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Blowing Rock Council To Meet Tuesday: Cross-County Voting, Moody Building Project, More

By Jesse Wood

The Blowing Rock Town Council will meet on Tuesday, Oct. 13 at Town Hall on Main Street beginning at 6 p.m.

Two Public Hearings

Artistic rendering of the potential renovation to the Moody building.
Artistic rendering of the potential renovation to the Moody building.

The council will hold two public hearings regarding proposed developments.

R&R Builders is seeking a conditional use permit to build two 2-unit town homes on Ransome Street. The buildings would be built at parcels 460 and 488 Ransome Street.

The second public hearing concerns the proposed renovation of the old Moody furniture building at 125 Sunset Drive. The applicant is RWL 1, LLC, which lists Ann Lovern as the registered agent and Robert W. Lovern as a managing member.

RWL 1 LLC is seeking to renovate the Moody building and turn it into a restaurant with outdoor dining and mixed-use retail. A house that was located toward the rear of the property was also demolished.

Elections Ruling for Blowing Rock Residents in Caldwell

Due to statewide cross-county voting changes initiated by the State Board of Elections, Blowing Rock residents that reside in Caldwell County must vote in Caldwell County and can’t vote in Blowing Rock unless they fill out a provisional ballot during one-stop or Election Day voting. There are 47 registered voters that live on the Caldwell County side of Blowing Rock.

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An entire agenda of Tuesday’s meeting is listed below and the entire meeting packet can be viewed here.

CALL TO ORDER

Mayor J.B. Lawrence

Special Recognitions and Reports

  • Highway 321 Valley Boulevard Construction Update, Speaker: Kipp Turner, Maymead Construction
  • Fire Insurance Rating, Speaker: Kent Graham, Fire Chief

CONSENT AGENDA

Speaker: Scott Fogleman, Town Manager

  1. Caldwell County Side of Blowing Rock Municipal Election Agreement

Speaker: Scott Fogleman, Town Manager

Due to State Board of Election changes, registered municipal voters are required to vote in the county in which they reside. Therefore, Caldwell County is required to conduct the upcoming municipal election for the Blowing Rock voters who reside within Caldwell County. An agreement has been prepared by the Caldwell County Board of Elections acknowledging their duty in this regard.

  1. Budget Ordinance Amendment to Account For Various Items

Speaker: Scott Fogleman, Town Manager

Several budget ordinance amendments have been consolidated to account for various items including donations to the Town from the Blowing Rock Rotary Club, St. Mary’s Catholic Church of Blowing Rock, the Blowing Rock United Methodist Church Consistent with actions at previous Council meetings and the financial impacts of those included on this agenda, the related budget ordinance amendments have been prepared. In addition, capital project closeout budget adjustments associated with the final audit from fiscal year 2014 are included.

PUBLIC HEARINGS

(Council may take action on each item following each respective public hearing)

  1. CUP Ransom Street Duplexes, Speaker: Kevin Rothrock, Planning Director

R&R Builders of North Carolina is requesting a conditional use permit to construct two (2) 2-unit townhouse buildings on Ransome Street. The subject property will be a combination of 460 and 488 Ransom Street. The properties are zoned R-6M, Multi-Family Residentaial and are located in the WSIV-PA water supply watershed. Following the public hearing, Council may take action.

  1. CUP Moody Building, Speaker: Kevin Rothrock, Planning Director

RWL 1, LLC is requesting a conditional use permit to convert the old Moody Furniture building to a restaurant/retail establishment. The subject property will be a combination of 125 Sunset Drive which is the Moody building and the rear/side property where the house was located. The properties are zoned CB, Central Business and are located in the WS-IV-PA water supply watershed. Following the public hearing, Council may take action.

DISCUSSION AGENDA

Any items removed from the consent agenda will be discussed during this portion of the agenda.

  1. Agreement for Art in the Park Beginning in 2016

Speaker: Scott Fogleman, Town Manager

A draft agreement with the Blowing Rock Chamber of Commerce has been prepared regarding the Art in the Park event series. Many of the elements remain the same as in previous agreements. This renewal contemplates changing the location of the event to Park Avenue beginning in 2016 with the resulting closure of Park Avenue to through traffic.

Property owners on Park Avenue have been notified and parking spaces for them will be reserved behind the former Fire and Rescue Building along Wallingford Drive. It also includes one change in the previously approved list of dates from May 14 to May 7 to remove a conflict with ASU graduation planned on May 14.

  1. Bid Award for Chestnut Ridge Water and Sewer Service Project

Speaker: Doug Chapman, Town Engineer

Bids have been solicited and received for the water and sewer extension project associated with Chestnut Ridge, the Post Acute Care Facility project currently under construction by the Appalachian Regional Healthcare System. An overview of the project and the recommended bid award are planned for Council consideration.

SPEAKERS FROM THE FLOOR

Prior to the meeting, anyone wishing to speak shall complete an index card supplied by the Town Clerk, on which they will provide their name, address, telephone number and the topic they wish to address. In deference to all who wish to speak, each speaker will be asked to limit his or her comments to no more than three (3) minutes.

EXECUTIVE SESSION

An executive session is currently planned.

ADJOURNMENT