Synopsis of March 25, 2024 TC Board of Commissioners Meeting

Blue Ridge Community College Capital and Operating Budget Request

BRCC President Dr. Laura Leatherwood: “Our facilities are aging. Our limiting factor in Transylvania County is our physical campus itself.” BRCC’s 2024-25 budget request includes: 1. Operations & Campus Security $698,414, 2. Capital $135,500, 3. New Campus Facilities $50,800,000. Dr. Leatherwood indicated it would likely be impossible to build a “new campus” on the existing site without shutting down the campus and that is not an option. Commissioner Teresa McCall reminded that the $50.8 million did not include land purchase, architectural design or infrastructure.

Board of Elections defended not adding a third one-stop early-vote site

Board of Elections chair Sara Champion completed a presentation of charts and numbers saying the addition of a third early-vote is unnecessary. Early sites are planned for Brevard and Rosman; however, more registered voters live in North Transylvania than in Brevard’s four precincts. The Board of Commissioners asked to see further study of an early site serving primarily Boyd, Little River, Pisgah Forest, and Williamson Creek precincts. Soon-to-begin road construction as well as unsafe Election-Day traffic and parking at the Boyd precinct are other reasons to have such a site.

Board of Commissioners is not happy with Board of Education

Despite agreement on the recently released Maintenance Reserve Study, the Board of Commissioners referenced several inconsistencies in the BOE applying approved dollars to projects. Commission Chair Jason Chappell likened it to a “shell game.” The Commissioners invoked the idea of the BOC assuming project management. Money for FY21 projects was re-directed by the BOE and not applied to project need. These concerns are on top of an 18.4% increase in the FY25 local budget request of the County Commissioners.