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License Plate Agency Moving To Old AppalCART Facility Oct. 24, Part of East Annex Clearing

By Jesse Wood

The license plate agency in Boone is moving from the East Annex Building, located next to the Watauga County Courthouse, to the old AppalCART facility at 274 Winklers Creek Road in a couple weeks.

On Friday, Oct. 20, Watauga County will host a grand re-opening of the old AppalCART building for the license plate agency from noon until 2 p.m. According to Watauga County Tax Administrator Larry Warren, the location in downtown Boone will remain open for business on Oct. 20. They will physically move to the Winklers Creek location on Oct. 23 and open for business there on Oct. 24.

This move is part of the county’s overall plan to empty out the top floor of the East Annex Building and utilize the space for court-related functions. Watauga County Manager Deron Geouque said as much at a meeting earlier this year when the commissioners approved bids for security systems in the East Annex Building, the old AppalCART facility and the Human Services Center at 132 Poplar Gove Connector.

The lower floor of the East Annex Building includes the magistrate’s office and local probation/parole services. That will remain in the building. In addition to the license plate agency, the upper floor holds the Watauga County Planning & Inspections, Watauga County Veterans’ Services and the local Red Cross.

Watauga County Planning Director Joe Furman said all three of those agencies will be moving to the health department building “this fiscal year, possibly this calendar year.”

“Renovations are necessary and they have not begun,” Furman said.