The former Asheville Primary School site may move one step closer to serving the community in a new way if the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners approves plans at its meeting Tuesday, Aug. 6.
Plans drawn up by ADW Architects call for the site to house a new, two-story West Asheville Library and a two-story EMS base with five truck bays and sleeping quarters for 14 first responders, as first presented to commissioners in a May meeting. Further east on the 4.77-acre parcel, a school maintenance and operations building will be built for Asheville City Schools (ACS), if approved. All the facilities will be accessed off Argyle Road.
Prekindergarten classrooms, an additional priority of the county that leaders say are needed to replace the loss of Asheville Primary, are proposed to be added to the nearby campus of Hall Fletcher Elementary.
If approved by commissioners, plans will have to go before the Asheville City Board of Education before they are finalized. ACS owns both the former Asheville Primary School site and Hall Fletcher Elementary.
The library and EMS base are expected to cost $19 million and $11.1 million, respectively, to construct.
A one-story, 29,000 square foot pre-K facility, with 18 classrooms designed to house 269 students, is planned for the large field at Hall Fletcher. That building is projected to cost $20.4 million.
If plans are approved by both commissioners and the school board, the county will put together construction and funding plans before the bidding process begins.
In other news
Commissioners will look to officially establish an ad hoc committee to review the work of the Buncombe County Planning Board around short-term rental regulations, identify policy implications and provide feedback to the board in November, according to a proposed resolution.
If established, the committee will consist of seven to 11 members from various backgrounds, including real estate professionals, short-term rental property owners, affordable housing advocates and members of the planning board, according to the establishing resolution. Planning department staff will assist the committee in making its recommendations.
The idea for the committee initially came from Planning Board Chair Nancy Waldrop at a May 21 Buncombe County Board of Commissioners meeting.
“Whatever we do going forward, we also strongly feel that to be successful in gaining public confidence and acceptance of any action on short-term rentals, we will need a group effort, which includes interested community stakeholders sitting at the table and the ability to enforce whatever ordinances are adopted,” Waldrop said at that meeting.
According to a timeline put together by county staff, membership of the committee will be selected between Tuesday, Aug. 6 and Tuesday, Aug. 20. The committee will meet August throughOctober, and make recommendations to the Planning Board in November.
Consent agenda
The consent agenda for the meeting contains eight items, which will be approved as a package unless singled out for separate discussion. Highlights include:
- Memorandums of understanding with eight county fire departments that outline roles and responsibilities for the installation of solar panels on department roofs. Buncombe County will fully fund the installation of panels with American Rescue Act funds, and the fire departments will take ownership of the assets once they are fully installed and operational. Black Mountain, Leicester, Reynolds, Skyland, Swannanoa, Upper Hominy, West Buncombe and Woodfin fire departments will receive panels.
- Contract with Eagle Solar and Light, LLC for about $626,000 for the installation of solar systems on all the fire departments.
- Contracts for design and preconstruction services for the campuswide renovation of Hall Fletcher Elementary School. The renovation includes replacement of exterior windows, HVAC replacements, kitchen renovations and elevator modernization. LS3P Architects will provide design services for $470,000. Vannoy Construction will provide preconstruction services for about $65,000. The project is funded by the School Capital Fund Commission, which previously approved the renovations.
The full agenda and supporting documents for the meeting can be found at this link. There will be a briefing meeting before the regular meeting at 3 p.m. The agenda was not posted as of press time.
In-person public comment will be taken at the start of the regular meeting, which begins at 5 p.m. in Room 326 at 200 College St., Asheville; no voicemail or email comments will be permitted. Both the briefing and the regular meeting will be livestreamed on the county’s Facebook page and be available via YouTube.
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