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From YouTube: Board of Commissioners' Regular Meeting (Dec. 7, 2021)
Description
Regular Meeting of the Board of Commissioners for Dec. 7, 2021. To view the meeting agenda visit buncombecounty.org/commissioners.
A
A
A
A
We
also
will
have
a
closed
session
immediately
following
the
approval
of
the
consent
agenda,
so
moved
expected
all
in
favor,
please
say:
aye
aye
any
opposed.
Mr
fru
there's
a
need
for
a
closed
session.
Could
you
explain
the
purpose
of
the
closed
session.
C
Yes,
sir,
we
request
a
motion
to
go
into
closed
session
pursuant
to
general
statute,
143
318-1183,
to
consult
with
attorneys
retained
or
employed
by
buckingham
county
to
retain
the
attorney-client
privilege.
We
don't
anticipate
action
by
the
board
and
open
session,
but
probably
some
direction
from
the
board.
A
A
All
in
favor,
please
say
I,
I
any
opposed
all
right.
I
expect
this
might
be
around
20
minutes
or
so,
but
we'll
be
back
and
we'll
go
back
into
open
session.
A
A
If
your
time
expires,
you
can
leave
any
questions
along
with
your
name
address
and
phone
number
with
the
county
manager
board.
Members
are
not
expected
to
comment
on
any
matters
during
the
public
comment
period.
This
is
the
chance
for
the
public
to
speak
to
the
board
and
we
have
several
folks
who
have
signed
up.
So
I'm
gonna
go
through
that
list
and
and
also
when
you,
when
you
come
up
to
the
podium
you'll
get
you're
gonna
get
three
minutes.
D
Hi
good
evening,
thank
you.
My
name
is
grant
millen,
I'm
a
long
time
buncombe
resident
well.
I
live
near
mission
hospital.
Now
I
lived
in
oteen
for
many
years
I
just
registered
as
a
national
city
council
candidate.
I
am
submitting
detailed
written
comments
later
date
of
my
convenience
for
now.
Here's
a
summary
of
some
current
issues:
the
reviews
that
there
should
be
no
virtual
public
comment
for
city
of
asheville,
coa,
council
or
buncombe
county
government
bcg.
Commissioner
meetings
people
get
to
share
and
virtual
is
the
modern
way
of
adding
to
the
democratic
process.
D
D
I
don't
have
enough
on
the
bcg
coa
and
law
enforcement
insight
myself
to
say
more
now
on
the
following,
but
the
october
1st
2021
justice
research
advisory
council,
j-rack
minutes
include
a
family
justice
center
update
slide
deck
claiming
sexual
assault.
Arrests
are
up
73
percent
when
compared
to
july
december.
D
2020
range
compared
to
the
january
june
2021
period.
What
department
is
making
these
increased
sexual
assault,
arrests
sheriff
apd
or
both
how
many
for
each
agency?
What
is
the
10-year
crime
trend
for
asheville
in
each
buncombe
town?
Please
define
the
different
types
of
assault
and
rapes
and
all
other
crimes
who
are
the
sexual
assault
assailants
any
prior
convictions.
What
is
the
pace
and
outcome
of
the
court
cases?
What
are
their
sentences?
D
D
In
august,
I
asked
for
the
plan
b
on
the
east
asheville
modded
inn
erie
initiative,
and
the
idea
that
coa
would
enlist
bcg
in
combining
american
rescue
plan
act.
Funds
for
an
emergency
shelter
with
a
major
harsh
harm
reduction
function.
I
have
insisted
coa
immediately
release
the
rfp
ips
298
responses.
E
I
wanted
to
take
this
opportunity
to
express
my
gratitude
to
the
commissioners
for
keeping
the
lies.
Libraries
open
as
it's
inspiring
to
know
that
our
voices
count.
It
is
so
important
that
elected
officials
listen
to
the
community.
That
is
the
backbone
of
democracy.
I
feel,
like
my
voice,
was
heard
and
that
our
concerns
were
taken
to
heart
as
the
city
moves
forward,
with
alternate
plans
for
the
ramada
end.
My
hope
is
that
you
use
your
power
influence
and
experience
to
help
guide
city
council
through
this
process.
E
Transparency
and
open
communication
are
the
keys
that
will
help
bring
about
a
solution
that
will
benefit
the
communities,
the
businesses,
the
children
and
the
homeless,
who
need
support.
While
the
solution
to
homelessness
can
be
a
difficult
path.
I
think
we
can
all
agree
that
it
is
a
communal
goal.
Homelessness
affects
both
city
and
the
county
and
should
be
addressed
by
both
governments
due
to
the
lack
of
communication
from
the
city
over
the
past
few
months.
E
B
B
B
We
would
hope
your
voices
will
be
part
of
the
planning
with
the
ramada
inn
and
then
your
future
as
we
welcome
new
members
into
the
community
in
which
we
live,
we
would
like
to
be
in
ensured.
Safety
is
the
number
one
goal
a
place
where
we
could
volunteer
safely
as
a
community
with
our
children
and
create
meaningful
experiences
such
as
a
reading
buddy
program
and
an
expansion
of
our
community
garden.
B
A
All
right,
thanks,
carrie,
the
next
person
that's
signed
up,
is
elizabeth
mcdaniel
and
then
after
elizabeth
is
mckenna
james,
who,
I
believe
might
be
in
the
overflow
area,
so
mckenna
could
be
notified
that
they'll
be
up
next.
F
Good
evening
everybody,
my
name
is
elizabeth
mcdavid
and
I'm
a
resident
of
oakley.
I
actually
participated
in
the
selection
process
for
the
contractor
that
was
going
to
manage
the
low
barrier,
shelter
that
would
have
been
at
the
ramada
inn,
but
we
know
that's
no
longer
happening.
F
F
So
I'm
asking
you
to
please
act
now
on
this
critical
and
urgent
need
the
county
owns
vacant
buildings
right
close
to
here
that
can
be
immediately
transformed
into
shelters
for
code
purple
days
or
into
low
barrier
shelters.
You
could
give
out
meal
vouchers
and
have
food
trucks
come
by
with
meals.
I
mean
it's
not
really
hard.
You
just
have
to
use
your
imagination,
I'm
I'm
asking
you
to
be
creative
and
to
make
this
happen,
it's
not
always
it's
not
always
the
the
most
popular
idea.
That
is
the
right
one
and
the
morally
correct
one.
F
I'm
asking
you
to
be
morally
and
and-
and
I'm
asking
you
to
be
morally
right
on
this-
it's
getting
cold
at
night.
We
need
leadership
and
action
on
this,
so
please
be
the
leaders
that
we
elected
you
all
to
be.
Thank
you.
A
Okay,
all
right,
that's
everybody
who
signed
up
is
there
anybody
else
in
here
who
would
like
to
address
the
board
during
public
comment
all
right,
so
we
now
come
to
good
news
and
we
did
add
this
one
additional
item
to
it.
So
why
don't
we
take
that
one
up
first
and
I
believe
that
assistant
county
manager,
d.k
wesley,
is
going
to
present
our
county
manager,
alberto
pinderwill
regarding
hhs
employees,
recognition.
G
Thank
you,
commissioner.
Throughout
the
kovit
19
pandemic,
health
and
safety
of
our
community
has
been
buncombe
county's
highest
priority
at
a
recent
reception,
the
chamber
of
commerce
recognized
many
of
our
coveted
response
team
members
as
local
coveted
humanitarians,
the
awardees
are
stacy
saunders.
G
I
believe
stacey
is
with
us,
dr
jennifer
mullendore,
stacy,
wood
who's,
also
with
us,
andrew
duckett,
brittany,
robinson
nathan,
greene
fletcher
and
tim
love,
so
I
like
to
take
a
moment
to
just
congratulate
them
because
they
have
been
in
the
trenches
from
day
one.
These
have
been
the
folks
that
have
really
worked
with
our
community
and
leadership
here
at
the
county
to
bring
stability
during
the
covid
pandemic
and
help
us
to
really
get
where
we
are
today
with
about
70
of
our
folks
vaccinated.
G
A
H
Thank
you.
It
is
my
pleasure
to
share
that
on
december
1st,
at
its
board
of
delegates
meeting
the
lender
sky,
regional
council,
honored,
county
manager,
avril
pender,
by
bestowing
the
prestigious
robert
parish
senior
intergovernmental
relations
award,
avril
was
nominated
not
only
because
she
led
the
region's
largest
local
government
during
the
pandemic
with
unprecedented
challenges.
H
Additionally,
she
has
helped
lead
regional
collaboration
among
the
council's
local
governments,
especially
with
the
city
of
asheville,
but
also
including
the
smaller
municipalities
in
the
county
and
with
other
counties
in
the
region.
This
award,
also
presented
at
the
discretion
of
the
council's
executive
committee,
is
to
an
elected
or
appointed
official
who
has
made
significant
contributions
to
improve
intergovernmental
cooperation
within
the
region.
A
I
I
Regarding
mass
mandates,
including
a
report
titled
covid,
charts,
cnn
forgot,
the
conclusion
of
that
report
was,
if
you
graph
these
results,
any
way
you
like,
lock
down
stringency.
Mobility
patterns
mask
mandates.
These
results
are
completely
random
and
they
do
not
show
a
clear
pattern.
None
of
it
has
worked.
I
This
is
joined
by
a
review
of
the
national
bureau
of
economic
research
which
presented
analysis
of
data
sets
from
23
countries,
25
u.s
states
and
the
paper
concluded.
The
data
trends
indicate
that
non-pharmaceutical
interventions,
lockdowns
closures,
travel
restrictions,
stay
at
home,
orders,
event
bans
quarantines
curfews,
mass
mandates
do
not
seem
to
affect
the
virus
transmission
rates
at
all.
I
Another
133-page
report
called
why
wearing
a
mask
makes
healthy
people
sick.
Dr
jim
meehan,
presents
analytical
review
of
decades
of
research
literature
on
masking
to
prevent
infectious
disease
and
he
concludes
decades
of
highest
level.
Scientific
evidence
based
on
meta-analysis
random
control
trials,
overwhelmingly
conclude
that
medical
masks
are
ineffective
at
preventing
the
transmission
of
respiratory
viruses,
so
these
these
reports
are
are
also
supported
by
another
61
studies
and
reports
that
have
been
conducted
so
I'll.
Just
you
know
I'll
just
refer
to
the
first
five
or
six
of
these.
It
goes
in
one
study.
I
It
says
they
did
not
observe
association
between
mass
mandates,
use
and
reduced
coven
19
spread
in
the
united
states.
Another
report
said
none
of
the
common
masks
available
on
the
consumer
market
work.
Well,
unless
they're
fully
sealed
properly
fitted
changed,
often
and
have
a
filter
designed
for
virus-sized
particles,
which
represent
none
of
the
common
masks
available.
Today,
protective
mass
mandates
appear
aimed
at
combating
the
spread
appear
to
promote
its
spread.
There's
no,
absolutely
no
evidence.
The
mass
mandate
worked
to
slow
the
spread
evidence
from
14
ram
demise.
I
A
A
All
right
next
step
on
our
agenda
is
a
presentation
from
the
buncombe
county,
school
capital
fund,
commission
and
the
commission
chair
max
queen
is
here-
and
I
think
some
other
folks
are
here
as
well,
perhaps
to
help
us
out
with
this
presentation,
thanks
for
being
here,
mr
queen.
J
J
I
have
a
few
slides
I'd
like
to
share
with
you
that,
to
give
you
overview
of
the
work
of
the
capital
fund
commission,
as
well
as
some
of
the
projects
that
we're
involved
with
now,
and
in
addition,
I
would
like
to
say
that
I
have
two
members
in
the
audience
who
are
here
that
may
be
able
to
field
any
other
additional
questions
you
may
have.
One
is
mr
tim
fearley.
He
is
the
basically
the
director
of
of
an
oversight
of
all
of
the
building
and
and.
J
As
you
can
see
here,
school
capital
fund
commission
is
an
advisory
board.
It's
made
up
of
five
members
who
make
recommendations
to
the
buncombe
county
board
of
commissioners
relating
to
school
capital
projects.
The
five
members
include
representation
from
both
schools,
one
from
buncombe
county
one
from
asheville
city.
We
have
two
members
from
the
board
of
commissioners
yourselves
and
we
have
one
member
that
is
an
at
large
members
that
is
elected
by
the
four
appointed
members
to
the
board.
J
We're
fortunate
to
have
a
dedicated
funding
source
for
both
the
asheville
city
and
bunking
county
schools,
and
this
funding
is
made
available
through
one
half
of
the
article
39
sales
tax,
the
sales
tax
revenue
yield
approximately
23
million
annually
with
a
projected
four
percent
growth
annually.
Our
process
is
collaborative.
We
work
closely
with
the
school
systems
to
hear
the
request
and
plan
for
the
future
and
we
hold
regular
meetings
from
july
through
march.
J
The
criteria
for
these
allocations,
if
you
will
are
the
project,
must
be
greater
than
one
hundred
thousand
dollars.
It
must
be
intended
to
create
or
address
safety
and
health
concerns,
comply
with
legal
requirements,
maintain
the
lowest
life
cycle
costs
and
improve
the
educational
environment
of
the
school
systems.
J
As
I
mentioned,
the
annual
process
of
going
through
and
reviewing
and
funding
these,
these
requests
began
in
july
and
in
the
following
spring,
the
school
system
have
their
own
processes
to
determine
what
projects
they
will
bring
to
the
commission.
J
As
noted
earlier,
only
a
portion
of
school
capital
requests
are
presented
to
the
school
capital
fund
commission.
At
its
july
meeting,
the
commission
will
go
through
any
appointments
that
need
to
be
considered.
In
the
september
meeting.
We
provide
an
opportunity
for
the
school
systems
to
prevent
to
to
present
rather
their
priority
capital
list.
J
Our
current
cycle
recommended
22
million
dollars
in
projects
across
both
school
systems
and
we
were
able
to
meet
all
of
the
current
high
priority
requests
in
both
systems.
For
this
year,
the
board
of
county
commissioners
approved
our
recommendations
at
the
november
2nd
meeting
this
year
and
we
would
like
to
speaking
for
both
school
systems.
Thank
you
for
approving
those
and
the
consideration
that
you
gave
that
matter.
J
In
case
you
didn't
know,
buncombe
county
schools,
out
of
115
leas
in
north
carolina
county
schools
is
the
13th
largest
and
when
we
start
looking
at
the
size
of
the
infrastructure
there,
you
might
be
surprised
to
learn
that
the
total
square
footage
of
bunk
county
schools,
4.6
million
square
feet,
and
if
you
consider
roof
4.5
million
square
feet,
and
if
you
think
about
that
and
just
think
about
your
own
homes
and
things
you
have
to
keep
you
know
abreast
of
and
as
far
as
maintenance,
and
that
kind
of
thing
that
is
a
that
is
a
very,
very
large
large
amount
of
square
footage
and
an
area
that
we
have
to
address
and
oftentimes
during
top
budget
years.
J
These
pictures
reflect
some
recently
completed
projects
for
bunking
county
schools
and,
if
you'll
look
the
top
left,
that's
a
new
high
school
turf
and
track
at
north
buncombe
high
school.
The
top
right
is
the
inca
middle
school
re-roofing
project,
and
I
would
pause
there
for
a
minute.
Since
that's
in
my
district
and
I
would
say
that
school
was
built
in
1955,
it
was
inca
high
school.
J
I
attended
high
school
there
robert,
I
imagined,
attended
high
school
there
and
I
I
simply
say
that
the
longevity
of
that
building
now
we're
what
60
65
years
old,
70
years
old,
but
it
is
still
a
the
bones:
are
there
the
structures
there
and
by
being
able
to
put
a
new
roof
on
it?
J
J
The
next
slide
depicts
some
of
the
projects
completed
with
asheville
city
school
upper
left
is
the
asheville
high
school.
That
was
part
of
a
larger
project,
but
that
was
re-roofing
of
asheville
high
school,
and
that
was
a
quite
a
large
and
significant
capital
project
over
to
the
right
were
skylights
that
were
put
into
the
lucy
s
herring
school
and
the
bottom
left
hall,
fletcher
restrooms.
J
Renovation,
so
with
that
said,
that's
a
summary
in
a
nutshell
and
I
would
be
happy
to
field
any
questions
or
my
two
colleagues
in
the
audience
can
assist.
A
A
He
did
such
a
great
presentation,
there's
no
questions,
but
tim
and
ronnie.
Thank
thank
you
both
for
being
here
as
well.
We
really
appreciate
all
your
input
and
recommendations
from
the
our
two
county
school
systems
to
the
capitol
commission.
It's
I
really
enjoy
serving
on
there.
I
think
it's.
It's
been
one
of
the
best
processes
we've
put
together
in
recent
years
for
good
communication
and
planning
between
the
different
districts
and
so
and
max
thanks
for
serving
us
chair.
We
really
appreciate
it.
You're.
J
Very
welcome
and
again
I
really
I
I
just
re-emphasize
it's
a
very
collaborative
process.
We
invite
the
stakeholders
to
the
table,
they
bring
their
priorities,
and
that
goes
they
put
a
lot
of
time
and
effort
into
making
those
priorities
and
making
them
genuine.
Thank
you.
Thank
you.
Thank
you
very
much.
A
That
is
probably
it's.
I'm
sorry,
just
it's
just
a
leftover
from
her
last
nintendo
we're
good.
Let's
do
it
again.
It
was
so
good.
Last.
A
Okay,
sorry
deja
vu.
Didn't
we
just
talk
about
this?
Okay
right,
we
come
to
public
hearings,
so
the
public
hearings
are
related
to
the
local
national
recovery
funding
for
several
projects
that
are
defined
as
economic
development
projects
and
tim
love.
Our
director
of
intergovernmental
relations
will
present
this
item.
K
Good
evening,
chair
and
commissioners
this
evening
we
have
a
public
hearing
request
and
to
get
that
going.
We'll
have
a
quick
presentation.
As
you
know,
you've
approved
items
for
the
american
rescue
plan,
local
fiscal
recovery
fund.
But,
as
chair
newman
said,
some
of
those
items
do
require
a
public
hearing.
I
saw
a
request
this
evening.
At
the
november
16th
meeting,
the
board
of
commissioners
approved
a
number
of
items
as
discussed
these.
K
So
just
one
public
hearing,
however,
three
separate
votes,
one
vote
for
each
of
the
appropriations
that
are
listed
on
the
slide,
and
so
those
appropriations
relate
to
the
asheville
area,
arts,
council,
eagle
market
streets
and
the
self-help
ventures
fund,
and
before
we
go
any
further,
I
just
wanted
to
recognize
that
we've
got
representatives
from
those
organizations
in
the
audience
today.
The
arts
council
here
katie
cornell
eagle
market
street
stephanie,
is
here
with
us
as
well,
and
we've
got
a
representative
from
mountain
bizworks.
K
Matt
raker
self-help
isn't
with
us
today,
but
matt
is
representing
on
behalf
so
again
today,
requesting
a
single
public
hearing
to
collect
community
input
on
those
three
items,
but
then
three
separate
votes
for
today
so
I'll
be
pretty
brief
and
just
kind
of
go
over
each
of
the
appropriations
so
to
the
asheville
area.
Arts
council,
approximately
fifty
thousand
dollars
for
the
creative
sector
recovery
grant.
K
The
spirit
of
this
is
to
create
new
jobs,
retain
jobs
and
rehire
jobs
in
the
arts
sector,
and
that
would
be
spearheaded
by
the
asheville
area:
arts
council
for
eagle
market
streets,
development,
corporation
375
thousand
dollars
for
the
community
equity
fund.
K
The
self-help
ventures
fund
for
a
1.25
million
dollars.
This
relates
to
the
mountain
community
capital
fund,
which
is
an
initiative
that
this
board
approved
approximately
three
years
ago.
It's
a
partnership
with
the
city
of
asheville,
as
well
as
buncombe
county
and
three
community
development,
financial
institutions,
those
are
self-help,
mountain
biz
works
and
carolina
small
business.
K
Again.
This
program
seeks
to
create,
retain
and
rehire
jobs
for
small
businesses
impacted
by
coven
19
through
the
form
of
a
loan
guarantee
program.
So
those
are
our
three
appropriations.
I
know
that
you've
all
reviewed
many
materials
before
allocating
funds
in
our
last
meeting,
but
just
wanted
to
sort
of
reiterate
that
for
the
those
watching
at
home,
so
back
to
our
request
again
board
of
commissioners
to
conduct
a
single
public
hearing
to
gather
feedback
on
all
three
appropriations.
A
L
M
M
The
state
budget
did
include
15
million
dollars
for
the
arts
in
this
fiscal
year.
That
is
arp
funding
that
will
be
given
to
the
north
carolina
arts,
council
and
a
large
portion
of
it
will
be
distributed
on
a
per
capita
basis
to
all
the
counties.
As
the
designated
arts
agency
for
buncombe
county
that
will
come
to
the
asheville
area,
arts
council
for
distribution,
it
will
not
likely
come
in
this
fiscal
year,
though,
from
what
we
understand
it
will
probably
be
distributed
in
fy
23
and
maybe
split
over
fy,
23
and
24..
M
H
O
N
A
Any
opposed
so
I
just
want
to
say
thanks
to
the
three
organizations
that
brought
these
projects
forward.
These
are
all
really
very
innovative
proposals
and,
as
folks
know,
you
know,
the
commission
reviewed
over
a
hundred
well
over
100
different
proposals,
and
I
think
these
really
stood
out.
A
And
so
thank
you
all
for
helping
to
support
the
entrepreneurs
and
the
people
who
dream
of
being
an
entrepreneur
and
a
local
business
owner
in
our
community
to
help
make
that
a
reality.
So,
thanks
for
your
great
work
and
we
look
forward
to
updates
on
it
as
you
all
move
forward
and
thanks
for
being
here
tonight,
okay,
the
now
we
come
to
the
county
managers
report.
G
G
This
is
our
21st
year
and
we
average
about
24
000
visitors
over
the
23
nights.
In
our
first
week,
we've
had
already
7
500
visitors,
20
20
of
those
proceeds
will
go
to
the
buncombe
county
special
olympics.
I
do
want
to
remind
folks
that
tonight
is
our
mana
food
night
food
bank
night.
So
if
you
come,
you
can
bring
four
cans
and
you
will
get
free
entry
into
the
light
show
tonight.
A
C
Mr
chairman,
commissioners,
this
is
a
redo
just
out
of
an
abundance
of
caution
to
make
sure
we
have
all
our
t's
crossed
and
eyes
dotted
before
a
deadline
of
january,
2nd
for
acceptance
of
the
allocation
of
the
national
settlement
proceeds
back.
On
june
1st,
this
board
approved
a
resolution
which
had
sort
of
become
problematic
honestly
because
there
was
2
000,
some
lawyers
that
couldn't
agree
as
to
how
settlement
proceeds
were
going
to
be
distributed.
C
So
we
included
in
that
resolution
back
in
june
that
if
we
didn't
understand
exactly
how
and
what
part
of
the
proceeds,
the
attorneys
would
agree
to
for
allocation
that
that
resolution
would
be
voided.
So
since
that
time,
that
was
the
memorandum
of
understanding
between
the
state
and
all
local
governments
in
north
carolina,
that
is,
the
hundred
counties
and
about
14
15
municipalities.
C
All
the
municipalities
have
agreed
to
this
and
85
counties
have
agreed,
so
we've
passed
the
critical
mass,
but
by
re-passing
this
resolution
now
we
are
eliminating
that
contingency
language
to
to
abide
by
the
agreement
with
the
state
for
allocation
of
roughly
now
850
million
dollars
of
the
26,
odd
million
billion,
which
would
be
going
to
the
settlement
and
also
this
resolution.
Passing
now
would
authorize
the
county
manager
to
accept
the
allocation
of
the
national
settlement
funds
directly
to
the
state
for
our
portion.
So
this
just
is
something
to
clean
up
that
accept.
P
P
If
I
could
just
take
one
very
brief
minute
to
share
a
quick
update
on
this
sure,
just
want
to
share
that
over
the
course
of
the
last
month
or
two
there's
been
an
opportunity
to
convene
folks
from
across
western
north
carolina
to
talk
about
not
just
the
moa,
but
how
the
actual
settlement
funds
will
be
moved.
I'd
rather
be
used
once
it
once
it
happens.
Ncacc
and
doj
have
been
convening
those
conversations
and
just
kind
of
want
to
share
back
that.
P
There
seems
to
be
a
lot
of
exciting
interest
in
cross
county
collaborations
on
some
of
the
strategies
that
we
know
would
probably
be
most
effective
if
they
didn't
stop
at
county
lines.
So
as
we
all
sort
of
prepare
for
that,
there's
certainly
a
lot
of
incredible
work
underway
in
buncombe
and
specific
to
buncombe.
But
I
think
there
are
also
some
emerging
opportunities
for
very
exciting
sort
of
partnerships
and
collaborations
with
other
folks
across
the
west.
A
A
So
towards
the
end
of
the
month,
based
on
recommendations
from
public
health
staff,
I
issued
an
updated
order
that
extended
it
out
until
the
first
tuesday
in
january
and
under
as
chair
of
the
commission,
I
had
the
authority
to
do
that,
but
I
also
wanted
to
basically
bring
the
issue
to
the
county
commission
at
our
first
meeting
of
this
month,
to
discuss
it
and
to
you
know
discern
the
support
of
the
direction
for
the
majority
of
the
board.
A
So
that's
the
purpose
of
the
discussion
this
evening
is
to
basically
decide
to
you
know
the
majority
of
the
board
can
decide
if
we
want
to
keep
this
policy
in
place
as
outlined
in
the
updated
order,
or
do
something
different,
and
obviously
this
is
an
issue
that
there's
a
wide
range
of
public
viewpoints
on
it's
either
the
best
decision
or
the
stupidest
decision,
depending
on
the.
I
A
Range
of
opinions
that
exist
in
our
community
around
these
issues,
of
course.
So,
as
I
mentioned
in
some
of
my
comments
on
it,
you
know
it's
not
for
myself,
it's
not
a
decision
that
I
took
lightly.
A
But,
of
course,
we
live
in
in
unusual
times
too,
and
because
of
the
fact
that
we're
still
in
you
know
the
holidays,
one
of
the
busiest
times
that
people
are
out
in
public
shopping,
the
fact
that
the
coveted
numbers
had
begun
rising
somewhat
again
since
earlier
in
the
month-
and
you
know
perhaps
for
myself
most
significant
in
my
personal
thinking
about
it-
was
the
emergence
over
the
during
the
thanksgiving
holidays
about
news
of
a
worrisome,
new
variant
of
covid,
which
we
don't
know
a
lot
more
about
now
than
we
did
then.
A
But
I
think
the
expectation
is
that
over
the
next
couple
of
weeks,
we'll
know
a
lot
more
about
it,
because
all
the
leading
worlds,
health
organizations
are
looking
this
to
try
to
determine
if
it's
just
one
more
variant.
That
might
not
have
a
lot
of
consequence
on
this
or
might
be
something
that's
more
dangerous
from
a
public
health
perspective.
A
But
in
light
of
that
uncertainty
for
myself
and
I
think
most
of
the
commissioners,
I
had
a
chance
to
speak
with
felt
that
keeping
the
policy
in
place
through
the
end
of
the
year
was
the
right
call
to
make
at
that
time,
but
I'll
be
happy
to
open
it
up,
and
let
any
other
commissioner
share
their
thoughts.
I
think
we
should
have
a
motion
on
this
just
to
go
ahead
and
make
it
clear
what
the
majority
position
of
the
board
is
on
this
policy.
A
N
N
I
guess,
but
you
know
when
you
look
at
the
seriousness
of
what's
going
on
with
the
virus
and
I'll
be
the
first
to
say,
I
hate
wearing
the
mask,
but
I
want
to
stay
around
a
few
more
years
too,
but
I
really
think,
though
we
need
to
look
at
that
rather
than
every
month
or
so
you
know
have
to
extend
it.
Q
B
K
Q
There,
but
I
also
wish
there
was,
I
don't
I
think,
there'd
be
benefit
in
giving
the
community
a
goal
and
kind
of
tying
this
to
some
sort
of
metrics,
whether
it's
a
percentage
of
the
population
getting
vaccinated
or
ace
rate,
or
maybe
a
couple
overlapping
metrics.
Q
Q
A
Yeah,
you
know,
I
think
that,
like
the
principle
of
it
makes
sense,
you
know
to
find
some
objective
criteria
and
then
follow
those
and
when
they're
met
they're
met
when
they're
until
they're
not
met
they're,
not
met.
I
I
get
that
I'm
not
against
kind
of
the
principle
of
it.
I
guess
I
would
say
for
myself
in
terms
of
thinking
about
what
some
of
those
principles
are.
A
You
know,
if
you
talk
to
folks
who
work
there,
they
would
say
the
hospital
really
truly
was
being
overwhelmed
and
they
could
not
provide
adequate
care
for
folks
who
were
there,
because
there
were
so
many
sick
folks
coming
in.
That
affects
not
just
the
care
of
folks
who
have
coveted,
but
also
anything
else
that
you
might
need
hospital
care
for
too,
because
there's
just
not
enough
personnel
to
to
take
care
of
everyone.
A
So
I
think
the
preservation
of
the
capacity
of
the
hospital
is
is
to
me
the
most
important
of
the
different
factors
that
ought
to
be
considered,
and
I
do
think
that
there
is.
You
know.
I
think
there
is
a
fair
likelihood
that
the
levels
of
just
overall
transmission
might
remain.
What's.
According
to
you
know,
some
of
these
standards
is
considered
high.
I
mean
that
may
remain
the
case
for
a
very
long
time.
A
A
The
other
factor
getting
beyond
the
holidays
to
me
is
I'll,
be
glad
when
we're
through
that
from
a
health
standpoint
and
the
other
one
that,
I
think,
gives
me
a
lot
of
optimism
is
the
development
of
some
of
the
new
treatments
for
covid
that,
based
on
this,
you
know,
studies
that
have
been
done
provide
very
effective
treatments
when
folks
receive
them
within
the
first
five
days
of
developing
symptoms,
the
pfizer
one
has
been
reported
to
reduce
hospitalizations
by
85
percent,
so
it
appears
we
are
about
to
be
in
an
era
of
much
more
effective
treatments
for
covid
for
folks,
and
they
can
you
know
these
will
be
over
the
counter
you
they
will
not
require
a
doctor
to
administer,
they
will
require
prescription,
but
my
hope
is
that
that'll,
you
know,
will
find
us
in
a
place
where
people
should
still
be
careful.
A
Vaccinations
are
still
very
important,
but
the
disease
will
be
a
lot
less
threatening
to
folks,
because
we
have
much
more
effective
treatments
if
those
are
the
kind
of
environments
that
we
find
ourselves
in
early
next
year.
For
myself,
I
honestly
would
be
inclined
to
not
extend
the
mask
requirement.
Further,
I
believe
the
vaccines
are
very
safe
and
very
effective,
and
people
have
had
almost
a
year
to
take
them
and
some
folks
have
chosen
not
to,
and
I
think
that
I'm
I'm.
A
I
have
a
lot
of
reservations
about
having
a
sort
of
society-wide
requirement
to
try
to
influence
the
decisions
of
of
just
some
parts
of
our
community.
That's
my
personal
perspective
on
it.
Any
other
thoughts
folks
might
want
to
share.
A
All
right,
thank
you
all,
commissioners.
Next
we
come
to
this
election
of
vice
chair.
This
is
a
decision
that
we
make
each
year
and
I
think,
based
on
there's
a
state
law
that
says
we
have
to
do
it
at
this
date
or
effective.
What's
is
it
effective
at
this
date
or
refresh
me
on
the
details
of
that
mr
frew.
C
A
H
A
A
And
commissioner
edwards
thank
you
for
being
willing
to
serve
this
coming
year.
Thank
you.
A
R
Good
evening,
mr
chairman
commissioners,
the
item
before
you
tonight
has
to
do
with
the
reallocation
of
an
existing
award
approved
by
the
board
of
commissioners.
If
you'll
recall,
through
the
budgeting
process
last
year,
mountain
housing
opportunities
was
identified
to
receive
an
eight
hundred
thousand
dollar
fy22,
affordable
housing
services
program
loan.
R
That
award
was
contingent
on
their
receipt
of
low-income
housing
tax
credit
funding.
So
they
were
in
the
middle
of
an
award
application
process.
Mho
did
not
receive
that
funding
and
subsequently
actually
sought
funding
recovery
funding
through
the
board,
which
has
been
approved
so
that
project
is
moving
forward,
but
that
loan
is
no
longer
needed
to
support
the
project.
R
So,
at
its
november
16th
meeting
the
affordable
housing
committee
moved
to
recommend
that
the
board
of
commissioners
support
tenant-based
rental
assistance
activities
that
weren't
initially
funded
through
the
review
of
applications
for
this
fiscal
year,
using
a
portion
of
that
eight
hundred
thousand
dollars
in
funding
that
is
now
available
in
your
agenda
item
you'll
see
listed
a
fifteen
thousand
dollar
grant
for
tenant-based
rental
assistance
for
the
arc
of
buncombe
county.
One
hundred
thousand
dollar
grant
for
evelyn
charities,
tenant-based
rental
assistance
program.
R
As
well
as
a
thirteen
thousand
five
hundred
dollar
grant
for
the
elida
homes,
tenant-based
rental
assistance
program,
the
affordable
housing
committee
plans
to
consider
recommendations
on
the
balance
of
funds.
So
of
that
available,
eight
hundred
thousand
dollars
a
balance
of
six
hundred
and
seventy
one
thousand
dollars
would
be
available
for
future
reallocation.
R
The
arc
of
buncombe
county
intends
to
serve
individuals
with
disabilities,
intent-based
rental
assistance,
so
it's
a
specialized
population
allied
of
homes
is
intended
to
serve
youth
that
are
coming
out
of
their
programs
and
looking
for
placement,
so
tenant-based
rental
assistance
to
get
them
into
housing
and
then
eblin
charities
targets,
older
adults
that
aren't
typically
eligible
for
other
funding
streams
made
available
to
families.
R
Eblin
has
regularly
received
that
funding
in
prior
years.
Elida
holmes
has
regularly
or
actually
has
received
that
funding
in
prior
years.
So
this
will
be
their
second
allocation.
The
ark
of
buncombe
county
received
funding
a
number
of
years
ago
through
the
program,
and
this
is
their
first
time
re-entering
for
tenant-based
rental
assistance
in
in
some
years.
A
And
I
think,
as
you
know,
this
was
noted,
like
I
think,
as
we've
lived
into
the
pandemic
stuff,
like
we've
recognized
that
the
cares
funding
and
things
like
that
have
been
tremendously
beneficial
and
important,
but
that
there
are
gaps
there
there.
There
are
folks
that
it
cannot
be
used
to
help.
So
there's
an
important
need
here
that
we
need
to
help
fill.
Q
Motion
yeah,
all
second
I'll
second,
make
sure
edward's.
A
All
right
any
questions
all
in
favor,
please
say
aye
aye,
any
opposed
all
right,
thanks,
matt
and
next
up
is
consideration
of
kovid
of
covid
premium
pay
policy
and
heather
parkinson
will
help
us
with
this.
O
So
the
formal
request
that
I
will
have
is
to
ask
you
to
approve
the
policy
that
should
be
in
your
packets
and
I'll
go
into
a
little
bit
more
detail
on
the
next
slide,
but
as
a
generality,
it
includes
or
involves
employee
compensation.
So
we
want
to
make
sure
that
we
have
a
formal
policy
in
place
and
that
you
all
approve
it
background
is
that
in
september
of
this
year
you
all
approved
1
million
40
000
of
arpa
funds
for
covid
premium
pay
that
is
premium
pay
for
buncombe
county
employees.
O
O
An
overview
of
the
policy
that
you
have
before
you
is
that
it
is
meant
to
provide
a
one-time
monetary
incentive
or
payment
for
active
eligible
employees.
I'll
note
that
employees
must
be
active
at
the
time
of
payout
and
it's
only
available
for
staff
that
incurred
a
specific
covit
19
risk
during
a
specific
time
period.
Time
period
is
march,
10th
2020
through
march
10,
2021.,
documentation
of
that
risk
and
eligibility
is
required
per
federal
guidelines
and
the
federal
guidance
does
list
a
threshold.
O
When
the
county
looked
at
eligibility
for
all
county
employees,
we
identified
some
high-risk
employees
that
worked
in
first
responder
or
public
health
duties
that
we
would
provide
exceptional
documentation
that
that
rise
above
that
threshold
and
that's
what
in
looking
at
those
individuals.
What
we
found
is
the
nature
of
their
duties,
required
them
to
work
longer
hours
and
to
incur
over
time
that
put
them
over
that
threshold.
So
that
is
just
the
one
exception
that
I
want
to
point
out.
O
Details
of
the
eligibility
there
are
four
categories,
starting
with
the
top
is
the
the
core
coveted
group.
These
are
individuals
that
worked
75
of
every
day
in
that
time
period
and
were
critical
to
the
county's
response
to
getting
those
first
testing
sites
up
to
the
communication
out
to
the
public.
The
coordination
planning
et
cetera.
It's
just
a
select
group
of
individuals,
followed
by
the
high
risk
category.
O
These
employees
are
worked
on
the
front
lines
50
of
every
day
and
their
job
required.
Direct
customer
contact,
and
that's
physical
contact
in
this
category
think
first
responders
medium
to
low
risk
category.
These
employees
again
worked
50
out
of
every
day
in
that
time
period
and
their
job
required
them
to
have
indirect
customer
contact.
O
They
provided
a
mandated
service
to
the
public.
Here.
I
think
where
we
were
able
to
put
some
barriers
in
place,
but
they
still
had
shared
surfaces
and
still
had
to
be
out
in
public,
and
then
this
last
category
was
really
meant
to
capture
anyone
else
that
we
we
needed
to
have
reassigned
in
order
to
respond
to
the
pandemic.
So
they
we
had
staff
that
was
reassigned
to
the
testing
sites
and
to
the
vaccine
sites
and
or
delivered
supplies
out
into
the
community
and
had
direct
contact.
O
O
H
O
A
The
last
item
under
new
business
is
consideration
of
a
budget
amendment
for
community
development,
staffing
and
county-owned
property
feasibility
studies,
and
are
we
doing
this?
Okay,
all
right?
Okay,
commissioners,
there's
a
staff
report
here.
This
is
a
recommendation.
That's
coming
to
the
board
from
the
affordable
housing
committee
and
basically
it's
for
you
know.
The
our
community
development
department
has
lost
some
staffing
who
had
some
opportunities,
and
so
the
part
of
this
is
filling
in
some
important
positions,
as
well
as
adding
some
staff
at
our
retreat.
A
This
weekend,
we're
to
be
hearing
more
from
our
staff
and
from
the
subcommittee
about
setting
some
very
ambitious
goals
for
expansion
of
affordable
housing,
construction
and
development
in
buncombe
county,
including
consideration
of
potential
opportunities
on
some
county-owned
properties.
We've
already
been
exploring
such
opportunities
like
that
at
early
stages,
of
course,
on
ferry
road,
but
we
think
that
there
are
other
opportunities
as
well
and
with
buildable
high
quality
quality
land
being
one
of
our
most
important
limiting
factors
for
new,
affordable
housing
development
in
the
in
the
community.
A
Looking
at
some
of
these
opportunities,
where
the
taxpayers
already
owned
real
estate
is,
I
think,
staff
in
the
subcommittee
feel
like
that's
an
important
opportunity
to
explore
so,
but
these
positions
are
also
just
important
to
effectively
administer
our
existing
services.
We've
heard
tonight
about
several
of
the
different
programs
that
the
county
supports
as
it
relates
to
affordable
housing
services,
and
so
these
positions
are
also
simply
important
to
maintain
the
county's
current
level
of
programming
and
services
and
partnerships
in
the
affordable
housing
space.
So
that's
what
these
budget
amendments.
A
A
A
S
A
P
A
All
in
favor,
please
say
aye
aye
any
opposed.
We
come
to
the
via
help
board
advisory
position
and
there's
a
need
to
appoint
a
commissioner
to
serve
and
then
one
other
position
as
well.
G
A
A
A
I'll
make
a
motion
to
appoint
commissioner
jasmine
beach,
ferrara
and
and
and
also
dk
wesley,
to
continue
serving
perspective.
Okay,
all
right,
all
in
favor,
please
say
aye
hi,
any
opposed
all
right.
Thank
you
both
for
representing
us
on
this
important
important
board.
A
All
right,
then,
let
me
make
a
couple
of
quick
announcements
on
december
9th
at
12
p.m.
The
county
commissioners
will
hold
a
budget
retreat
at
a
b
tech,
9
genevieve
circle,
asheville
north
carolina
2801
on
january
4th
at
3
pm.
The
county
commissioners
will
hold
their
briefing
meeting
at
200
college
street
room
326
in
downtown
nashville
january
4th
at
5
pm.
The
county
commissioner's
regular
meeting
at
200
college
street
room
326
in
downtown
asheville
will
be
held
at
again
at
5
pm.