctda
approved
a
20.3
million
budget,
with
15.3
million
going
towards
advertising
public
relations
efforts.
However,
only
123
thousand
178
goes
to
community
engagement.
J
This
creates
a
potential
gap
where
the
bctda
is
working
hard
really
hard,
but
may
have
a
blind
spot
not
being
able
to
attract
bipod
people
to
the
county
because
of
a
lack
of
knowledge
or
a
lack
of
themes
and
activities
that
would
draw
the
black
population.
Since
the
time
of
our
initial
application,
we've
learned
even
more
about
the
impact
of
tourism
on
our
county
and
partnered,
with
the
bcta
to
explore
opportunities
and
strategies
to
engage
more
black
owned
businesses
in
the
tourism
industry,
making
the
projected
growth
more
equitable
for
everybody.
J
In
short,
we've
discussed
what
can
be
done
so
that
black
businesses
can
benefit
here
in
buncombe
county,
and
so
today's
presentation
speaks
to
that,
specifically
in
line
with
their
marketing
recovery
framework
goals
and
all
the
time
and
energy
they
spent
on
marketing.
We
learned
that
these
goals
are
to
inspire
interest,
build
brand
equity
support,
community
partners
and
the
road
to
recovery
and
generate
a
broader
travel
throughout
the
county.
Now
they
target
folks
aged
25
to
65,
with
average
income
of
75
000.
J
However,
we
still
have
number
one:
a
lack
of
bypoc
visitors
and
then
number
two
locals
that
are
not
motivated
to
invite
folks,
because
there's
nothing
here
for
them
to
do
the
black
wall
street
project
is
is
a
step
in
the
right
direction
to
help
close
that
gap.
So
we
dug
into
this
gap
in
our
ecosystem
and
found
that
over
half
of
the
businesses
in
the
black
wall
street
cohort
are
living
on
less
than
25
000
a
year
as
individuals.
J
Now
this
is
not
a
surprise,
considering
the
average
median
income
for
black
folks
in
buncombe
county
is
26
000
compared
to
46
000
for
white
people,
but
the
black
business
owners
lack
the
startup
inventory
to
build
their
businesses
and
to
engage
with
the
growing
tourism
industry.
So
in
following
the
marketing
plan
of
bctda,
we
use
it
to
actually
target
blackhawk
communities
within
a
six
and
a
half
hour
radius.
The
city
of
asheville
just
provided
us
a
building
at
a
dollar
a
year,
adding
to
our
sustainability.
J
As
a
program,
I
mean
this
one-time
grant
fund
that
we're
requesting
would
help
black
businesses
recover
by
purchasing
inventory
from
local
black
businesses
for
the
cohort
furnishing
the
building
with
attractive
sales
displays
family
oriented
outdoor
games
and
making
this
a
cultural
destination
that
both
the
county
and
the
community
can
be
proud
of.
There's
great
opportunity
here
for
everybody
and
the
request
that
we
have
for
250
goes
to
50
000
for
the
director's
salary,
75
000,
for
a
food
truck
or
trailer.
J
So
some
black
businesses
are
going
through
dire
straits
in
order
to
launch
in
order
to
build,
including
people
that
are,
you
know,
on
food
assistance
and
they
might
be
a
good
cook
but
they're
using
some
of
their
funds
to
purchase
food,
so
they
can
sell
it.
And
now
our
program
partners
are
part
of
the
business
development
community.
Here
already
mountain
biz
works
eagle
market
street,
even
western
women's
business
center
they're
all
part
of
our
network.
We
refer
to
them.
J
We
we've
learned
from
them
and
they've
funded
part
of
what
we're
doing
here
at
at
black
wall
street,
and
so
we're
seeking
this
fund
into
to
have
a
good
jump
start.
This
one
time
funder
would
really
help
set
the
stage
for
the
future
of
black
business
in
buncombe
county,
and
you
see
our
presentation
as.
K
You
refer
to
the
slide.
The
main
thing
that
black
wall
street
will
be
doing
is
filling
in
that
gap
piece
where
there's
a
lot
of
already
institutional
knowledge
and
anchor
institutions
already
supporting
a
lot
of
this
work.
We
are
there
to
come
alongside
all
the
black
businesses
that
we
work
with
and
carry
them
through
all
the
different
work
that
we
do
so
as
we
go
through
this
really
quickly
the
impact
of
covet
on
black
businesses.
We
already
see
that
the
the
detriment
on
that
what
has
happened
with
last
year.
K
We
want
to
make
sure
that
we
are
supporting
black
businesses
that
have
been
impacted
by
kovit,
and
we
have
a
lot
of
partners
and
sustainability
models
set
in
place,
especially
when
we
found
out
about
the
new
building.
Getting
the
building
for
a
dollar
a
year
helps
with
that
sustainability
we
are,
we
saw.
We
are
nationally
recognized
by
four
magazines
for
the
the
black
wall
street.
Oh
okay,
the
black
wall
street
generated
already
was
different.
Now
is
391.
000
is
actually
600,
000,
plus
in
economic
impact
that
we
already
had.
K
We
served
over
9
321
customers.
We
created
10
jobs.
We
are
awarded
also
attracting
more
diversity
in
the
river
arts
districts
when
we
did
the
grind
fest-
and
these
are
some
of
the
other
partners
that
we
have
with
that
grind
fest.
We
have
4
000
people
that
have
already
came
out,
36
sponsors
and
over
19
states
represented,
so
the
visitors
spend
2.2
billion
dollars
a
year,
as
you
can
see
the
different
categories
that
are
that
a
visitor
spend
by
a
catego
by
category
and
ashford
visitors
top
five.
K
We
can
see
that
the
ones
that
we
are
targeting,
which
is
currently
culinary
experience,
historical
place
and
cultural
activity
places
that's
already
a
1.36
billion
dollar
of
what
we
are
targeting.
As
far
as
in
the
percentages
here
on
the
screen
and
a
lot
of
the
work
that
we're
doing
is
targeting
those
three
things
where
visitors
are
coming
in
and
locals.
K
We
are,
we
have
a
little
bit
more.
Everything
is
growing
as
we
go,
but
57
black
businesses
are
represented
in
the
black
wall
street
cohort.
As
you
can
see,
the
different
numbers
as
jay
was
saying,
half
of
them,
or
half
of
them
are
under
the
less
than
20
thousand
dollar
category.
From
our
data
that
we
have
captured
20
out
of
the
57,
our
men
and
37
out
of
the
57
are
women
and
it
and
it
continues
to
grow
along.
We
can.
K
We
can
do
so
little,
but
together
we
can
do
so
much.
We
have
a
lot
of
recognition
and
partners,
as
you
can
see,
eagle
market
street
nc
idea,
venture
asheville,
hatch,
mountain
bizworks,
aisha
adams,
media
rotary
club
and
so
many
partners,
and
so
much
support
from
the
community
and
also
on
a
national
lens,
as
well
as
this
model
that
we're
building
has
a
lot
of
support
already
locally
and
also
regionally
in
other
parts
of
the
country.
K
The
gap
between
what
we
have
now
and
what
people
need
is
is
this.
Is
that
there's
a
lot
of
resource
out
there
already
our
job
is
to
connect
them
directly
to
to
the
to
the
support
out
there.
So
mountain
bizwork,
eagle
market
street,
western
women
business
center
and
all
some
of
the
so
many
other
partners
already
have
a
lot
of
things
out
there.
We
just
want
to
make
sure
that
we
connect
them
directly
to
resource,
and
so
we
mentioned
about
the
the
dollar.
K
A
year
that
we
have
that
actually
saves
us
18
000
a
year
for
the
next
10
years,
and
so
that
savings
will
help
us
fund
for
other
projects
and
strategic
opportunities
for
the
good
of
the
black
wall
street
avl.
Moreover,
the
permanent
building
will
help
build
the
market
to
gain
more
sales,
given
the
high
level
of
foot
traffic
in
the
area
which
will
expand
their
business
horizon
and,
of
course,
we're
doing
the
black
wall
street
junior.
J
Overall,
we
intend
to
contribute
to
the
economic
development
of
buncombe
county
for
everybody.
Our
request
is,
is
a
bit
time.
Sensitive
projections
show
that
that
this
this
shopping
season
at
the
end
of
the
year
is
going
to
be
one
of
the
one
of
the
largest
in
history,
and
it
would
be
great
if
black
businesses
were
positioned
to
take
part
and
sell
their
products
and
services
for
the
people
that
are
going
to
be
visiting
and
the
people
that
are
going
to
be
engaging
with
them.
Thank
you.
H
J
So
one
of
the
one
of
the
primary
purposes
of
black
wall
street
in
the
world
of
entrepreneurship
is
to
create
jobs,
and
so
we
meet
monday.
We
meet
every
monday
night
and
our
goal.
Our
first
goal
is
to
generate
revenue,
so
we
encourage
people
to
sell
their
stuff
to
generate
revenue
with
the
goal
of
hiring
themselves,
so
creating
a
job
first
for
themselves
as
a
business
owner
now,
some
of
the
people
they
are
working
or
not
yet
working
and
they
were
able
to
create
part-time
jobs.
J
A
few
of
them
were
able
to
create
jobs
for
themselves
and
when
we
calculate
we
calculate
as
a
cohort
as
a
whole
and-
and
so
this
number
reflects
the
number
of
jobs
that
have
been
created
inside
the
black
wall
street
cohort
since
january
1,
and
it's
actually
a
bit
higher.
Now,
it's
12
jobs
this
year.
L
J
Number
one
we
don't
know
how
but
number
two
bctda,
they
have
been
been
great
partners
and
very
supportive.
The
support
they
give
us
is
a
lot
of
information,
and
this
year
we
did
receive
funding
from
them
for
the
festival.
The
specific
type
of
marketing
that
we're
talking
about
is
when
black
folks
can
go
to
the
markets
that
the
tourism
development
association
would
have
normally
gone
to
and
they're
they're
going
to
them
with
millions
of
dollars.
J
But
it
does
take
somebody
that
that
that
understands
the
lingo
and
the
vernacular
and
can
speak
to
groups
and
knows
where
those
pockets
of
groups
are
historically
black
organizations,
black
business
communities
and
groups,
and
we
want
to
be
able
to
go
and
and
have
the
funding
to
go
and
say
y'all
should
come
to
asheville,
for
this
y'all
should
come
to
asheville.
For
that
I
mean
not
only
the
bctda
send
their
folks
out
in
the
way
that
they
normally
have
done.
It.
L
The
reason
I
say
that
you
know
I
have
a
lot
of
friends
in
atlanta
here
and
we
get
a
lot
of
people
from
the
atlanta
area
who
visit
here
and
they
have
seen
it
through.
You
know
the
tourism,
but
I
hear
what
you're
saying
you
need
to
get
to
everybody
and
get
down
to
them,
but
when
you
look
at
really
the
a
lot
of
the
people
who
can
afford
to
come
to
asheville
and
who
are
african-american,
yes,
sir,
they
see
the
tourism
ads.
L
H
J
Yes,
so
the
jobs
that
have
been
created,
one
is
manufacturing,
so
the
cosmetologist
that
no
longer
does
hair
but
started
doing
manufacturing
con
actually
making
the
hair
products.
Another
job
that
was
created
was
a
marketing
associate
job.
Another
job
was
created
now
some
of
them
were
created
inside
of
inside
of
grind
so
they're
barista
positions,
and
there
was
a
job
that
was
created
about
two
weeks
ago,
a
person
they
they
ended
their
full-time
position.
J
J
In
october,
we
held
the
black
man's
response
to
the
election
and
out
of
that,
and
that
was
actually
a
group
of
25
young
people
that
had
a
discussion
about
what
can
we
do
as
a
community
in
that
in
that
session,
with
25
young
black
men
under
age
18?
They
said
we
want
to
start
businesses
among
a
few
other
things,
and
so
in
november
we
planned
it.
In
december
we
launched
young
black
entrepreneurs
wrestling
champion.
J
Titus
o'neil
came
my
daddy
told
me
that
led
the
whole
thing
supported
by
black,
united
and
partnering,
with
with
grind,
and
so
at
that
point,
young
black
entrepreneurs
started
selling
and
testing
out
things,
and
we
began
to
call
it
black
wall
street
junior.
So
all
throughout
this
year
we've
had
young
people
tagging
along,
but
what
we
want
to
do
is
actually
put
a
primary
focus
separate
from
the
entrepreneurial
energy.
J
That's
going
on,
buncombe
county
has
has
noted
the
need
for
diversion
activities
and,
in
those
conversations
with
young
people,
they're
still
saying
that
we
want
to
start
businesses.
We
want
to
do
something.
We
want
something
productive,
put
money
in
our
pockets
and
so
again,
with
the
partnership,
with
my
dad
taught
me
that
in
black
men,
united,
in
addition
to
united
way,
in
addition
to
the
actual
city,
schools
foundation,
there's
one
other
organization,
I'm
forgetting
who
they
are.
D
A
He
had
a
couple
of
questions
just
to
just
kind
of
first
high
level,
so
the
I
mean
again
also
congratulations
on
the
decision
with
the
city
to
support
the
use
of
the
property
for
this
purpose
and
the
city.
I
saw
the
story
in
the
paper
that
was
talking
about
this,
and
did
they
have
the
city
council
formally
agreed
to
the
dollar
year
for
that
number
of
years
I
heard
they
awarded
it
to
the
organization,
but
have
they
made
the
final
decision
around
the.
J
A
Formally
formally
approved,
but
okay,
all
right,
great
and
in
terms
of
the
space
itself
is
you're.
Talking
about
you
know,
visitors
come
in
coming
for
the
holidays
and
beyond
is
the
is
the
property
itself
envisioned
as
like
a
retail
location
for
various
organizations
that
are
affiliated
with
you
know
the
initiative.
A
J
A
Now
part
of
the,
I
think
I
was
going
back
and
re-reading
the
proposal
that
was
submitted
to
the
county
part
of
what
the
proposal
talks
about
is
the
organization's
function
to,
in
essence,
be
like
a
micro
lender
to
different
entrepreneurs.
Right
yes,
but
but
that's
not
actually
part
of
what
like
the
funds
to
directly
do
that.
That's
not
part
of
what
the
county's
proposal
is
one
of
the
uses
of
those
funds,
or
is
that
I
just
wanted
to
clarify
that
question.
J
The
the
way
that
it
opera-
yes
it
is,
it
is
part
of
it.
But
when
you
look
at
the
the
75
000
in
purchases
from
black
business
owners,
a
lot
of
people
have
an
idea,
but
they
don't
have
the
startup.
They
can't
make
their
first
purchase,
and
so
what
we
would
like
to
be
able
to
do
is
say:
what
do
you
need
to
make
your
first
purchase
so
that
you
can
make
that
first
purchase
which
is
relatively
small,
but
once
they
sell
it,
it
can
be
it's
larger
and
they
can.
J
Got
it
there's
there
there's
one,
there
was
one
you
know,
member
of
the
black
wall
street
cohort
that
had
designed
a
very,
very
attractive
product.
It
was
you
know,
schools
like
it.
It
has
both
the
fun
aspect
to
it
and
an
educational
aspect
to
it.
Schools
like
it,
but
she
did
not
have
the
the
money
to
get
her
first
batch
of
stuff
going
like
big
enough
for
it
to
sell.
It
was
too
small
to
get
a
loan.
A
J
Idea
foundation,
we
didn't
know
about
them.
Actually,
jeff
kaplan
over
at
venture
asheville
told
us
about
them
right
when
we
first
got
started
and-
and
we
submitted
a
proposal
for
specifically
for
black
wall
street,
because
we
were
doing
the
pop-up
shops
unofficially
and
we
were
like
well.
If
we
can
do
this
this
and
this
and
structured
in
a
way,
we
can
really
do
some
things
and
they
gave
us
fifty
thousand
dollars
in
december
of
last
year.
J
That
was
the
that
was
to
pilot
this,
and
the
goal
was
to
start
grow
and
expand
20
black
businesses
and
help
generate
a
collective
250
000
in
revenue.
We
exceeded
that
before
the
first
six
months
and
it
seems
to
resonate
really
well
here
in
western
north
carolina,
so
they've
come
alongside
as
partners
they're
supporting
their
you
know,
making
connections
for
us
and
with
us
around
the
around
the
state.
We
really
appreciate
it.
A
That's
great,
so
part
of
the
funding
would
allow
the
organization
to
hire
director.
Could
y'all
just
talk
a
little
bit
about.
I
mean
this
is
also
a
pretty
new
initiative
right.
So
in
terms
of
the
organization's
development.
Is
this
still
like
a
volunteer?
Are
you
currently
able
to
pay
staff,
or
just
where
just
talk
a
little
bit
where
you're
at
sort
of
organizationally
development-wise.
J
This
initiative
is
this
year
was
the
pilot.
It
started
in
december
of
last
year
and
we've
tested
it
out,
and
we
have
68
businesses
right
now
and
it's
purely
volunteer,
and
we
would
like
to
hire
bruce
as
the
as
the
director
he's
doing
much
of
the
heavy
lifting
now
and
he's
doing
it
all
volunteer,
and-
and
we
think
that
with
this
with
this
this,
this
one-time
funding
will
allow
it
to
to
grow
and
to
sustain
itself
in
a
long
time
in
the
long-term
future.
Great.
A
It's
just
the
one
other
question
I
had
I
mean,
and
you
know
one
of
the
things
that
we're
looking
at
with
the
arp
of
funds
is
there's
a
bunch
of
rules
around
it.
A
whole
bunch
of
you
know
complicated
regulations.
We
make
everything
you
know
way
too
complicated
right
so
and
there's
permissible
uses
of
funds
and
there's
things
that
aren't
some
of
it
has
to
do
with
like
non-profit
capital
funds,
and
I
think
parts
of
your
proposal
fall
into
that
category.
A
Other
parts
might
not,
but
I
think
those
are
all
some
things
we've
been
looking
at,
not
just
for
your
proposal
but
for
a
whole
bunch
of
different
proposals
from
non-profit
organizations,
but
I
think
my
question
there
was.
It
is
really
complicated
from
like
a
federal
grant,
reporting
standpoint.
I'm
sure
I'm
not
telling
anything
that
you
don't
know,
but
I
just
think
it's
been
one
of
those
things
where,
as
we've
been
looking
at
different
proposals,
we
just
want
to
you
know
as
a
new
organ.
A
A
pretty
new
organization
just
make
sure
y'all
are
aware
of
that
as
we're
looking
at
it
just
because
it
is,
it
is
going
to
be
an
administrative
burden.
I
think,
to
some
extent
you
know
for
everyone
who
receives
some
of
these
funds.
So
again,
I'm
not
even
sure
I
have
a
question
there,
just
because
I
guess.
A
J
J
K
Yes,
more,
in
particular
to
the
youth,
my,
but
my
last
previous
work
was
at
asheville
middle
school.
I
worked
for
united
way
two
and
a
half
years
over
there,
so
I
have
really
strong
relations
with
a
lot
of
young
young
adults,
so
the
black
wall
street
junior
concept
is
really
near
and
dear
to
my
heart
to
actually
because
I
already
mentor
youth
and
volunteering-
I
don't
know
60
plus
hours
a
week,
just
I'm
all
in
this.
K
This
is
what
I'm
gonna
do,
and
I
think
that
when
I
see
the
young
adults
to
be
able
to
help
them,
translate
their
ideas
into
bite
sizes
and
know
how
to
speak
their
language,
no
matter
what
background
they
are
at.
I
have
that.
Do
you
feel
like
I
have
that
gift
and
that
that
understanding
where
young
adults
are
and
actually
pull
them
and
magnetize
them
to
hire
themselves
versus
you
know,
I
think
it's
good
to
have
a
job
and
work,
but
some
of
them
may
feel
like.
K
K
A
It's
really
stands
out,
and
I
mean
you
guys
know
it's
a
asheville
and
buckingham
county
is
the
kind
of
community
where
it's
not
just
like
opening
up
the
newspaper
and
looking
at
all
the
awesome
jobs
that
you
can
choose
from
like
a
lot
of
people.
You
know
you
kind
of
build
it
yourself
right,
so
I
think
that's.
What's
that's!
What's
really
exciting
about
this
kind
of
initiative?
Is
it's
it's
all
about
inspiring
that
and
helping
to
make
that
happen?
A
M
M
There
were
13
jobs
created,
which
is
saying
a
lot
in
one
particular
business
of
the
three
because
of
the
funding
was
able
to
respond
to
an
rfp
with
the
forest
service
for
trail
maintenance,
which
is
going
to
potentially
provide
an
additional
15
jobs.
So,
with
with
an
investment
of
of
200
000
out
the
door,
we're
looking
at
potentially
28
jobs,.
M
Those
businesses
have
to
fully
be
vetted,
just
as
they
went
to
as
if
they
would
go
to
a
bank
in
a
sense.
But
what
holds
up
a
lot
of
small
business
by
poc
business
owners
and
in
particular,
and
I've
got
a
20-year
background
in
banking
and
I've
seen
this
firsthand.
So
I've
seen
patterns
I've
seen
trends
over
over
time
a
lot
of
times.
M
The
purpose
of
the
fund
is
for
it
to
be
recycled
after
that
24
months,
and
it's
fully
paid
back,
which
in
turn,
100
percent
goes
back
out
to
new
businesses
and
continues
the
sustainability
of
the
the
fund
and
the
program
we
currently
have
a
dozen
new
businesses,
that's
been
added
to
our
pipeline.
Seven
of
the
the
twelve
are
fully
vetted
and
ready
to
be
funded.
M
Here's
where
our
program
is
different,
abc
bank
is
going
to
make
you
meet
a
lot
of
different
criteria.
The
cdfi
world
is
going
to
make
you
meet
specific
criteria
and
it's
nothing
good
or
bad.
It's
rules
and
regulations
like
you
were
talking
about
earlier,
where
we
have
the
flexibility
of
saying
to
a
business
owner.
M
We
can
look
at
this
a
little
bit
differently.
We
can
see
the
purpose
of
what
you
want
to
accomplish
and
we
not
only
want
to
give
them
capital
to
be
able
to
see
them
make
that
happen,
but
also
provide
the
technical
assistance
on
the
back
end,
helping
them
with
that
next
level.
Training
so
part
of
this
whole
program.
It's
not
just
about
the
capital,
it's
about
the
next
level
business,
consulting
program
that
we
have
put
together
and
in
the
process
of
being
getting
it
accredited.
M
Part
of
what
we
have
had
to
do
is
also
scale
because
of
the
the
the
things
that
we
have
done.
So
we
we've
acquired
additional
property
in
mcdowell
county
to
continue
with
the
incubation
process
to
help
those
with
the
startup
phase,
get
to
a
point
where
they're
ready
to
kind
of
be
invested
in
so
the
gap
that
we're
really
trying
to
feel
are
the
ones
that
they're
just
not
ready
for
debt,
yet
their
their
status
quo.
M
F
Thank
you
steven.
I
wondered
if
you
could
just
kind
of
maybe
share
an
anecdote
or
a
kind
of
a
story
of
one
entrepreneur
that
you
all
have
helped
just
to
sort
of
humanize
kind
of
the
the
challenges
you're,
seeing
folks
experience
and
then
kind
of
how
you
see
access
to
this
equity,
helping
folks
really
around
the
corner.
You
did
a
great
job
at
the
level
of
strategy
and
and
tactics
just
personalizing.
It
would
be
helpful.
Thank
you.
M
I
worked
with
the
gentleman
for
about
seven
years
and
I
came
from
the
cdfi
world
and
everything
we
did.
We
tried
to
help
him
with
to
grow
his
business.
He
he
had
about
four
people
that
worked
with
him.
He
needed
many
more.
He
missed
out
on
contracts
where
he
was
able
or
could
have
been
able
to
hire
more
people
because
he
didn't
have
the
capital
to
be
able
to
get
the
equipment,
the
things
that
were
needed
to
go
with
that
that
piece
of
it,
the
growth.
M
So
he
was,
he
was
stuck
and
here's
here's
the
reality
of
where
we're
at
today
the
worst
thing
that
we
could
do.
If
you
come
to
me
as
a
business
owner-
and
you
say
you
need
seventy
five
thousand
dollars
and
you
wanna
buy
a
piece
of
equipment
and
then
I
take
your
information
in
a
couple
weeks.
I
get
back
with
you
and
I
say
we
can't
do
75,
but
we
can
do
40.
M
and
you,
as
a
business
owner,
are
going
to
think
real
hard
and
you're
going
to
think.
Well.
40
is
better
than
nothing
and
you're
probably
going
to
take
that
40,
and
it's
not
going
to
be
enough
to
get
you
that
piece
of
equipment
which
was
the
original
purpose
of
the
money
but
you're
going
to
take
the
40,
because
that's
all
you
were
offered
and
then
that
40
is
going
to
get
you
in
more
trouble
as
a
business
owner,
because
you
have
no
purpose
to
spend
it
on
where
it
makes
you
make
bad
decisions.
M
Fintech
companies
that
charge
you
know
100
percent
interest
to
come
up
with
the
remainder
to
fill
that
gap
to
purchase
that
equipment.
But
generally
that's
not
what
happens?
The
money
gets
spent
on
something
completely
different
than
what
the
original
request
was
for.
That's
the
reality
of
what
we
see
where's.
M
What
our
program
is
is
we're
either
all
in
we're
all
out
we're
either
going
to
help
you
get
to
that
next
level
and
we're
going
to
put
all
of
our
our
power
within
our
our
limit
to
help
you
with
the
capital
to
help
you
with
the
resources
and
technical
assistance,
whether
it
be
anything
from
marketing
to
some
of
our
consultants.
Cpas,
you
name
it
we're
going
to
put
the
folks
in
front
of
you
that
can
help
you
get
to
where
you
need
to
be
so
to
expand.
On
your
question.
M
M
Without
this
funding
he
would
have
never
had
the
opportunity
to
be
able
to
look
at
taking
his
level
from
here
and
and
not
just
being
an
employee
but
being
an
actual
business
owner
that
can
hire
people.
It
can
also
make
a
living
you
know
and
and
take
care
of
their
families
and
help
them
them
grow
as
well.
So
that
was
a
little
bit
of
a
lengthy
answer,
but
I
wanted
to
give
you
the
whole
story
behind
it.
M
Just
because
I
had
worked
with
him
for
seven
years,
trying
to
help
him
and
we
were
finally
able
to
and
now
that
we
were
with
such
a
small
investment
and
a
lot
of
times.
It's
not
always
about
the
money
as
much
as
the
technical
assistance,
which
is
why
so
so
small
requests
can
cover.
So
many
you
know
business
owners,
which
is
the
way
this
this
program
is
designed.
F
That
helps
tremendously
just
in
terms
of
really
humanizing
it,
and
I
think,
also
that
seven
year
period
prior
to
this,
that
captures
the
structural
barriers
that
so
many
business
owners
face
the
reason
they
hear
no
a
million
times,
and
you
know
getting
to
a
yes
opens
up
so
many
things.
So.
Thank
you.
That's
very,
very
helpful.
Thank.
I
A
We
might
need
to
hire
those
guys
to
go
build
some
of
our
trails
too,
before
it's
all
said
and
done,
we'll
see
we'll
circle
back
on
that
it's
a
different,
different
idea.
The
so
you
said,
you've
got
a
dozen
additional
companies
kind
of
that
you're
working
with
doing
due
diligence
on
seven
of
those
are
fully
vetted
and
really
ready
to
ready
to
go.
A
M
M
M
How
can
we
really
make
this
a
better
fit
for
not
only
that
business
owner,
but
but
for
us,
because
we
with
this
program,
we're
not
coming
in
in
as
a
debtor
we're
coming
in
as
an
investor,
so
we're
the
last
to
get
paid
if
something
were
to
happen
to
the
business
and
it
went
belly
up
we're
the
absolute
last
to
be
repaid
to
that
fund.
So
we
are
much
riskier
in
our
position
than
you
know,
a
traditional
or
a
non-traditional
lender.
M
We
have
to
make
sure
too
that
they're
wanting
to
scale
yeah.
You
know
we
want
to
make
sure
that
they're
wanting
to
to
hire
folks
or
you
know,
acquire
real
property,
whatever
the
case
may
be.
So
to
answer
your
question,
you
know
that
that
piece
of
it
sort
of
fluctuates
what
we
found
is
in
this
first
round.
It
worked
really
well
between
that
60
and
75
000
range
and
then,
depending
on
you
know
what
the
total
award
would
be
would
be
how
many
businesses
that
that
we
worked
through.
M
M
A
All
right,
well
stephen
great
great
job,
on
the
presentation,
thanks
for
being
here
today.
Congratulations
on!
You
know
this
is
a
getting
getting
this.
This
is
a
relatively
new
initiative
too.
I
know
eagle
market
street's
been
doing
great
work
for
a
long
time,
but
this
is
an
exciting
new
initiative
and
we're
appreciate
the
chance
to
learn
more
about
it.
Talk
more
about
it.
So
thanks
very
much
for
being
with
us
today.
C
A
N
That's
right,
that's
great
here!
We
are
today
well
good
afternoon.
Commissioners,
matt
raker,
executive
director
of
mountain
biz
works,
formerly
known
as
mountain
micro
enterprise
partner
about
15
years
ago
and
and
joined
by
joslin
gonzalez
he's
one
of
our
small
business
lenders
and
also,
as
our
representative
on
the
mountain
community
capital
fund
committee,
so
she'll
be
helping
with
some
of
our
q
a
today.
N
So
first
just
want
to.
You
know
recognize
that
that
we're
here
on
behalf
of
the
mountain
community
capital
fund
partnership.
So
this
really
is
a
collaborative
request
and
there's
you
know:
there's
two
public
sector
investors
in
this
fund,
the
city
of
asheville
and
buncombe
county
and
then
there's
three
cdfi
participating
small
business
lenders,
so
mountain
biz
works
ourselves,
self-help,
credit
union
and
carolina
small
business
development
fund.
So,
and
so
we've
put
this
request
in
on
behalf
of
the
whole
group.
N
N
So
just
structurally
this
kind
of
helps,
you
know
us
kind
of
think
about
it.
So
it's
a
loan
guarantee
facility.
We've
got
investors
in
that
right
now.
We've
got
two
public
investors
into
that
facility,
but
we've
got
conversations
with
other
folks
that
we
expect
might
join
the
program
here
as
well
on
the
on
the
funding
side.
So
then
that
capitalizes,
the
loan
guarantee
facility
that
then
the
participating
cdfi
lenders
can
use
that
to
enroll
kind
of
qualified.
N
You
know
loans
within
within
that
facility
and
then
so
we
work
directly
with
the
small
business
borrowers
and
really
you
know,
use
that
to
expand.
You
know
the
types
of
lending
that
we
can
do
so
the
the
guarantee
it
provides,
an
85
guarantee
up
to
a
max
guarantee
of
70
000.,
and
so
this
is
85.
That's
kind
of
consistent
like
with
you
know,
sba's.
You
know
7a
program
guarantee
level.
N
It
was
consistent
with
you
know
our
benchmark
program
in
charlotte,
the
charlotte
community
capital
fund
that
we
kind
of
used
to
do
a
lot
of
r
d
and
putting
this
this
program
together.
But
here's
a
couple
examples.
So
so
if
a
bar
gets
a
50
000
loan,
the
guarantee
at
85
percent
would
be
42.5,
and
that
would
be.
That
would
be
eighty
five
percent
guarantee
if
it's
a
hundred
thousand
dollar
project,
you
know
it
the
hit
you
hit
the
max
guarantee
cap
of
the
seventy
thousand.
N
So
the
guarantee
effective
guarantee
is
seventy
percent,
and
then
you
know
a
larger
project.
So
there's
an
example
there,
but
250
000
project,
70
000
max
guarantee
it's
an
effective.
You
know
28
one
and
we've
we've
got
one.
You
know
we
can
kind
of
get
into.
I
mean
most
of
the
thing
that
we've
been
doing.
N
We've
we've
started
using
this
facility
focused
on
early
stage,
so
it's
tended
to
be
on
the
smaller
micro
side
of
things,
but
we
do
expect
that
as
that
portfolio
grows
and
those
kind
of
capital
requests
get
larger,
that
we'll
get
more
and
more
leverage
in
there.
We
actually
do
have
a
project.
That's
around
650
000
right
now,
that's
going
that'll
probably
be
coming
through
as
well
just
an
example
in
that
larger
segment.
N
So
progress
today,
so
we
initially
capitalized
it
with
a
450,
000
dollar
pool
and,
coincidentally,
as
I
was
leaving
the
office
today,
we
closed
the
loan
that
actually
fully
deploys
that
pilot
pool.
So
it's
it's
that's
pretty
exciting
and
also
good
timing
for,
while
we're
here
today,
because
we
want
to
sustain,
sustain
the
good
momentum.
N
So
you
know
we've
been
able
to
support
17
different
projects,
so
580
000
in
total
lending
done
and
again.
This
is
over.
You
know
basically
the
two
year
period
and
during
the
pandemic,
and
so
we've
seen
some
real
strong
growth
in
in
recent
months
in
this
90
and
a
half
fte
jobs
created
or
retained
through
these
activities,
we've
had
no
claims
yet
to
date.
So
that's
that's
great.
We're
excited
to
see
to
see
that
we
know
there
will
be.
N
You
know
some
losses
in
the
fund
and
we'll
see
as
we
get
further
into
it
exactly
what
that,
what
that
level
is,
but
none
none
to
date
and
there's
yeah.
I
think
some
different
reasons
around
that
one
is
because
we're
only
two
years
old
but
there's
also
a
lot
of
you
know,
intensive
technical
assistance
and
some
other
things
that
I
think
are
are
working.
A
hundred
percent
of
the
loans
have
been
to
buy
owned
businesses
and
51
percent
have
been
to
women
led
businesses
as
well.
N
So
really
meeting,
I
think
the
goals
of
expanding
access
to
capital
within
our
community
startup
and
existing.
This
is
something
that
I
know
we
like
really
looked
at
whenever
we
were
designing
the
fund
not
being
too
heavy
in
one.
You
know,
especially
not
being
too
heavy
on
the
startup
side.
You
can
see
that's
about
a
third
of
the
of
the
opportunities
have
been
funded
and
then
two
thirds
in
the
in
the
existing
category
and
the
last
point
there
is
around
financial
product.
N
You
know
innovation,
so
I
want
to
speak
to
this
just
for
a
second
as
part
of
the.
I
think
the
real
power
of
this
this
facility
is
so
it's
not
just
for
mountain
biz
works
with
other
partners
to
go.
Do
business
as
usual
lending
and
oh
hey.
Now,
we've
got
this
facility
that
we
can
use.
So
we've
really
looked
at
this.
How
can
we
use
this
to
really
materially
open
the
amount?
The
types
of
lending
that
we
can
do?
N
Do
new
product
development
on
on
that
and
have
new
financial
tools
available
in
the
in
the
market?
So
we've
we've
created
a
a
new
program
called
our
multicultural
catalyst
fund
on
which
is
so
sits
on
top
of
the
mountain
community
capital
fund
and
some
other
facilities,
but
that's
really
a
key
tool.
That's
really
allowed
us
to
kind
of
re-approach
making
lending
particularly
more
available
for
early
stage,
entrepreneurs
color
in
our
community
and
really
kind
of
reapproaching
that
we've
got
no
personal
collateral
required
because
we've
got
this
backstop
facility
that
helps
to
do
that.
N
That's
a
barrier!
You
know
that
we're
able
to
remove
there's
no
minimum,
there's
no
minimum
credit
score
on
that.
There's
a
real
patient
kind
of
on-ramp
before
they
even
start
making
payments.
You
know
low
interest
rate,
a
bi-pac-led
loan
committee,
just
a
number
of
things,
are
integrated
credit
building
program
into
that
and
an
integrated
kind
of
emerging
emergency
personal
loan
program
into
that
too,
because
we
know
some
data
shows
that
there's
you
know
a
number
of
kind
of
low-income
and
business
owned
by
people
of
color.
N
Sometimes,
there's
there's
a
hyper
portion
that
failed,
not
because
the
business
didn't
work
out,
but
because
it
was
like
an
unexpected
event
that
happened
like
in
their
family
and
they
weren't
able
to
kind
of
adapt
and
so
forth.
So
we've
got
a
fund,
that's
kind
of
helped
to
mitigate
some
of
those
issues
as
well.
So
a
number
of
different
features
that
this
that
this
program
has
really
helped
make
make
possible.
So
so
current
requests
on
behalf
of
the
partnership
as
we
would
love
to
see.
This
is
a
really
unique
opportunity.
N
The
timing
is,
you
know,
just
couldn't
be
better
to
expand
mountain
community
capital
fund
facility,
so
one
and
a
half
million
requests
so
over
three
years
that
would
support
kind
of
based
on
you
know:
current
numbers
around
90
loans,
totaling
3.4
million
in
new
lending
in
the
market,
320
jobs
create
retain
4.8
million
in
match
and
leverage
funds,
and
you
know
so
just
that
this
works.
We've
got
about
900
000
sitting
in
our
pipeline
right
now.
You
know
so
we've
got
a
lot
already.
N
We
know
that
you
know
in
our
our
local
business
impact
survey
that
we
published
earlier
this
year,
that
funding
for
growth
was
the
number
one
type
of
funding
sought
by
businesses
owned
by
people
of
color
and
more
than
double
you
know
pandemic
relief.
We
know
that
there
was
there
were
some
real
pockets
of
ongoing
relief.
Need
we've
done
that
through
one
bunkum
and
some
other
tools,
but
this
is
really
for
those
helping
us
move
in
a
more
inclusive
way.
N
I
think,
out
of
the
out
of
the
pandemic,
and
really
support
that
growth
opportunity
that
we've
that
we,
you
know
we
just
heard
with
black
wall
street
and
a
number
of
other
things
that
are
happening
in
our
community
yeah.
I
do
want
to
mention
that
you
know
this.
We
really
view
this
as
a
it.
It
fits
very
well
with
like
the
community
equity
fund,
so
this
is
more
on
the
on
the
lending
side.
N
You
know
in
a
lot
of
projects,
you
know,
you'll
be
a
lending
piece
and
there'll
be
an
equity
or
an
investment
owner
investment
piece
and
so
they're
more.
We
kind
of
look
at
them
as,
like
you
know,
the
community
angel
fund,
that's
a
new
great
resource
that
we
didn't
really
have
in
the
community
before
that
we
can
bring
in
the
projects
and
then
we've
got
this,
which
is
more
providing
more
of
the
kind
of
lending
loan
side
for
for
projects.
N
And
if
we
look
at
opportunities
around
you
helping
businesses
acquire
their
real
estate
or
do
larger
growth
opportunities
or
even
buy
another
business.
You
know
where
you've
got
to
have
an
owner's
investment
or
equity
portion
into
that.
We
could
really
see
these
facilities
pairing
very
well
together
and
we've
designed
them
intentionally.
H
Yes,
I
have
a
question.
First
of
all
that
sounds
great.
It's
wonderful
to
hear
how
well
the
pilot
program
is
going.
So
congratulations
on
that
good
work
and
I'm
curious
because
I
kind
of
want
to
get
a
sense
of
how
long
the
funds
are
tied
up
with
each
loan
so
that
we
can
see
how
quickly
that
we're
able
to
reinvest
those
funds.
I
N
And
there's
there's
also
a
guarantee
fee,
that's
paid
at
the
time
of
a
new
loan
being
put
in
the
fund,
so
that
also
builds
up
the
fund
over
time,
so
yeah.
But
the
fund
does
revolve,
and-
and
this
is
this
would
be-
I
think-
would
help
position
the
fund
size
more
of
where
we
think
the
market
need
is
so
that
we
could
be
continue
to
revolve
over
time
and
be
a
really.
You
know
important
financial
facility
for
us
ongoing.
H
N
Yeah
so
typically
like
the
loans
will
have
a
term
between
three
years
and
kind
of
the
longest
we've
seen
in
the
funds.
So
far
is
is
ten
years
and
so
as
those
but
but
really
the
fun.
The
loans
will
probably
you
know
they
tend
to
pay
off
faster.
Even
if
it's
in
your
turn
a
lot
of
times,
they'll
pay
off
faster
than
that,
so
I'd
say
we'll
probably
average
around
five
years
of
the
fund
kind
of
revolving.
O
D
O
N
Yeah
so
every
month,
every
month
we
look
at
what's
the
outstanding
principal
amount
of
those
loans
and
then
so
that
the
85
percent
will
come
down
as
those
loans
are
paid
back.
So
so
that
happens
on
a
month
by
month
and
that
then
frees
up
more
opportunity
to
make
new
loans
and
enroll
new
loans
into
the
fund.
Yeah
yeah
thanks
for
the
clear
case
on
that.
N
N
N
Yes,
absolutely
great
great
question,
so
we've
got
you
know,
I
I
serve
on
the
the
board
of
that
of
the
new
community
equity
fund.
One
of
our
other
staff
serves
on
their
kind
of
technical
assistance
and
underwriting
committee,
so
we've
got
really
good
visibility
there
and-
and
you
know,
and
we've
already
actually
already
co-funded
a
couple
of
projects
in
their
first
in
their
first
round,
and
so
we'll
really
look
forward
to
doing
that.
Just
did
a
nice.
N
O
N
Yes,
absolutely
so
great
great
we're
really
excited
around
everything
that
grind,
and
you
know
black
wall
street
has
been
able
to
do
and
have
supported
them.
You
know
and
work
partner
with
them
a
number
of
ways
and
are
continuing
to
explore
in
their
new
in
their
new
location
now
around
micro,
retailing
and
how
we
have
that
pathway,
because
what
they're
doing
is
kind
of
the
very
early
stage,
but
then
they
talk
about
how
you
link
with
resources.
So,
let's
formalize
how
we
might
make
some
of
those
really
available.
A
The
so
my
question
is
around
and
you've
touched
on
some
of
this
and
I,
like
I
like
some
of
the
things
I've
heard
so,
like
the
I
think
the
last
slide
talked
about
how
if
1.5
million
were
invested,
you
anticipate
or
you
forecast,
that
you'd
make
90
loans,
90
loans
with
that
totaling
3.4
million,
so
some
of
those
would
be
over
a
hundred
thousand
dollars,
and
so
I
guess
you
know,
I
think
it's.
I
think
the
project
is
great.
A
I
mean
my
biggest
question
and
concern
all
along
has
been
with
the
loans
of
less
than
a
hundred
thousand
dollars.
How
basically,
like
you,
get
you've,
got
like
an
I'm
doing
the
math
right
somewhere
around
like
an
80,
70,
75
or
80
percent
kind
of
like
guarantee
on
that
right.
So,
even
if
a
loan
goes
completely
defaulted
and
you
don't
get
repaid,
you
know
any
of
it,
then
I
mean
overall
for
a
portfolio
like
this.
A
I
mean
if
I
just
asked
we
to
step
back
and
ask
like
okay,
if
you
have
the,
let's
just
say,
1.5
million
just
for
the
conversation.
What
percentage
of
those
loans
do
you
anticipate
would
default,
or
you
know
or
not,
be
repaid?
I
know
it's
new,
but
there
again
there's
these
are
kind
of
initiatives
are
around
the
country
right,
so
you
can
probably
look
at
them
and
get
a
sense
for
what's
realistic
and,
as
you
said,
there
will
be
some.
A
I
mean
that's
to
be
expected,
but
it's
not
going
to
be
it's
not
going
to
be
85
or
75
or
50.
It's
going
to
be
some
smaller
number,
so
my
question
has
always
been
in
the
context
of
whatever
amount
of
funds
we
could
put
into
such
an
initiative.
Obviously
we
wanted
to
leverage
as
much
lending
out
to
the
small
businesses
as
possible,
but
if
we're
loaning,
1.5
million
but
then
or
guaranteeing
that,
but
then
only
1.8
million
gets
gets
actually
loaned
out.
A
N
Yeah,
that's
a
great
question,
really
appreciate
that.
So
there's
a
you
know,
I
think
a
couple
of
ways.
We
view
this
one,
the
you
know
we're
we're
really
using
this
to
expand
that
access
to
capital
and
especially
for
those
kind
of
early
stage
companies
where
there
can
be
really
be
a
barrier
to
getting
access
to
that
and
there's
that's
where
that
the
85
guarantee
you
know
which
is
kind
of
consistent
with
you
know
some
of
the
the
other
programs
for
for
larger
loans
at
that
amount.
That
really
makes
opens
up.
N
The
I
think,
are
the
amount
of
the
people
in
our
community
that
can
effectively
start
and
grow
businesses,
and
I
think,
building
that
port.
You
know:
we've
seen
that
that
building
that
portfolio
one
will
is,
is
a
pathway
to
getting
you
know
the
the
broadest
most
inclusive
kind
of
local
business.
You
know
environment
that
we
want
to
see
and
that
it'll
start
to
get
more
and
more
leverage
over
time,
but
I
think
that's
where
we've
got
it,
you
know
where
we've
got
to
start.
N
So
that's
one
thing,
because
I
think
it
actually
does
help
us.
You
know
long
term
be
able
to
leverage
more
you
know
by
by
having
that
tool
in
place.
The
other
thing
is,
there
are
some
other
facilities
like
that.
You
know
the
sba
program,
which
is
you
know
which,
which
we
can
leverage
for
guarantees
for
larger
type
loans
as
well.
That's
already
there
so
that
when
someone
can
kind
of
transition
from
this
fund
and
they
grow
to
that
next
level
could
get
to
that
next
fund.
N
So
I
actually
you
know
I
in
terms
of
you
know,
I
think,
the
the
the
the
impacts,
the
kind
of
you
know
the
mission
impacts
and
the
equity
impacts
we've
got
designed
with
this
fund.
I
think
that's
what
we're
maximizing
that
a
little
bit
more
and
maybe
a
little
bit
less
on
the
financial
leverage,
but
but
over
time
I
think
we'll
grow
more.
You
know
we'll
do
that.
A
Let
me
ask
you:
this:
are
these
decisions
that
are
sort
of
within,
like
your
organization,
and
I
know,
there's
a
number
of
different
organizations
there,
but
like
with
the
local
organizations,
are
these?
Are
these
some
decisions
that
are
within
the
local
organizations
purview
to
set
some
of
these
policies
or
in
some
ways,
are
your
hands
just
completely
tied
by
your
your
other
lenders
and
therefore
you
know,
even
if
you
wanted
to
change
it,
either
now
or
in
a
year
or
two
from
now,
you
couldn't
change.
N
The
mountain
community
capital
fund
board,
you
know,
would
probably
have
to
go
back
to
you
know
its
core
investors.
You
know
who
kind
of
established
the
bylaws
for
it
where
this,
where
the
guarantee
thresholds
and
everything
is
set
into
place,
but
I
think
they
could
certainly
look
at
that
and
make
that
recommendation.
Okay,
yeah
and
we-
and
we
think
that's
definitely
something
for
us
to
continue
to
look
at
over
time.
You
know
as
we're
coming
out
of
the
pandemic.
N
A
Just
tell
me
I
mean
I
mean,
I
think
this
is
a
great
initiative,
but
let's
say
we
are
a
year
two
or
three
out
from
here,
and
what
you
see
is
that
it
really
is
a
self-sustaining
fund
right.
It's.
You
know,
you
have
some
losses,
but
you
also
because
of
fees
and
interest
and
stuff
you
know
it.
Let's
say
it
is
really
looks
very
self-sustaining.
A
Do
you
think
it's
realistic
that
then
you
could
say:
let's
revisit
these
formulas,
you
know
we
can.
We
could
safely
lend
out
quite
a
bit
more
knowing
that
with
this
diverse
portfolio,
as
we
have
there's
no
way
we're
going
to
end
up
like
having
all
this
principle,
this
reserve
fund
you
know
be
consumed.
A
A
N
We've
already
started
having
some
of
those
conversations
you
know
with
the
different
lenders
and
the
other
folks
on
the
on
the
committee,
and
I
think
you
know
with
within
a
year
or
two
years.
I
think
this
is
something
we
definitely
want
to
revisit
and
see
where
we're
at,
and
are
we
really
because,
ultimately,
we
want
to
maximize
the
amount
that
this
helps
get
more
financial
resources
into
the
community.
N
I
think
right
now
it's
working
tremendously
and
unluckily
a
lot
of
opportunities
that
we
didn't
have
before
and
that
the
the
guarantee
where
it's
at
right
now
really
helps
make
those
those
deals
happen
faster.
More
confidently.
We
can
be
a
little
bit
more
creative
with
some
of
the
other.
You
know
tools
the
credibility
and
the
technical
assistance
and
those
sorts
of
things
that
go
and
go
around
with
those
yeah
great.
A
Commissioners,
other
questions
all
right.
Thank
you
both
for
being
here
thanks
for
your
great
work
on
this
proposal
and
everything
else,
we've
been
working
together
on
through
the
last
many
months.
Thank
you.
Thank
you.
So
much.
Thank
you
very
much
all
right,
commissioners.
That's
that's
the
last
of
the
recovery
act
proposals
we
had
this
evening.
I'll
just
want
to
kind
of
announce.
You
know
for
the
organizations
that
are
here
this
evening,
as
well
as
just
for
the
larger
community.
A
We
don't
know
how
much
the
commissioners
might
allocate
at
that
meeting,
but
we
do
expect
to
be
prepared
at
that
point
to
make
some
additional
decisions
around
the
proposals
that
we've
received.
So
we
appreciate
everyone's
work
with
us
on
that
all
right.
That
concludes
our
agenda
for
this
meeting.
So
let's
adjourn
and
we'll
start
a
regular
meeting
of
five.