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Watauga Commissioners To Meet Tuesday Morning

By Jesse Wood

The Watauga County Board of Commissioners will meet at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 2, for its first meeting of the month. The meeting takes place in the Watauga County Administration Building.

Agenda items include a review of bids for the new medic base being built in between Cove Creek and Vilas. The bid opening was scheduled for Jan. 28. Those bids, however, weren’t included in the meeting packet because they weren’t available in time for preparation of the meeting packet, County Manager Deron Geouque wrote in a memo to the commissioners.

Ann Browning, executive director of the Middle Fork Greenway, is requesting that the county authorize the submission of a $100,000 Recreational Trails Program grant.

“The grant would be used to construct a trail to be located on a 12-acre parcel of land along the Middle Fork of the New River. The trail would connect sections of the Middle Fork Greenway. A future application will be requested to be submitted to the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund to supplement the Recreational Trails Program grant. In total, $600,000 would be potentially available if both applications are successful and funded to the maximum. It is staff’s understanding that the property with trail will be requested to be transferred to County ownership in the future. No County match is required.

Board action is requested to approve the pre-application to the Recreational Trails Program in the amount of $100,000,” a memo to commissioners reads.

The commissioners’ annual budget retreat is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 22 ( noon to 6 p.m.) and Tuesday, Feb. 23 (9 a.m. to noon). A tentative draft of the retreat’s agenda can be viewed here.

Extension Agent Wendy Patoprsty will update the board on watershed projects in Watauga County.

The Watauga County Sheriff’s Office is requesting approval to submit a $23,000 grant for new mobile computers and rifles. The grant, which is available from the N.C. Governor’s Crime Commission, doesn’t require a county match.

Watauga County Recycling Coordinator Heather Bowen will request approval to apply for a grant from N.C. Division of Environment and Natural Resources to purchase four roll off recycling containers to be placed at Cove Creek, Mabel, and Bethel elementary schools.

“The total cost would be $24,160 with grant funds to pay $20,000. No County funds

would be required with the School Board paying the required match,” according to a memo from Geouque. “Currently, School personnel pick-up and transport the recyclables to the County transfer station. The new roll off containers would be picked-up and transported by County personnel to the transfer station.”

See the entire meeting packet here.