►
Description
Briefing of the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners on November 1, 2022. The briefing is a chance for Commissioners to review agenda items before the meeting. No motions will take place during the briefing.
A
I
do
want
to
give
a
quick
shout
out
to
the
Buncombe
County
Sheriff's
Office,
Buncombe,
County,
Parks
and
Rec,
our
EMS
and
Port
teams,
as
well
as
the
Buncombe
County
Fire,
Marshal
I'm,
probably
leaving
awesome
folks
and
also
a
huge
thank
you
to
Target
in
Walmart
and
Ingles
I
spent,
probably
the
happiest
two
hours
I
could
have
on
Saturday
at
the
Sheriff's
Office
Trunk
or
Treat,
with
hundreds
of
kids,
dressed
in
costumes,
coming
by
to
trick-or-treat
complete
with
Deputy
Cora
and
Chase
from
Paw
Patrol.
They
did
a
fantastic
job.
A
Making
that
event
really
special
for
a
whole
lot
of
kids
and
families
in
Buncombe,
County
and
I
just
want
to
say
thank
you
to
those
County
offices
and
staff
for
making
such
a
memorable
Saturday
afternoon.
I'm
pretty
sure
I
haven't
smiled
for
two
hours
straight
in
some
time.
So,
thanks
to
to
you
all,
all
right,
we'll
go
ahead
and
jump
into
our
staff
updates
and
Mr
Joyner
is
on
the
agenda.
First
for
a
discussion
about
our
second
meeting
in
December
schedule:
yes,.
B
Thank
you
good
afternoon,
I
think
we're
going
to
pull
up
the
meeting
schedule
that
was
passed
in
the
past
beginning
of
the
year
in
January,
and
we
potentially
always
or
usually
cancel
the
second
meeting
in
December.
So
we
want
to
kind
of
refer
y'all
to
that
and
see.
If
that
is
something
that
y'all
want
to
do,
we
always
have
the
ability
to
call
a
special
meeting
if
needed.
If
we
do
counsel
that
second
mem
meeting
in
December
I
just
want
to
touch
bases
and
make
sure
that
that
is,
okay.
B
Right,
thank
you
also.
I
want
to
call
attention
to
just
for
the
public.
Our
first
meeting
in
December
will
be
actually
that
Monday
the
5th
instead
of
the
sixth.
It
is
the
organizational
meeting
for
any
new
Commissioners
that
are
elected,
so,
okay,
I
want
to
bring
that
to
the
attention
as
well.
All.
B
And
and
typically
the
schedule
is,
we
will
swear
in
the
new
Commissioners
at
the
briefing
and
then
by
the
start
of
the
five
o'clock
meet
and
the
new
Commissioners
can
be
seated
as
such.
Okay.
B
A
D
Good
afternoon
Commissioners,
how
are
y'all
doing
so
we're
here
to
talk
trash
always
got
to
get
that
one
in
right
and
recycling
too.
We're
going
to
hit
that
as
well,
but
before
we
dive
in
I
want
to
brag
on
a
couple
of
our
team
members.
Here
today,
Christy
Smith,
our
Solid
Waste
manager,
just
had
her
15-year
Milestone
last
month.
D
So
congratulations
Christy
be
hard
to
quantify
all
the
successful
projects,
process,
improvements
and
just
all
the
great
work
that
Christie's
done
in
15
years
with
the
county,
so
Cassie
lohmeyer,
our
recycle
coordinator,
has
made
certainly
significant
impact
in
her
first
year
and
a
half
with
the
county,
just
to
name
a
few
recycling
education
and
Outreach
working
to
install
County,
Campus
recycling,
implementing
an
award-winning
compost,
drop-off
program,
construction
and
demolition
material.
Recycling
Outreach,
like
I,
said
just
to
name
a
few,
and
we
look
forward
to
seeing
results
of
these
efforts
moving
forward.
D
So,
as
promised,
we're
here
to
discuss
outcomes
of
a
recent
waste
audit
and
diversion
study
alongside
alongside
of
our
consultant
Christine
Cassie,
have
done
a
good
job
in
analyzing,
the
character,
character,
characteristics
of
our
waste
stream
and
identifying
some
potential
diversion
opportunities.
So
with
that
said,
Cassie's
going
to
start
us
off
with
the
waste
audit
process.
E
Good
afternoon,
as
Dean
said,
I
am
here
to
discuss
the
results
of
the
waste
characterization
study.
You
may
sometimes
hear
me
refer
to
this
as
our
waste
audit
they're
one
in
the
same
so
I
wanted
to
frame
this
presentation
in
our
with
our
project
goal
in
mind,
which
was
to
identify
and
assess
potential
opportunities
to
divert
waste
from
landfill
disposal
in
order
to
both
extend
the
County's
landfill
life
and
also
to
reduce
greenhouse
gas
emissions.
So
these
were
two
pillars
that
we
designed
and
implemented.
E
E
This
was
conducted
at
the
Buncombe
County's
transfer
station
I'm,
going
to
do
a
bit
of
an
analysis
of
different
material
streams
that
we
gathered
data
from
comparing
Buncombe
County
metrics
to
similar
counties
within
the
study
and
also
discuss
where
we
go
from
here,
and
that
will
be
during
the
second
presentation.
Christy
will
talk
about
the
waste
diversion
study,
so
just
to
give
you
a
little
bit
of
background
on
the
methodology
of
the
waste
audit,
we
did
a
manual
sort
and
also
a
visual
sort.
I
say
we.
E
The
study
was
actually
conducted
by
SCS
engineers
throughout
the
last
week
in
April
2022,
so
April
25th
to
April
29th.
So
over
this
week,
45
samples
were
collected,
the
it
was
about
200
pounds
per
sample
and
we
really
wanted
to
capture
four
main
material
streams
in
the
unincorporated
Buncombe
County
area.
We
wanted
to
make
sure
and
capture
residential
and
Commercial
data
and
then
our
largest
municipality,
the
city
of
Asheville.
We
we
wanted
to
ensure
that
we
captured
the
residential
and
Commercial
streams
of
that
municipality
as
well.
E
E
The
second
method
we
used
is
the
bulky,
self-hall
sort,
and
these
this
sorting
method
was
used
for
loads
that
were
too
bulky
or
heavy
to
sort
by
hand.
Instead,
we
did
a
visual
inspection
and
estimated
the
volume
of
waste.
So,
as
you
can
imagine,
these,
this
method
was
reserved
for
the
material
categories
like
yard,
waste
or
Lumber
drywall
window
glass.
Things
that
you
know
hand
sorting
is
not
effective,
would
not
be
an
effective
method.
E
This
is
kind
of
a
graphic
of
how
exactly
the
audit
was.
Oh,
the
audit
was
conducted
so
on
the
left.
You
see
a
picture
of
our
commercial
tipping
floor
at
the
Buncombe
County
transfer
station,
so
this
picture
is
taken
from
the
gravel
area
just
directly
across
that
tipping
floor,
and
that
is
where
the
audit
was
staged.
All
week,
samples
were
collected
at
the
discretion
of
the
sampling
team
from
SCS,
and
they
were
brought
over
by
our
County
staff
in
a
skid
steer
the
bottom
left
picture.
E
E
So
these
are
this
is
a
summary
of
the
results
that
were
found
in
this
study,
as
you
can
see,
Organics
in
green
paper
in
beige
and
Plastics
and
blue
make
up
over
70
percent
of
waste
across
Buncombe
County
and
those
are
within
the
four
main
material
stream
or
four
main
collection
streams,
Asheville
residential
Buncombe,
County,
residential
Asheville,
commercial
and
Buncombe
County
commercial.
E
E
Yellow
commercial
waste
in
Asheville
comprises
a
higher
proportion
of
paper,
so
that's
beige
commercial
waste
from
Buncombe
count
from
unincorporated
Buncombe
comprises
the
highest
proportion
of
Organics
and
construction
and
demolition
materials
comprise
higher
proportions
of
the
waste
stream
generated
in
Asheville
and,
obviously,
that's
consistent
consistent
with
the
construction
boom
that
we
are
seeing
and
Christy
will
definitely
elaborate
on
in
her
in
the
waste
diversion
study,
presentation.
E
I
wanted
to
break
down
the
residential
or
I,
wanted
to
break
down
recyclables
and
compostables
in
each
each
waste
stream
and
as
a
reminder,
I'm
talking
about
the
recyclables
that
were
found
in
the
trash,
we
did
not
audit
the
recycling
stream
that
we
are
collecting.
We
only
focused
on
the
recyclables
that
were
found
in
the
garbage
can
so
all
in
all
paper
is
making
up
nearly
half
of
the
recyclables
from
residential
routes
and
keep
in
mind
this
data
is
a
is
from
the
the
county
and
the
city
overall.
E
So
this
is
an
average
Plastics
are
comprising
about
a
quarter
and
really
what
this
graph
is
telling
us
is
that
the
county
is
able
to
divert
20
of
its
waste
material
with
infrastructure
already
in
place,
because
we
have
the
infrastructure
for
recycling
it's
just
not
being
fully
utilized
and
obviously
that
20
is
with
a
hundred
percent
recyclable
diversion.
E
Commercial
recyclables
is
similar.
Paper
comprises
over
half
of
the
commercial
recyclables.
Plastics
is
going
to
make
up
about
one-fifth
of
that
commercial
waste
stream
again,
and
the
county
is
is
again
able
to
reduce
commercial
waste
automatically
by
20.
With
this
existing
infrastructure
in
place.
I
just
wanted
to
mention
that
this
other
divertables
category
is.
It
includes
clothing,
electronics
and
some
household
hazardous
waste,
so
these
are
divertible.
E
E
So
Solid
Waste
is
increasing
access
to
the
residential
compost,
Community
compost
drop-off
sites
by
adding
more
locations
for
residents
to
drop
off
their
food
waste,
but
as
we
expand,
we
will
need
to
fortify
that
infrastructure.
Obviously,
this
is
a
huge
cat,
it's
it.
This
is
a
huge
category
in
the
waste
stream
that
we
would
would
like
to
be.
Focusing
on
and
Christy
will
discuss
that
more
in
her
waste
diversion
study
presentation
as
well
commercially,
we
see
a
mirror
of
the
residential
results.
E
Almost
70
percent
of
compostables
are
food
scraps,
so
that
is
significantly
higher
proportion
of
commercial
compostables
than
residential,
and
the
majority
of
this
waste
stream
is
coming
from
restaurants
and
grocery
stores,
which
I
think
is
really
important.
Information
for
us
to
have
moving
forward
as
we
design
and
Implement.
Some
of
these
diversion
programs
for
compostable
material
in
the
county.
E
E
You
can
also
see
our
comparison
of
waste
in
the
graph
on
the
right,
so
I
would
just
wanted
to
highlight
a
couple
of
of
interesting
things
that
we
see
in
this
graph.
The
recyclable
materials
are
fairly
consistent
across
counties
and
I
apologize.
The
recyclables
are
actually
in
green
at
the
bottom,
so
we're
all
fairly
similar
in
in
our
recycling.
E
So
we
see
the
effect
of
Organics
management
programs
in
this
graph.
Bunkum
and
Boulder
have
similar
have
smaller
percentages
of
divertables,
making
up
their
material
collection,
Stream
So
about
60
percent,
and
just
a
note
that,
although
we
are
comparing
ourselves
to
these
two
counties,
Boulder
and
orange,
received
revenue
from
tax
bill.
Whereas
we
are
an
Enterprise
fund.
E
So,
just
a
just
a
touch
on
the
waste
diversion
presentation,
this
audit
kind
of
tells
us
it
gives
us
some
diversion
opportunities.
This
data
is
really
helpful
and
for
residential
diversion
opportunities,
we're
looking.
You
know
to
focus
on
compostable,
Organics,
recyclable
paper,
compostable
paper
and
recyclable
plastics,
and
these
are
actually
broken
up
into
existing
curbside
programs
that
we
already
have
and
that
we
might
just
need
to
build
upon
or
strengthen
these
programs
and
or
increase
access
to
these
programs.
E
And
then
we
also,
you
know
the
other
in
teal
or
green,
that
denotes
the
existing
drop-off
programs
that
we
have
so
the
food
waste
and
yard
waste
programs.
We
we
offer
drop
off
for
those
commercial
compostable.
Organics
was
a
huge
one.
Recyclable
paper,
compostable
paper
and
recyclable
plastics
have
are
the
biggest
streams
that
have
the
potential
for
in
the
most
impact
for
our
diversion
numbers
in
the
county.
E
E
Share.
Thank
you,
commissioner
Wells.
We
do
have
a
event
coming
up
on
Saturday
November
5th.
It
is
from
11
A.M
to
2
p.m,
and
it
is
a
one
year
celebration
of
our
of
the
Inception
of
our
community
compost,
drop-off
program
that
we
have
partnered
with
the
county
or
with
the
city
on
implementing
and
expanding
in
Asheville
and
Buncombe
County.
There
will
be
free
compost,
so
bring
your
own
bucket.
E
There
will
also
be
free
compost,
totes,
so
collection
totes
for
to
put
on
your
kitchen
counter
to
collect
those
food
scraps
in
and
bring
them
to
the
drop-off
sites.
There
will
be
free
snacks,
kids,
demon
or
kids
activities,
demonstrations,
educational
material
and
general
fun,
and
that
is
that
Lucy
s
Herring
Elementary's
school
garden.
So
please
come
out
and
have
a
good
time
with
us.
F
F
So
again
we
wanted
to
identify
and
assess
potential
and
opportunities
divert
waste
from
the
landfill
to
extend
the
life
of
the
landfill.
We
have
always
worked
really
hard
to
extend
the
life
of
landfill
and
reduce
greenhouse
gas
emissions.
F
So
current
diversion
programs
Cassie
highlighted
a
lot
of
those,
but
this
data
is
driven
by
our
programs.
So
we
have
a
curbside
recycling
program,
that's
essentially
Waste
Pro
and
all
of
our
unincorporated
Buncombe
County
residents.
We
have
our
two
drop-off
centers
one
at
the
transfer
station,
one
at
the
landfill
and
we
also
have
our
food
scrap
drop-offs.
So
those
are
our
community
compost
drop-offs
and
then
we
have
one
at
the
landfill
and
we
also
do
special
waste
collections.
F
F
So
all
those
programs
how
much
waste
does
that
mean
we
diverted
from
the
landfill
last
year?
So
all
those
categories
are
combined
into
this
graph.
Curbside
is
your
waste
protonages.
We
got
a
scrap
tire
program,
yard
waste
program,
our
drop-off
centers,
cardboard,
special
waste.
We
have
a
CND
diversion
program
as
well
for
clean
block
and
brick.
So
that's
the
C
and
D
category.
For
the
other.
We
have
a
commercial
cardboard,
that's
mostly
waste
Pros,
commercial
customers
and
then
special
waste.
So
all
of
that
we
diverted
16
840
tons
fiscal
year
of
22..
F
So
how
much
waste
did
we
get
rid
of
in
fiscal
year?
2022
321
917
tons
about
a
third
of
that
went
out
of
County
to
other
facilities,
that's
pretty
typical
for
our
County.
Historically,
typically,
it's
usually
half
so
we're
at
a
third
this
last
time
and
those
are
mostly
your
commercial
and
Industrial
customers
within
the
county
and
then
the
waste
that
came
to
our
Municipal
landfill
was
a
little
under
136
000,
and
then
we
have
the
C
D
landfill
a
little
under
89
000
tons.
F
So
for
the
study
we
wanted
to
focus
on
a
few
Focus
areas.
There's
a
lot
of
directions.
You
can
go
so
we
chose
these
five
Organics
management
was
the
obvious
one
from
the
waste
audit.
We
have
C
and
D
debris,
that's
pretty
substantial
in
the
county.
So
we
wanted
to
look
at
that
the
multi-family
and
Commercial
sector.
What
can
we
do
to
try
to
help
divert
there
and
then
data
collection
and
enforcement
and
Convenience
Center
sites?
So
those
were
our
five
Focus
areas
and
I'll
dive
in
briefly
into
each
of
those.
F
The
first
two
will
be
the
ones
we
focus
on
the
most
because
they
did
have
the
the
biggest
impact
in
the
waste
stream,
so
Cassie's
presentation
had
percentages,
and
this
has
been
translated
into
tonnages.
This
is
the
world
we
work
in.
So
this
is
what
this
means
to
us
for
the
compostable
materials.
100
compostable
materials
is
a
little
under
50
000
tons,
and
then
we
break
that
down
into
the
separate
subcategories.
F
And
so,
when
we're
looking
at
trying
to
divert
more
and
have
a
higher
diversion
rate,
we
wanted
to
look
at
what
that
meant
for
Organics.
So
if
we
were
to
chomp
out
five
percent
of
that
Organics,
what
does
that
mean?
Overall,
that's
a
9.2
percent
impact
on
our
overall
rate
and
approximately
2
400
additional
tons
that
we
would
need
to
divert.
F
And
Organics
processing
options:
there
are
several
of
them
they
kind
of
go
in
order.
There's
there's
four
total
they
go
in
order
of
you
know
the
smallest
and
the
easiest
to
least
expensive
to
the
most
expensive
windrow
composting
is,
is
an
obvious
one.
That's
where
most
of
you
might
be
familiar,
they're
out.
Turning
piles
of
mulch,
there's,
typically
a
large
land
requirement
for
that,
among
the
other
Technologies
and
aerated
static
pile.
So
the
footprint
is
much
smaller.
You
don't
have
to
turn
those
piles
they
actually
get
air
injected
into
them.
F
So
what
does
that
mean
for
our
greenhouse
gases?
The
composting
is
actually
more
greenhouse
gas
friendly
than
the
anaerobic
digestion,
mostly
due
to
the
energy
input
needed
for
the
anaerobic
digestion
process.
So
this
would
be
the
impact
we
would
have
locally
on
greenhouse
gas
impacts.
This
does
take
into
account
our
current
landfill,
where
we're
destroying
greenhouse
gases
with
our
landfill
Gas
Energy
project.
So
this
would
be
in
addition
to
that.
F
So
next
steps
for
us
what
we
were
thinking
of
for
Organics
management
is.
We
want
to
continue
Cassie's
great
worth
on
work
on
expanding
the
community
compost
drop-offs.
We
have
a
plan
for
some
more
of
those
to
come
online.
We
want
to
continue
supporting
startup
of
our
County
Compost
ambassador
program.
We've
got
a
lot
of
compost
going
on
in
the
county
campus
that
we
want
to
keep
pushing
and
we
want
to
investigate
implementing
a
pilot
ASP
out
at
the
landfill.
So
we
can
look
at
some
budget
numbers,
some
grant
opportunities
and
some
regulatory
implications.
F
And
then
the
focus
area
number
two
was
the
C
D
debris.
Rcnd
generation
is
in
line
with
what
you
would
expect
for
the
amount
of
construction
in
our
area.
We
have
seen
significant
growth.
We
do
expect
that
to
continue.
F
F
F
They
have
for
diverting
material
prior
to
demoing
and
same
on
the
side,
with
the
permitting
side
with
contractors
who
kind
of
want
to
work
with
other
departments
in
the
county
to
try
to
pursue
what
that
might
look
like
on
the
front
end
for
their
permit
process
and
again
we
want
to
encourage
CND
lows
to
the
landfill,
so
you
can
recycle
all
that
material
instead
of
bring
it
to
the
transfer
station
and
let
it
go
to
the
landfill
and
we
do
have
the
reduced
tip
fees
at
the
landfill
for
that
Source
separated
material.
F
We
want
to
promote
that
some
more
and
then
the
third
Focus
area
was
multi-family
commercial.
This
typically
lags
behind
for
recycling
diversion
simply
because
of
accessibility.
A
lot
of
apartment
complexes
may
or
may
not
plan
for
having
a
footprint
for
recycling
in
their
disposal
areas.
So
we
want
to
try
to
help
plan
for
sufficient
capacity
moving
forward
and
work
with
our
partners
in
planning
on
perhaps
getting
it
on
the
front
end
of
Permitting,
some
of
those
new
sites
to
try
to
capture
some
extra
space
and
the
multilingual
distribution.
F
We
have
a
great
packet
and
informational
Flyers
out.
We
just
have
struggled
with
distribution,
so
we
want
to
work
at
strengthening
that
and
on
the
commercial
side,
same
same
kind
of
idea.
We
want
to
allow
our
commercial
customers
a
chance
to
know
some
diversion
opportunities.
You
know
what
are
their
recycling
options
out
there
and
then
look
at
enforcing
a
cardboard
recycling
ordinance,
that's
been
on
the
books
for
quite
some
time
and
then
again
develop
a
recycling
guide
to
help
help
them
know
where
they
can
go
to
recycle.
F
Do
I
need
to
speed
up
I'm
out
of
time.
Are
we
good
I
heard
the
bling
good,
okay
focus
area
number
four
was
the
data
collection
and
enforcement?
We
want
to
continue
collecting
data
data
data
data.
We
is
our
friend
we
can
Benchmark
ourselves
and
how
we're
doing
so.
We
want
to
continue
to
do
that.
F
We
we
want
to
Branch
out
a
little
bit
more
with
our
haulers
and
local
recycling
companies
to
see
if
they're
capturing
some
tonnages,
perhaps
that
we're
not
counting
or
able
to
count
and
keep
a
tab
on
our
recycling
contamination
rate.
So
we
know
how
our
community
is
doing.
You
know
with
the
wish
cycling
just
because
you
throw
it
in
the
recycle
bin
doesn't
mean
you're
helping
and
then
the
per
capita
waste
generation.
That's
part
of
our
strategic
plan
goals.
F
F
F
So
we
just
have
a
few
obvious
bullets
here
of
considering
you
know
central
location
prioritizing
locations
that
might
not
be
adequately
served
by
curbside
or
any
other
programs
we
have,
and
then
we
want
to
certainly
staff
those
Convenience
centers
and
wrapping
up
here
I
did
provide
a
timeline
of
where
we're
looking
to
go
with
some
of
these
programs
and
ideas
they're
all
in
the
one
to
three
year
time
frame.
Aside
from
you
know,
perhaps
the
requirement
to
divert
on
contractors.
A
F
Question
yes,
so
there's
a
lot
of
different
programs
out
there.
That
is
actually
why
we're
struggling
with
the
Organics
there's,
not
a
big
processing,
firm
or
company
around
that
processes.
Large
amounts,
Danny's
dumpster
is
a
local
Grassroots
guy
that
typically
handles
all
the
Organics.
Now
we
partner
with
him,
currently
we
plan
to
continue
that,
but
you
know
TVs
and
electronics
go
to
a
separate
recycler,
they're
certified
in
the
state
to
make
sure
that
those
are
recycled
appropriately
and
correctly
so
they're
not
getting
shipped
overseas
or
end
up
in
the
ocean,
or
anything
like
that.
C
Well,
I
just
want
to
say
thank
you
so
much
I'm
excited
that
we're
that
you're,
really
digging
into
the
diversion
I,
think
it's
very
important
that
we're
looking
at
that.
So
I'm
excited
with
this
good
work
that
you're
doing
and
the
especially
when
you
look
at
how
much
is
currently
going
into
our
waste
stream.
That
could
be
diverted
it's
a
little.
It's
mind-boggling
actually
with
that
the
so.
Thank
you
all
one
thing:
I
I
was
just
reading
and
I'm
just
curious.
C
If,
if
you
know
anything
about
this
locally,
the
I
was
I
think
it
was
in
this
right
to
repair
book
and
the
stat
was
70
of
toxic
waste
electronics
account
for
about
70
percent
of
toxic
waste
in
U.S
landfills,
which
is
really
quite
startling
right
because
it's
like
lithium
Mercury
lead.
But
it
sounds
like
from
what
you're
saying
that
we
have
a
way
of
diverting
those
Electronics.
Is
that
accurate?
Yes,
ma'am?
We
most
certainly.
F
Do
and
we
live
in
a
state-
that's
actually
very
proactive
in
that
as
well.
We
have
a
ban
on
televisions
and
computer
monitors.
For
those
reasons
it
is
a
landfill
ban,
so
we're
not
allowed
to
throw
those
away.
Unless
there's
you
know
extenuating
circumstances,
but
yes,
we
have
a
program
in
place
to
help
capture
all
of
those
that
are
pretty
toxic.
Okay,
thank
you,
and
the
best
news
about
a
lot
of
those
is
they're
have
good
use.
F
You
know
they
go
to
the
recycling
company
and
they're
worth
money
if
you
strip
all
those
materials
apart.
Okay,
thank.
C
F
A
All
right,
thank
you.
All
very
much
also
want
to
acknowledge
the
tour
that
our
Solid
Waste
team
led
for
the
North
Carolina
Solid
Waste
Association
conference
last
week.
I
got
the
opportunity
to
visit
with
some
folks
who
were
incredibly
impressed
with
the
diversion
work
and
just
a
lot
of
the
really
incredible
food
composting.
That's
happening
here
in
Buncombe
and
we're
taking
a
lot
of
notes
from
our
really
incredible
team,
so
kudos
to
you
all.
It
was
great
to
hear
other
folks
across
North
Carolina,
looking
to
Buncombe
County
as
leaders
in
solid
waste.
A
G
All
right
good
afternoon,
commissioners,
for
this
afternoon's
discussion
on
the
Buncombe
County
Commissioner's
legislative
agenda
would
like
to
start
by
making
a
couple
reintroductions
and
with
us
virtually.
We
have
two
members
of
our
Warden
Smith
team
who's,
our
government
relations
firm.
That
was
a
point
hired
by
the
County
Commission
at
our
May
meeting.
Those
are
Whitney
Christensen,
as
well
as
trafton,
Dinwiddie
and
they're,
both
on
the
screen
they're
here
with
us
I'm
going
to
lead
our
presentation
today.
G
But,
as
you
have
questions
for
them,
we
can
direct
those
questions
to
them
directly
or
I
may
call
on
them
if
I
need
to
phone
a
friend.
So
with
that
said,
we'll
go
ahead
and
get
started.
So
a
few
slides
to
get
us
going.
G
Dreaded
clicker
Bell
function
so
background
in
2023
planning
in
terms
of
background
Warden
Smith
has
been
retained
by
Buncombe
County.
That
action
was
taken
by
a
County
Commission
at
the
May
10th
meeting
during
the
short
session
in
2022
May
of
2022.
We
were
represented
by
Warden
Smith
and
they
advocated
us
at
the
general
assembly
on
a
number
of
issues,
but
in
addition
to
just
kind
of
focusing
on
specific
issues
for
commission,
they
also
kept
their
ears
to
the
ground
for
anything
that
was
of
interest
to
the
county.
G
A
few
of
the
highlights
from
the
2022
short
session
are
highlighted
here,
certainly
not
all
inclusive,
but
just
to
give
you
a
flavor.
The
first
up
is,
of
course,
the
the
Buncombe
County
occupancy
tax
bill,
which
is
displayed
there.
G
G
Additionally,
there
were
a
number
of
items
in
the
2022
Appropriations
act
where
Warren
Smith
was
able
to
advocate
for
us
a
couple
of
those
just
to
name
a
few
related
to
funding
for
non-certified
K-12
State
personnel,
as
well
as
changes
to
affordable
housing
funding
that
favor
Buncombe
County
just
a
couple
items.
G
Additionally,
Warden
Smith
helped
tackle
some
action
activity
that
came
up
in
the
middle
of
the
short
session,
unbeknownst
to
us,
related
to
County's,
Authority
or
local
government's
authority
to
regulate
short-term
rentals,
and
so
Warden
Smith
worked
with
a
coalition
to
to
support
County
and
local
government
Authority
on
those
topics.
G
Just
a
few
of
the
items
discussed
here
in
2022,
so
2022,
the
short
session
I
think
most
thought
was
fairly
successful
for
Buncombe
County,
and
so
we
figured
we
would
just
piggyback
on
that
success.
Moving
into
the
long
session
in
2023,
and
so
the
the
long
session
begins
at
in
January,
we're
projecting
at
the
end
of
January
and
to
prepare
prepare
for
that
long
session.
County
staff,
as
well
as
a
commission,
have
been
going
through
a
process
to
develop
an
agenda
which
would
represent
Buncombe
County
Commission
priorities.
Moving
into
that
long
session.
G
The
current
draft
that
we'll
review
today
is
a
draft
emphasize
that
multiple
times
today,
but
developed
with
County
Commission
input,
as
well
as
the
input
of
our
state
representatives
and
your
department
heads
a
goal
of
today's
session
is
really
to
hear
from
County
Commission
and
so
really
want
to
hear
from
you
all
today,
as
we
refine
the
list.
Talk
about
priorities
to
commission
additionally
wanted
to
hear
from
you.
G
If
there
are
any
items
that
need
to
be
moved
up
the
list,
perhaps
items
that
should
be
on
the
list
that
aren't
and,
of
course,
we'll
work
on
wordsmithing
as
we
proceed
over
the
next
few
months,
so
I'm
going
to
shift
into
the
draft
legislative
agenda
as
we
move
forward
today,
the
presentation
is
broken
into
sections.
Our
first
section
is
our
tier
one
priorities
and
these
are
related
to
policy
and
Appropriations,
and
these
are
going
to
be
separate
items
that
will
tackle
separately.
G
You
of
course
know
that
a
policy
change
is,
you
know,
related
to
policy
where
Appropriations
are,
of
course,
related
to
funding
in
terms
of
our
tier
one
policy
priorities.
Those
are
on
the
screen
in
front
of
you.
What
we've
done
is
we've
organized
these
around
your
strategic
plan,
and
so
you
can
see
here
that
we've
got
a
handful
of
priorities
that
are
scattered
across
three
areas
of
our
strategic
plan.
Again
these
are
policy
and
not
appropriation
priorities,
I'm
going
to
read
off
just
a
couple
of
them
not
going
to
spend
too
much.
G
Time
definitely
want
to
hear
from
you
all
today,
but
in
our
educated
and
capable
Community
Focus
area.
Our
first
priority,
not
an
order
of
importance,
but
just
on
listed
on
the
screen,
relates
to
additional
funding
for
early
childhood
education
and
Pre-K
programs,
including
the
potential
modification
of
subsidy
formulas
that
impact
Buncombe,
County
you'll
also
notice
that
there's
an
asterisk
beside
this
particular
item,
there's
a
note,
that's
very
hard
to
read
at
the
bottom
of
this
slide.
G
That
indicates
this
was
also
an
item
that
was
flagged
by
department
heads
as
a
high
priority
when
they
all
met
to
discuss,
but
also
potentially
could
be
of
critical
importance
to
a
Department's
operations.
So
you'll
see
that
throughout
I'm
not
going
to
continue
to
call
those
out,
but
just
wanted
you
to
know
what
those
were.
G
Additionally,
we
see
another
priority
here
again
around
early
childhood
education,
with
a
focus
this
time
on
Capital
expenses,
so
facilities
infrastructure,
things
of
that
nature,
as
we
shift
out
of
educated
and
capable
into
vibrant
economy.
There
is
a
priority
here
to
see
changes
to
the
occupancy
tax
law
and
then,
as
we
shift
into
resident
well-being,
we
see
two
priorities
that
are
related.
The
first
relates
to
opposing
any
restrictions
to
Buncombe,
County
or
local
government's
ability
to
regulate
short-term
rentals
or
online
marketplaces.
So
this
is
really
continuing.
G
G
H
Just
and
just
to
kind
of
clarify
what
that
means
is.
Basically
we
want
to
advocate
for
the
idea
that
for
people
to
have
a
lower
tax
rate
for
their
primary
home
right,
so
if
you
just
own
one
home,
it's
where
you
live
in
Buncombe
County,
we
would
love
to
say,
hey,
let's
provide
a
lower
tax
rate
for
that
to
make
sure
people
can
afford
to
live
in
the
community,
but
we
can't
do
that
in
North
Carolina.
H
If
that
policy
is
going
to
be
adopted,
this
state
basically
has
to
say
they
would
approve
that
for
counties
across
the
state.
So
so
we
want
to
kind
of
advocate
for
for
that
idea
as
a
way
to
reduce
the
property
tax
burden
for
homeowners.
H
G
Noted
so
you
know
at
this
point,
you
know
I'll
pause.
This
is
our
first
slide
tier
one.
So
these
were
the
items
that
sort
of
Rose
above
based
on
the
input
that
was
received.
They
are
policy
focused,
and
so,
if,
if
you'd
like,
we
can
always
come
back
to
these,
but
if
not
no
further
discussion,
then
I
would
shift
and
continue
to
move
forward
into
our
next
slide,
which
relates
to
Appropriations
that
fell
into
that
tier
one
bucket
as
well.
G
Any
additional
comments
would
you
like
me
to
proceed
all
right
so
as
we
move
into
Appropriations,
the
slide
gets
a
little
bit
busier
I'm
just
going
to
call
out
a
few
of
these
examples
again.
You
know
this
slide
is
all
about.
Appropriations
prior
slide
was
about
policy,
so
in
our
educated
and
capable
Appropriations
bucket,
our
items
relate
to
funding
for
school
Personnel
salaries,
and
this
could
be
increases
or
bonuses.
G
You
also
see,
as
we
skip
to
Bullet
three
states,
funding
for
K-12
and
community
college
education
and
related
Capital
needs
so
differentiating
or
being
more
specific
about.
You
know
not
just
schools,
but
also
you
know
K-12
and
community
colleges,
and
then
you
see
in
in
bullet
for
an
example
of
you
know,
basically
making
permanent
funding
related
to
Early
Childhood
that
we
saw
coming
out
of
the
pandemic
as
we
look
to
resident
well-being
here,
we
see
additional
State
funding
for
affordable
housing
initiatives
so
as
an
example,
the
NC
Workforce
housing
loan
program.
G
Additionally,
there
there's
an
item
here
regarding
the
Innovation
waiver
slots
waiting
list
for
idd
individuals
in
the
Buncombe
County
Community
a
lot
of
discussion
about
the
length
of
that
waiting
list
and
how
that
can
take.
You
know
years,
if
not
decades,
for
people
to
work
through
that
list,
so
that
showed
up
as
well
shifting
into
environmental
and
energy
stewardship.
Here
we
see
you
know
State
Appropriations,
related
to
local
water,
sewer
extension
projects.
G
One
example
we
give
here
is
related
to
Ferry
Road,
but
there
are,
of
course
other
Water
and
Sewer
projects
and
we've
reviewed
those
in
your
last
meeting.
When
MSD
was
here,
State
funding
for
French,
Broad,
River,
water
quality
improvements,
I
think
that
could
have,
of
course
be
expanded
to
include
other
rivers
such
as
the
Swannanoa.
G
You
also
begin
to
see
variations
of
the
same,
so
you
know
stream
and
River
debris
removal
programs,
as
well
as
earmarks
for
flood
resiliency
or
storm
water
mitigation.
So
a
lot
of
common
threads
there.
They
were
separate
items
in
our
discussion,
so
wanted
to
make
sure
that
we
reflected
those
separately
for
you
today.
G
Finally,
in
vibrant
economy,
we
see
Broadband
grant
funding
as
a
priority,
as
well
as
state
funding
for
repairs
and
improvements
to
McCormick
field,
which
is,
of
course,
the
the
city-owned
field
here
in
downtown
and
home
to
Nashville
tours.
G
G
It's
just
a
way
of
us
separating
sort
of
those
items
that
seem
to
have
garnered
more
support
than
those
that
did
not
receive
as
much
support.
Doesn't
mean
that
these
items
aren't
important,
but
you'll
also
notice,
there's
a
lot
more
of
them,
so
moving
into
policy
for
tier
two,
our
first
item
in
educated
and
capable
Community.
Our
Force
refers
to
legislation
for
Community
College,
Workforce
programs,
so
Workforce
Development
Focus
in
vibrant
economy.
G
We
see
legislations
require
data
sharing
and
transparency
from
recipients
of
broadband
grants,
so
basically
internet
service
providers
providing
additional
data
about
where
they
serve,
and
we
also
see
a
policy
to
change
to
allow
rural
census
tracts
within
tier
Three
Counties
to
become
eligible
for
state
level
grants.
We
are,
of
course
a
tier
three
County,
so
are
often
not
eligible
for
Grants
because
of
our
overall
overall
wealth
in
in,
but
we
know
that
some
of
our
rural
census
tracts
may
not
have
the
same
capabilities
as
others.
G
G
We
also
see
in
coordination
with
swanna,
which
is
the
solid
waste
lobbying
institution,
the
establishment
of
state
level
bottle
Exchange
program
and
then,
finally,
an
increase
in
the
enforcement
of
litter
statutes.
Statewide.
G
We
have
a
number
of
items
still
in
the
policy
bucket
on
our
next
slide.
This
slide
is
still
in
tier
two
policy,
but
is
dedicated
to
resident
well-being
where
there
were
lots
of
ideas
generated
and
wanted
to
reflect
all
of
those
so
because
of
the
number
of
items
on
the
slide,
I'm,
definitely
not
going
to
read
off
each
of
those,
but
I
I
will
touch
on
a
few
of
them.
We
again
see
preserving
or
enhancing
local
government
authority
to
regulate
short-term
rental
properties.
G
We
see
an
item
similarly
related
to
affordable
housing,
about
State
Property
being
transferred
to
Buncombe
County,
the
authorization
of
a
civilian
trash
or
crash
rather
investigator
program
for
the
city
of
Asheville,
a
number
of
items
related
to
procurement
and
property
tax.
Here
we
see
a
change
to
a
very
specific
statute
regarding
the
procurement
of
emergency
vehicles,
to
sort
of
speed
that
process
up
the
establishment
of
an
elderly
or
homestead
exemption
on
property
tax
and
then,
additionally,
back
to
EMS
the
establishment
of
EMS
as
an
essential
service.
G
Next,
up
still
in
Resident
well-being,
changes
to
Medical
Medicaid
reimbursement
policy
for
EMS,
some
modernization
of
9-1-1
statutes
to
move
into
to
be
more
modern.
G
Additionally,
we
see
some
potential
changes
to
Medicaid
applicants
and
the
requirement
of
having
a
wet
signature,
as
opposed
to
an
electronic
signature
restrictions
on
certain
type
of
drug-related
felons
ability
to
access
food
stamps
changes
to
160d,
to
restore
minimum
housing
standards
for
and
in
the
enforcement
of
local
governments
in
particular
and
then
finally,
in
a
resident
well-being
bucket.
Some
discussion
around
raising
a
minimum
minimum
wage
for
essential
workers.
H
Tim,
why
is
the
preserve
or
enhance
local
government
authority
to
regulate
short-term
rental
properties?
On
the
tier
two
lessons
it's
on
the
tier
one
list,
we.
H
I
Chairman
Newman,
this
is
Whitney
Christensen.
If
I
can
chime
in
I
think
we
discussed
in
our
meetings
with
you
all
in
person
a
couple
weeks
ago,
two
separate
goals,
one
being
a
purely
defensive
goal.
Centered
around
protecting
the
authority.
You
have
in
the
second
being
an
offensive
goal
whereby
we
chip
away
at
additional
Authority,
you
might
have
over
regulating
those
sorts
of
programs
and
I,
think
the
distinction
that
Tim's,
probably
trying
to
flag
in
this
PowerPoint
is
between
those
two
because
I
know
in
the
draft
that
we
sent
you
all.
I
We
had
them
separated
as
two
different
goals,
because
we
heard
them
as
two
different
goals
and
strategically
we
think
you
know
their
the
political
Dynamics
around.
The
two
of
them
would
be
very
different.
H
A
C
Some
initial
thoughts
for
me
I
definitely
prioritize
Broadband,
Water
and
Sewer
infrastructure
that
that
we're
looking
at
that-
and
it
seems
like
some
of
that
definitely
is
kind
of
in
that
tier
one,
so
I'd
say
those
as
well
as
the
water
quality
I
I
would
include
that
in
that
group
The
on
the
education
aspect,
the
the
priority
to
increase
the
salaries
and
I
would
say:
I'm
fully
fund,
State,
K-12
and
Community
College
personnel
and
I.
Think
on
your
bullet
point,
you
said:
seek
State
funding
for
school,
Personnel,
salary
increases
and
bonuses.
C
I
personally
would
take
out
bonuses
because
I
feel
like
what
has
been
happening
is
they're
doing
bonuses
rather
than
actually
increasing
the
salaries.
What
we,
what
they
need
are
increased
salaries,
not
bonuses.
That
would
be
my
personal
input
on
that
one
with
the
early
childhood
education
yeah.
Those
are
looking
good
around
the
the
funding
for
the
child
care.
Stabilization
grants.
I.
Think
there
was
some
policy
and
some
funding
there
around
early
childhood
education
and
then
clearly,
whatever
we
can
do
with
housing,
is
important.
I,
don't
know
which
specific
ones
we'll
have
to
prioritize.
C
What
we
feel
really
is
going
to
be
the
most
beneficial
for
housing,
but
clearly
there's
a
need
there
and
then
I
also
want
to
speak
specifically
to
some
Farm
infrastructure.
There's
some
of
that
kind
of
tied
in
there,
but
I
do
I.
Do
really
feel
like
our
future
also
depends
on
us
having
resilient
Farms
and
in
order
for
us
to
have
a
food,
secure
region
and
there's
some
things
that
I
think
will
be
coming
up,
that
the
North
Carolina
Department
of
AG
will
be
making
a
legislative
ask
for.
So.
C
But
when
you
think
about
with
our
forestry
personnel
and
if
we
end
up
with
the
buyers
and
we
have
that
shortage
of
personnel-
and
it's
it's
a
real
challenge
to
live
here
from
what
I'm
hearing,
we
know
that
across
the
board,
but
I'm
specifically
hearing
it
from
Ag
and
Forestry
as
well
that
they're
having
a
hard
time
finding
folks
to
fill
vacancies,
the
also
they'll,
probably
they
should
be
asking
to
look
at,
like
our
wnc
Farmers
Market,
to
do
an
assessment
of
the
core
infrastructure
there
and
a
capital
Improvement
plan
that
will
also
fall
under
that
ask,
and
we
have
been
talking
about
and
needing
a
western
North
Carolina
meat
processing
facility
for
years,
and
we,
this
is
a
supply
chain
issue
or
it's
a
has.
C
C
H
I
mean
I
think
those
are
all
I
mean.
Certainly
everything
you
expressed
I
think
those
are
all
good.
You
know.
One
thing
just
in
terms
of
the
legislative
agenda
is
like
it
seems
like
to
the
extent
some
of
the
initiatives
are
things
that
are
really
unique
or
particular
to
Buncombe,
County
or
Western.
North
Carolina
is
good
to
elevate
those,
because
you
know
some
of
these
Statewide
issues
we're
just
one
County.
That's
you
know
kind
of
saying:
hey,
I
mean
and
I'm
for
doing
it
like
on
the
property
tax
thing
I
think
that's
great.
H
It
might
be
a
long-term
process
but
like
let's
at
least
speak
up
for
it,
but
our
ability
to
influence
on
Statewide
issues
may
be
limited,
but
if
we
say
like
hey,
we
really
need
a
western
North
Carolina
food
processing
plant
like
that's,
feels
like
a
place
where
we
could
maybe
really
make
a
difference.
So
anyway,.
G
J
I'll
just
quickly
share
a
perspective
on
some
of
the
Early
Childhood
items
and
one
other
and
want
to
just
thank
everyone
for
the
the
work
going
into
this.
But
we
had
a
chance
at
our
early
childhood
meeting
today
to
kind
of
walk
through
with
folks.
The
three
items
specifically
focused
on
Early
Childhood
issues
and
just
want
to
express
that
committee's
sort
of
continued
endorsement
of
these
as
strong
policy
priorities
as
we
work
to
continue
expanding
access
and
I.
J
Think
folks
are
very
pleased
to
see
this
on
the
agenda
item
and
then
just
one
other
one
I've
had
a
chance
to
talk
with
many
folks
on
commission,
at
least
very
briefly,
but
hope
we
can
have
some
more
in-depth
discussions
about
the
item
on
on
the
list
around
the
Innovations
waiver
grants
and
supporting
folks
in
the
idd
community.
J
So
just
kind
of
wanted
to
take
a
moment
to
note
that
and
say
I'll
follow
up
with
members
are
commission
about
that.
But.
K
J
Look
forward
to
continuing
to
kind
of
dig
in
on
that
question
at
the
state
level
and
better
understand
what
needs
for
Buncombe.
County
residents
are
in
that
area
as
they're
on
that
wait
list
and
whether
there
are
ways
we
can
be
responding
to
to
those
needs,
as
we
continue
to
Advocate
the
state
level.
So
thanks.
G
So
Commissioners
at
this
point
you
know
I
got
one
final
slide.
That
summarizes
a
handful
of
preparations
at
the
tier
two
level
and
some
of
those
commissioner
Wells
you
brought
up
so
I
just
want
to
make
sure
we
get
through
that
slide
for
the
benefit
of
the
public
and
then
I'd
like
to
bring
it
back
and
then
open
it
up
once
again
to
you
all
for
some
additional
discussion,
so
in
terms
of
educated
and
capable
Community
Appropriations
tier
two.
G
Here
we
see
programs
at
the
community
college
level
around
essential
and
emerging
Technologies
funding.
In
particular
there
in
Resident
well-being.
We
again
see
Child
Care
stabilization
grants
being
extended.
We
see
State
funding
to
establish
an
active
aging
facility
in
Western
North
Carolina,
as
well
as
funding
to
establish
a
western
North
Carolina
history
museum
on
the
environmental
and
energy
stewardship
side.
We
see
a
number
of
the
items,
commissioner
Wells,
that
you
had
brought
up
about:
cost
share
programs,
local
Soil
and
Water
districts.
G
We
see
advocacy
around
staff
positions
at
physical
views,
State
Park,
but
your
comment
was
heard
to
be
potentially
broader
than
just
Pisgah
View,
additional
funding
sources
for
EV
charging
stations
and
then
funding
around
Farmland
preservation
or
the
Farmland
preservation
trust
fund
in
Western,
North
Carolina.
G
Finally,
for
vibrant
economy,
we
see
Western
North,
Carolina
meat
processing
facility,
as
well
as
additional
funding
to
Small
Business
Development
in
Western
North
Carolina,
so
that
caps
out
kind
of
that
initial
draft.
The
big
question
we
have
for
you
all
today
is:
is
there
anything
missing
and
if
not
fine
or
on
this
list?
Are
there
items
that
are
in
a
tier
2
status
that
you
definitely
want
to
see
in
a
tier
one
status
or
vice
versa,
where
you'd
like
to
take
something
out
of
a
tier
one
into
a
tier
two?
G
Ultimately,
we
want
to
get
this
to
a
point
where
Ward
and
Smith
team
has
a
very
discreet
list
of
you
know.
Five
to
ten
items
that
are
County
Commission
priorities
that
they
can
very
easily
communicate
to
you
know
are
the
general
assembly
and
specifically
through
our
legislators,
that
will
be
representing
Us
in
Raleigh.
There
will
be
other
items
throughout
the
long
session
that
come
up
and
Ward
and
Smith.
The
team
will
notify
us
about
those
items
and
you'll
have
a
chance
to
make
your
voice
heard
there
as
well.
G
But
we
really
want
to
get
to
kind
of
a
discreet
list
and
to
chair
Newman's
point:
you
know
what
are
the
items
that
are
truly
Buncombe,
County
or
or
Western
North
Carolina
specific,
where
our
voice
doesn't
get
drowned
out,
but
where
it
really
is
kind
of
a
unique
ask
where
you're
using
your
collateral
as
best
you
can
so
I'm
gonna
stop
talking.
H
I
I,
you
know
I
appreciate
all
the
work.
That's
on
this
I
thought
the
the
summary
of
the
tier
ones
and
tier
twos.
You
know
I
mean
I
thought
y'all
did
a
great
job
capturing.
You
know
this
is
all
important.
Here's
the
things
that
seem
to
be
mentioned
most
frequently
in
the
tier
one
areas
so
yeah
I,
mean
I,
know.
There's
got
to
be
kind
of
further
prioritized,
but
this
seems
like
a
great
place
to
be
based
on
where
we're
at
in
the
process.
Right
now,.
K
H
Tim,
thank
you
to
everyone.
Who's
worked
on
this
in
Avro,
everyone
on
the
staff
and
trifton
trafton
and
Whitney.
We
really
appreciate
all
the
great
work
in
the
last
session.
I
think
we
were
all
just
really
favorably
impressed
by
how
much
was
accomplished
even
in
just
this
first
session,
so
we're
really
looking
forward
to
working
with
you.
So
keep
us
posted.
Let
us
know
what
we
can
do
to
help
and
we
look
forward
to
you
know
trying
to
see
some
progress
on
a
lot
of
these
important
issues.
H
G
We
will
share
with
you
kind
of
a
revised
list
based
on
what
we
discussed
today
and
we'll
be
tracking
towards
adopting,
formerly
the
legislative
agenda
at
a
future
commission
meeting,
we're
targeting
the
January
time
frame
at
this
point
and
that'll
sort
of
make
your
agenda
public
just
going
into
the
long
session.
That
way,
it'll
have
your
endorsement
moving
forward.
So
if
you
have
any
questions,
let
us
know.
H
All
right,
I,
actually
don't
have
my
agenda
in
front
of
me.
What's
you
took
my
Jed
okay?
That
was
it.
That's
it
so
great
job.
Were
there
any
other
items
that
people
wanted
to
discuss
in
the
briefing
meeting
all
right?
Well,
we
will
adjourn
and
we
will
reconvene
at
five
o'clock
for
the
regularly
scheduled
meeting
thanks.
Everyone.