|
by JILLIAN SWORDS
News Reporter
Watauga County sent a wish list of infrastructure needs to the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners that will hopefully be met with money from the federal economic stimulus package, Deputy County Manager Deron Geouque said.
Although the amount of control the state will have in determining how the funds will flow or be spent remains undetermined, the widening of King Street, the new Watauga County High School and a county recreation center are possible projects for the county, Geouque said.
The estimated total cost of these projects is $227 million.
Vice
Chairperson for the Watauga County Board of Commissioners William R.
Winkler III said the money will not be dispersed to states until at
least the first of April, who will then have to decide how to divide
the money amongst their counties.
Job creation will be crucial to revitalize the local economy, especially in certain areas of need, Winkler said.
“Certainly
what we’re seeing is a bigger need for services through both social
service and mental health but we don’t have the ability to increase
staff in those areas right now,” he said. “As the economy gets worse,
people are in need of those services and it puts a strain on that.”
Senior art education major Kathryn L. McGee is a lab operator with Appalachian State University’s Technology Support Services.
Although she got the job over a year ago, she said it was through connections she found employment in Boone.
“There’s
no use even applying if you don’t know someone,” she said. “There are
jobs like in restaurants that come and go [in Boone], but it seems that
permanent jobs are on the decrease, especially with the King Street
widening. Those businesses had to close or move.”
The county’s list is to be used for lobbying federal and state legislators on the needs of the county, Geouque said.
The
state Association of County Commissioners also drafted a letter to Sen.
Richard Burr Jan. 23, outlining the areas in greatest need of economic
stimulus.
According to the document, N.C. local governments face $8 billion in water and sewer needs over the next five years.
Counties will also face $10 billion in school construction and renovation.
The letter specifically pled the case of the King Street widening.
The
state Department of Transportation’s recent revenue cuts put all
construction projects on hold and Boone will face considerable traffic
flow problems if the project is not completed in time for the opening
of the new high school.
While
the needs of the county are very real, the funding will not be a
reality until Congress reaches a decision on the package’s details.
The county has also begun planning the budget for the new fiscal year and will be working on it until June, Winkler said.
“It
won’t be easy this year,” he said. “Right now we’re just trying to
assess the situation and we’ll be working feverishly. We can’t bank on
stimulus package funds for our regular budget. We’ll be ready with
proposals and plans when it does come…but we can’t just sit back and
depend on money that may not come.”
Trackback(0)
 |
TrackBack URI for this entry
Show/Hide comments