Buncombe County Board of Commissioners preview: Feb. 16 meeting

Buncombe County’s adult care facilities are receiving more and more young people with mental illness, patients the facilities are not designed for and that staff is not trained to treat, reports Buncombe County’s Adult Care Home Community Advisory Committee. That group will present its report to the Buncombe County Commissioners on Tuesday, Feb. 16.

“The supervisors and staff of adult care and family care homes do not have appropriate training to handle residents with severe, persistent mental illness, thus endangering everyone in the home, including staff,” reads the report.

Additionally, adult care homes located in Buncombe County are straining to support an influx of patients transferred from South Carolina, and some are reaching “unacceptable” levels of disrepair, the report says.

Commissioners will also hear a roundup of conservation easements negotiated last year. In 2009, according to the report, 10 easements were established representing 1,597 acres in Buncombe County. Such easements are granted to property owners who agree to preserve farmland and wooded areas from development in exchange for tax breaks.

The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners will meet on 4:30 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 16, in the commissioners’ chambers at 30 Valley St. A short pre-meeting review of the agenda will begin at 4:15 p.m. Click here for the complete agenda.

— Brian Postelle, staff writer

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

One thought on “Buncombe County Board of Commissioners preview: Feb. 16 meeting

  1. francois Manavit

    Why not use the conservation easements to park , help and heal the mentally ills?
    How can we save lands but abandon humans ?….

Leave a Reply to francois Manavit ×

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.