In the wake of some very harsh criticism concerning the contaminated former CTS site, the Buncombe County commissioners defended their handling of the issue.
At the Board of Commissioners’ March 25 meeting, many residents of the Mills Gap Road area had said the board hadn’t done enough and had turned a deaf ear to their complaints.
But those barbs spurred a response at the commissioners’ April 8 meeting, when they bought in Environmental Health Director Marc Fowler to explain the county’s actions in the CTS case.
Currently, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources are conducting water and health assessments of the area around the site.
“What this will do is identify individuals who are exposed one way or another,” Fowler explained. “The end goal is to take people exposed to contaminants out of that situation, whether it’s getting them off of ground water if it’s drinking water, or addressing soil vapor around the community.”
Once the health assessment is complete, said Fowler, it will be presented to the public, though it’s unclear how soon that might happen.
County health officials, he added, are coordinating their efforts with the state and federal agencies involved.
“I think all of us have been to public hearings where there are a lot of questions about responsibility,” noted Vice Chair David Gantt. “So who is responsible?”
“We don’t really have one-stop shopping with a board of experts you can approach,” Fowler replied. “I know everyone’s desperate for answers, and we’re trying to move to that place.”
He added that DENR has responsibility for ground water, and the EPA handles vapors.
“So we couldn’t get involved if we wanted to because, under law, it’s the state that takes care below the ground and EPA handles above?” Gantt asked.
Assistant County Attorney Michael Frue agreed, adding that the law “really limits the steps we can take, and I know it seems to people like this is taking a long time.”
CTS, which owns the site, has been complying with the steps DENR and the EPA have directed them to take. The company has hired MACTEC, an environmental consulting firm, to help fix the problems, noted Fowler.
“I’m sure if you asked the current owners, they’d say they’re doing everything they can to comply with the current order,” said Frue.
Respect your elders
by Kent Priestley
Let’s face it, folks: We’re not getting any younger. As the baby boom generation begins to retire, the Asheville area is graying, and the trend will probably accelerate during the next few decades. By 2030, Buncombe County is projected to have 285,000 residents (up from about 222,000 now)—nearly a third of whom will be 60 or older.
That shift will have major consequences for our community, from the need for expanded social services and health care to architectural-design changes to accommodate older people’s needs.
At their April 8 meeting, the Buncombe County commissioners heard a report from the Buncombe County Livable and Aging-Friendly Community Planning Task Force. The name may be a bit windy, but its message is crucial, says Joe Connolly, director of the Land-of-Sky Regional Council’s Area Agency on Aging. Connolly is one of 60 members serving on the task force.
“I don’t think we’re prepared for this change, the magnitude of it,” he says. “And that’s not just Buncombe County—I’m speaking of us as a nation in general.”
While the nation faces its own challenges of an aging work force and the question of how it will pay for Social Security and health care for the growing ranks of elderly, in Buncombe County the situation is no less urgent. On average, the county’s population is already 7 percent older than that of the rest of the state—a fact attributable, in part, to Asheville’s popularity as a retirement destination.
Looking after an aging population, the task force notes, requires a health system that offers expanded geriatric care, a job market that sees the merits of older employees, housing that encourages independence, and a safe and extensive public transportation system. The coming demographic shift may even affect the way we have fun, Connolly suggests.
“Our older adults don’t like to travel downtown at night to see the symphony,” he says. “So is it possible for something like that to take place at different times? Those are the questions we need to ask ourselves.”
The report—which the board unanimously approved—includes 116 recommendations for making Asheville and Buncombe County what Connolly calls an “aging-friendly” community.
Now comes the hard part: acting on them.
“As they say, ‘A plan is just a plan,’” notes Connolly.
And though the county is not the lead agency in the situation, Fowler said that if contamination shows up in any other residents’ wells, the Health Department will help ensure that they’re provided with city water. This has already been done with two homes in the area, he noted.
Assistant County Manager Mandy Stone, who’s overseeing the effort, said that county officials are passing along questions raised by members of the public to the agencies handling the matter. The newly convened CTS Citizens Monitoring Council, made up of concerned residents, will soon be doing the same, she added.
“We’re arranging for everyone involved in the assessments to meet with them directly,” noted Stone. “We also continue to test wells outside the one-mile radius [surrounding the plant] at the request of residents.”
Gantt, meanwhile, said the county is “riding herd on the state and federal people to make sure they do what they’re supposed to. We’ll continue to test anyone’s well, and we set up a citizens’ board—not even asked to by the EPA—because we thought it was important that they get the information straight from the horse’s mouth.”
Board Chair Nathan Ramsey added: “A lot of people out there are concerned, and justifiably so. Hopefully we’ll know some more in a short period of time.”
A park around the bend
On the heels of Haw Creek residents’ successful bid for county assistance in creating a new park in their neighborhood, the Bent Creek community came before the board with their own park request, though their approach was radically different.
Rather than asking for a big chunk of money to buy property, Bent Creek residents—who had already cleaned up a vacant, 22-acre county-owned property off Idlewood Drive—merely wanted to confirm their long-standing use of it with a lease. And while the Haw Creek Park took three months to win the commissioners’ final approval, this vote was quick and unanimous, granting the group a five-year lease for $1 a year.
“It serves as a hub both geographically and socially,” explained Mike Turner, speaking for the Bent Creek Community Park Assocation. “It’s promoted a lot of people to be proactive.” The group has spearheaded renovation of the site and installed playground equipment bought with money raised from yard sales and private donations.
Commissioner David Young praised the project as “one of those good-news stories—and a great partnership.” Gantt, meanwhile, hailed it as “an example for other communities.”
Enka resident Jerry Rice said he hopes the county’s Parks and Recreation Department will help the community find grants and provide services for the park.
Don Yelton, who’s seeking a seat on the Board of Commissioners, also got in on the act, calling the park “the prime example of the community taking the initial effort. I suggest in your Parks & Rec plan of the future, that needs to be the necessary element. You can’t make people want something—let them come to you first.”
Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow...
County planning staff are looking 12 years out, said County Manager Wanda Greene as she presented the county’s Buncombe 2020 plan. The document calls for bringing in manufacturing jobs that are hard to ship overseas, creating more green space, preserving agriculture, reducing the dropout rate to zero, and promoting affordable housing. The commissioners unanimously approved the plan.
“One of the major steps,” said Greene, “is to consider the density, the utilities, the road capacity and the environmental impact of any development decision we make.” A master plan for utilities in the county is in the works, she noted.
Another key component, said Greene, is aligning educational programs with local employment opportunities, so that “students can move from the classroom, with scholarships and family support, into good-paying jobs.”
Affordable housing—the focus of another plan that will be unveiled soon—will be tackled via a series of incentives for developers, said Greene.
“I think this is a really solid [overrall] plan and gives us good direction for the next few years,” she observed.
“We already have the best county in the state,” declared Commissioner Bill Stanley, who’s served on the board for 20 years, “and this will just keep it that way.” Stanley, one of four current board members seeking re-election this year, helped craft the plan.
In other business, the board unanimously approved a tax-increment-financing district for the town of Woodfin.
The controversial tool was narrowly approved by state voters in 2004. The current measure allows Woodfin to borrow money—in the form of county-issued bonds—to help finance an ambitious plan to create a central business district. The money, borrowed against the projected increase in property-tax revenues, will fund needed infrastructure, such as roads and sewer lines, for the project.
The developer—in this case, Reynolds Mountain—will pay off the bonds. And if they defaulted, noted Frue, the county would have priority among the creditors.
Before the meeting, Swannanoa resident Eric Gorny reminded the commissioners that “Amendment 1 [the state ballot measure that authorized TIF districts via a referendum] didn’t pass in Buncombe County.”
But Ramsey replied, “I think this can be a good tool, and this is exactly the right use for it.”
After hearing pleas from representatives of local manufacturers, Mission Hospitals and the school system, the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a work-force housing plan at their April 15 meeting that could provide up to $5,000 per unit in county-backed loans to developers.
Developers who build 100 or more apartment or condo units or 50-plus single-family homes affordable by residents earning 80 to 140 percent of the county’s median household income could qualify for $2,500 per unit in county-backed low-interest loans. The amount could increase to $5,000 per unit if the developer met other requirements, such as making a percentage of the units affordable by even lower-income residents and incorporating environmentally friendly building practices.
The assistance will take one of two forms: Either the developer can take out a no-interest loan with the county, payable once the homes are sold, with the affordability written into the deed for 5 years; or, the construction loan can be rolled into another mortgage for the homebuyer. If the second option is taken, the loan is repayable once the homebuyer no longer lives in the home, at the percent the price of the home has increased.
Representatives of major employers in the county said they’re having major problems recruiting and retaining employees due to the rising cost of living here.
John Bellows of Unison Engine Components said his company is losing employees to other areas. “We’ve been doing business here for over 50 years—our business is going through a very rapid expansion,” said Bellows. “Our work force is the constraint that’s holding us back from further growth. ... The lack of affordable work-force housing is a critical constraint to attracting new employees and maintaining our existing work force. We are losing professional employees to other locations—and one of the main reasons is that it’s so hard to buy a home.” The company, which manufactures jet parts, employs 375 people locally.
Mission Hospitals, the area’s biggest employer, faces similar problems, said Maria Roloff, the vice president for human resources.
“It is taking longer and longer to fill critical jobs,” she reported. “A person whose basic living needs are not being met and who lacks safe and affordable housing will not be a productive worker. The increase in the cost of housing, compounded by the cost of gas, has become a huge concern. A growing percentage of turnover is attributed to relocation. Even professional staff are finding it more and more difficult to purchase decent, affordable housing [within] a reasonable commute to their jobs.”
Even nurses, pharmacists and managers, noted Roloff, have turned down jobs due to the cost of living. “The beauty of our region and our reputation are no longer as efficient a draw for those who can find better, more affordable housing opportunities in other areas,” she said.
Reynolds firefighter Richard Sells also spoke in favor of the plan.
“We have eight full-time employees: One is renting, another is searching for a house and finding it very difficult to find something he can afford,” said Sells. “I think this is greatly needed. We need some relief; we’re seeing a trend of people coming from out of county. They’re not living here because of the price of a house.”
No one on the board disagreed.
“It should be noted that Unison pays very good wages—well in excess of what many of our own county employees make,” Chairman Nathan Ramsey observed. “I think that shows the sort of situation we’re in here.”
More CTS contamination found
County staff confirmed that small amounts of trichloroethylene—an industrial chemical that can cause cancer, liver and brain damage—has been found in a third well near the site of the former CTS plant on Mills Gap Road. The well, about half a mile from the plant in The Oaks subdivision, serves seven families. The well was found to have 0.7 parts per billion of TCE.
Although that is well below the thresholds set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (5 parts per billion) and the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources (3 parts per billion), the board unanimously approved putting the subdivision on city water and instructing the Board of Health to develop criteria to discourage future well-drilling in the area until the situation is resolved. The Health Department has the authority to shut down contaminated wells.
Assistant County Manager Mandy Stone told Xpress that the county will foot the bill for installing city water. She added that a cost estimate is still being devised, but that “we’ve already been in conversations with the city’s water people about solving this situation—and they’ve agreed to do what needs to be done.”
Patriot and patriarch
by Kent Priestley
Here’s what we know about Martin Maney: Born near Dublin, Ireland, in 1752, he was brought across the sea as an indentured servant.
His master in America, Fielding Lewis, owned a plantation near Fredericksburg, Va., and was brother-in-law to an obscure historical figure named George Washington.
In 1775, Maney traded servitude for a uniform, enlisting in the 8th Virginia Regiment of the Continental Army and fighting with apparent valor against his former neighbors, the British.
Like an 18th-century Forrest Gump, Maney had a knack for being on hand for momentous events. In the fall of 1776 he fought by General Washington’s side at White Plains, N.Y. The following year he clashed with British Gen. William Howe’s troops at Germantown, near Philadelphia. A year later, Maney survived the sprawling and torrid Battle of Monmouth, N.J., the last conflict of the war’s northern theater.
His enlistment up, Maney could have taken a little downtime. Instead he joined the North Carolina Militia, serving out the remainder of the war within its ranks. As if that weren’t enough, a few years later Maney served as personal bodyguard to Gen. John Sevier, who later became governor of Tennessee.
When Maney finally settled down, it was in Buncombe County. From 1797 until his death in 1830—with just a few years spent away—Maney called the Big Ivy community, near Barnardsville, home.
His descendents have always been proud of his history, but until very recently they didn’t know where he lay. “We knew that his burial site was somewhere on this parcel, on land that he was granted for serving his country,” says Carol Maney, who lives with her husband, Ed, on part of the original Maney land grant from 1797. “The cemetery is right behind our house.”
Fieldstones within the plot mark the burial place of Maney’s eldest son, as well as two other children who died in adolescence. Research by another Maney descendent, Georgia genealogist Milus Maney, suggested that their patriot father was buried close by.
“It only makes sense,” says Carol Maney.
Last fall, with funds from the Department of Veterans Affairs and private donations, headstones were erected to mark where Martin Maney and his wife, Keziah Vann Maney, are believed to be buried. Their original residence, expanded over the years from an original hewn-log cabin, stands nearby.
At their April 15 meeting, the Buncombe County commissioners declared April 15 Martin Maney Day. On May 17, beginning at 2 p.m., a public dedication ceremony will take place at the Maney gravesite at 68 Paint Fork Road in Barnardsville.
“It’s going to be quite an event,” says Maney.
“My guess, if there’s even a trace of it, I can’t imagine people feel comfortable putting their kids in that bath water or drinking that water,” said Commissioner David Young. “I really think we have to move fast to come up with something on these issues and get these folks on safe drinking water. You just can’t assure people enough once you’ve found it. No one’s ever going to feel comfortable when it’s there—because how long before a trace becomes more than a trace? We’ve got to get these folks public water.”
Stone, the staff liaison for the site, said the county is also conducting a study to determine whether cancer rates are higher than normal in the area. At previous board meetings, residents have harshly criticized the commissioners, saying they didn’t act quickly enough after contamination was discovered.
Ramsey agreed about the importance of notifying people in the area, adding, “We need to develop criteria for getting anyone in that area public water in the future.”
And Vice Chair David Gantt, who’s going head to head with Ramsey for the chairman’s seat, said, “We need some sort of notification process, so if people buy a house in that area, they know what they’re getting into—because a lot of people have told us they didn’t.” The board, said Gantt, should work with local real-estate agents to implement this.
A walk on the green side
The board also approved the Greenways Master Plan developed by the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and the Land-of-Sky Regional Council. The plan calls for greenways along the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, as well as establishing a county greenways commission and staff positions to handle planning and fundraising for both greenway and park projects.
The commissioners did have some concerns about costs, however—anywhere from $250,000 to $800,000 for each mile of greenway, according to the plan’s own estimates.
“I think we’re eventually just going to have to take out a bond on this, instead of doing it piecemeal,” noted Young. “This is something that can improve a lot of people’s quality of life.”
Ramsey agreed, adding, “The cost is something that has to be factored in—especially the cost of land these days.”
In approving the plan, the board made no immediate financial commitment, though the plan will be factored into the budget for the next fiscal year. Unused money from a currently vacant staff position could pay for at least one of the new staffers, noted County Manager Wanda Greene.
Sam Bowls, who serves on the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, also encouraged the commissioners to adopt both the greenway plan and some of the specific components of the Parks and Recreation Master Plan, which was approved in principle in February. Those components include several large capital projects, such as building a $12 million to $25 million aquatic center.
“That would be a huge draw. These [projects] will pay for themselves,” predicted Bowls.
“I think these are some great ideas here, but I want to see some hard numbers,” said Commssioner Carol Peterson.
Bowls replied that if the staff called for in the greenways plan are hired, they can develop cost estimates for the projects.
Enka resident Jerry Rice, however, said the county should think very carefully about its priorities. “You approved the plan on aging last week, calling for a coordinator for that. You need a coordinator for the children’s services, and now all this for parks too. Human services need to come first,” Rice declared. “I love parks, and I’d like to see more up near Enka, but we need to get our priorities straight.”
Subdivide and conquer
In other business, Assistant County Manager Jon Creighton updated the board about the new subdivision rules the county is drafting, which have sparked controversy. Some in the community say the rules will loosen restrictions on developers and lead to increased disruption of the landscape.
But when viewed as part of the whole ordinance, the new rules have the opposite effect, Creighton explained. Although the current ordinance places limits on site disruption when constructing a building on a steeply sloping parcel, there is no comparable restriction for infrastructure. The proposed rule, he said, would limit such disruption to 30 to 50 percent of the steeply sloping area. “Some people have complained about that,” noted Creighton. “But ... there’s no rules on that now. We wanted to tighten our rules here.”
A proposed redefinition of “land clearance” has also drawn some fire, noted Creighton.
“The definition we’ll be using now is the same one the state uses; it’s the same one our storm-water rules uses. It covers underbrush—which can be a fire hazard—and removing single trees.”
The board will consider the proposed changes in June.
