by EDWARD SZTUKOWSKI
News Editor

Appalachian State University chose not to renew its lease at Horn in the West this year, losing 250 parking spaces for students.

Negotiations took place this summer with the Southern Appalachian Historical Association, which leases the lot from the Town of Boone. SAHA then subleases the lot to both

Appalachian and the Watauga County Farmers’ Market.

The Watauga County Farmers’ Market continues business Saturday. The farmers’ market requested full use of the parking lot on Saturdays, detracting 250 parking spaces from Appalachian students. Photo by Rachel Noel

This year, the farmers’ market wanted all students to remove their cars on Saturdays, in order to make space for farmers’ market customers and vendors.

“The local farmers’ market has experienced fantastic growth not just in the number of vendors, but the number of customers has really grown,” Greg M. Lovins, interim vice chancellor for Business Affairs said.

The university had doubts it could move students from Horn in the West on game days, because many other lots have to be emptied on those days as well.

“We already have to move students out of parking lots on campus to accommodate Yosef Club parking on game days, so the students parked in lots such as Greenwood and Stadium will have to move to State Farm [Lot],” Director of University Parking and Traffic Barry D. Sauls said. “Bottom line, we have nowhere else to put them.”

The Town of Boone met with SAHA, the Watauga Country Farmers’ Market and the university to negotiate a deal. The university offered to reduce the number of spaces from 250 to 150, but the farmers’ market held firm in their request for the entire lot.

“We insisted we needed the space, and that puts the Town of Boone in the difficult position of choosing us or the farmers’ market,” Lovins said. “We felt the best thing for the university to do was bow out and reduce our parking spaces by 250.”

The university is still examining possibilities of replacing the parking spaces, though there are no short-term solutions.

“We are currently looking at parking areas on the campus that we may be able to expand, much like we just did at the Holmes Convocation Center Lot,” Sauls said. “This study is continuing, and hopefully we will know what the possibilities are later this semester.”

University Hall, located off of U.S. Highway 321, was considered as a possible supplement to parking, but Lovins said safety of the area is a concern.

“We’re hesitant to turn University Hall into parking,” Lovins said. “It’s good parking during the day, but it’s isolated at night. We’re concerned about turning it into parking because of safety issues.”

Boone Town Council member Rennie W. Brantz helped negotiate the terms in the lease, but said in the end, no compromise could be reached.

“This was a difficult kind of problem, because SAHA and the farmer’s market are having successful years and both have experienced increased success,” Brantz said. “We were trying to negotiate, but [Appalachian] felt it couldn’t make any exceptions.”

Sauls said the university will continue to seek resolutions to parking on their own property.

Photo by Rachel Noel | The Appalachian

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