Henderson County News
Asheville Regional Airport continued its rapid growth in passenger use in 2017, logging its fourth straight year of record numbers with almost 1 million flyers.
An all-time high of 956,634 passengers used the airport in 2017, a 15.7 percent increase over 2016 and 50 percent more than five years ago.
"The airport has been growing during the past few years, and 2017 was especially significant," said Lew Bleiweis, A.A.E., Executive Director. "The airlines expanded their services with larger planes and more seats and frequencies to existing destinations, and a new airline and route was also added. Equally important, our region's travelers continued to use their local airport."Western North Carolina's recognition and significant success as a prime tourist destination has been key to the airport's utilization and air service growth.
The airport is working to manage growth. On the horizon are plans to expand the Transportation Security Administration screening area from two lanes to three. The airport is also in discussion with the TSA regarding implementation of TSA Pre-check.A new five-story parking garage is now open, providing convenient covered parking for travelers.Last, the airport is beginning an extensive terminal assessment study to determine infrastructure and spatial needs to serve growing numbers of people now and into the future. Once the study is complete, next steps will be identified. Read Story »
Henderson County News
A dusting of snow coated the area Tuesday morning, leaving hazardous road conditions and closing Henderson County schools.
The high Tuesday was only expected to reach 33 and the low overnight should drop to around 21. Wednesday will be sunny with a high of 43 while the high Thursday should reach 50, forecasters said. Then it gets cold again with a high Friday of 38 and an overnight low around 20.
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Henderson County News
A bank robber didn't get very far after sticking up the Wells Fargo Bank in Laurel Park on Monday, police said.
The robbery suspect entered the Wells Fargo Bank, demanded money and then fled with the cash. The suspect was apprehended shortly after the robbery in the area of the shopping center, Laurel Park Police Chief Bobbie Trotter said. Laurel Park police arrested Michael David Hill on one count of common law robbery. Trotter thanked the Hendersonville Police Department and Henderson County Sheriff’s Office for their assistance. Read Story »
Henderson County News
A former sheriff’s deputy and combat veteran has filed a lawsuit against Sheriff Charlie McDonald claiming that the sheriff improperly fired him for symptoms arising from service-related hearing loss and PTSD.
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Henderson County News
Boy Scout volunteers of Terrora District, which covers Hendersonville and Transylvania counties, on Friday honored Walt Corbin, a longtime Scouter with Edneyville Troop 605, with its District Award of Merit and recognized Troop 628 as Troop of the Year.
During the annual recognition banquet at Hendersonville Presbyterian Church, volunteers learned that the district achieved Silver status in the BSA’s Journey to Excellence program for its accomplishments in 2017. Leaders honored Corbin received the highest recognition a district gives for an adult volunteer for his work with the district committee and Edneyville Troop 605.
Troop 628, chartered to Hendersonville Presbyterian Church, took home Troop of the Year honors for the second year in a row. The main sponsor was Henderson Oil and Citgo Petroleum. District Attorney Greg Newman served as the master of ceremonies and spoke highly of the benefits the programs of Scouting have on young people.
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Hendersonville News
The Hendersonville City Council will consider rate increases for water customers and impact fees for new development as it looks at ways to fund ambitious growth plans.
The Hendersonville Water and Sewer Advisory Council heard the details of a water and sewer rate study and potential new impact fees on Monday night. The city is expected to use a combination of higher rates and impact fees to fund an ambitious expansion over the next five years. The city formed the Water and Sewer Advisory Council at the urging of the county Board of Commissioners, which has been seeking more influence over where water and sewer lines go.The city’s current rates are not high enough to finance the borrowing the city plans for utility line replacement and extension. The city’s capital improvement program (CIP) calls for investing $39 million in the water system and $19.3 million in the sewer system through 2022.“The CIP that we have is a very proactive CIP,” City Manager John Connet said. It may be too proactive. We try not to use the word aggressive, but it’s very proactive.”The city would fund the capital plan using $11 million in reserves and borrowing of $9 million this year, $23 million in 2020 and $9.3 million in 2022. The revenue at existing rates is not enough to cover it all, Melissa Levin, with the Raftelis Financial Consultants of Charlotte, told the board. Based on the CIP, her report said, the city would need to increase rates by 20 to 25 percent over the next five years. Proposed rate increase the City Council will be asked to adopt in the new budget “are not a one and done” proposition, she said. “Several smaller rate increases are projected over the five-year period.”The consultants recommended increases that keep the rate affordable for households, encourage water conservation and puts more of the load on large users. The recommendation keeps the differential for outside-city customers at 150 percent of inside users. County commissioners have said they want to see the city reduce the outside-rate. Statewide, the average differential for outside users is 182 percent.“We wanted to share this information because the council will hear this presentation and as we go through the budget we’ll get into using this information to fine-tune it,” Connet said.
SUBHEDImpact fees
City budget analyst Adam Murr presented a study on impact fees that ranged widely based on the size of the water pipe feeding the home or business.The impact fee for a home would range from $2,300 to $4,600 while the fee for the largest user (fed by a 12-inch water line) could be $475,000.“When it gets down to the wire and industry X is looking, this is one of the components that that new industry looks at,” County Commissioner Bill Lapsley said. “If you walk in the door and you say we’re going to hit you with a $40,000 for sewer and 36 for water, it can make a difference.”Lapsley also mentioned that reimposing impact fees could harm efforts for affordable housing.Utility Director Lee Smith responded that city policy on new hookups addresses both situations. The City Council can and generally does waive impact fees for affordable housing. “In the industrial recruitment, council can negotiate those fees or waive them,” he said.After a state Supreme Court decision partially struck down impact fees imposed by local government, the state Legislature enacted a law allowing cities and counties to impose them again. Impact fees generated close to $1 million for the city in the boom year of 2007 and fell to around $300,000 a year after the recession, Connet said. Councilman Steve Caraker said the city welcomed any input from members, who represent all the cities in the county plus ratepayers and industry.“The biggest thing in this meeting was to get this information in front of you so you know what we’re up against and we value your opinion, honestly,” Caraker said.The City Council will review the water rate and impact fee proposals when it meets for a budget-drafting session next month.
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Henderson County News
Q. The old First Citizens bank building near Patton Park is sold. What’s going to go there?
Not another bank. Actually the building at 1700 Asheville Highway was also an NCNB bank. It was vacant for years until last month when it was bought by Forest Dermatology. They have a main office in south Asheville and also operate in Spruce Pine. Cooper Construction Co. is doing the renovation. According to project manager Eric Oursler, the job will add another 1,000 square feet, most of which will be where the drive-thru lanes are located. The job is scheduled to be completed by April or May. They will remove the 12x15-foot concrete vault, no easy task, and the 3,000-pound steel vault door will be hauled off as well. Oursler said sometimes there is a market for old vault doors such as people that want to secure their valuables. Oh yeah, did the demolition crew find any leftover cash? Naw, not a cent. Here is a historical note. Charlotte-based NCNB became NationsBank in 1991 under the leadership of Chairman Hugh McColl Jr. and after some mergers became Bank of America. If you have the time to read McColl’s fascinating biography, you will discover that as a young man he learned the banking business from former Hendersonville banker Jack Ruth.
Q. I saw a device at SunTrust bank in Downtown Hendersonville that uses facial recognition to access the bank vault. Is this the first use of that technology here?
With far less fanfare than when the first motorcar came to town, facial recognition software has indeed come to Hooterville and from my limited research, it is the first public use of its kind in the county. The device you saw is made by Diebold (pronounced dee-bold). The company was founded in 1859 in Cincinnati and made safes and bank vaults. After recently acquiring a German firm, it is now Diebold Nixdorf. Not a jazzy name for a car company, but for the bank vault, ATM and security market, who cares? The device you saw uses facial recognition to enter the safe deposit vault. The good folks at SunTrust care enough about security to withhold details about the system. A cursory web search, however, yielded that SunTrust got into the biometrics business in 2014, and it'’s spreading. USAA already offers voice, fingerprint, or facial recognition to access customer accounts. Yup, no need to remember those pesky login passwords. So cheer up Bucko, facial recognition is here and one day you will check your library books without opening your wallet. Ain’t technology great!
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Henderson County News
Acquitted on charges that he gave alcohol to teenagers at his shelter for homeless teenaged boys, Michael Absher said he hopes to rebuild Only Hope WNC and focus more on his School Board job.
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Hendersonville News
The Blue Ridge Humane Society Thrift Store has begun work on an expansion that may disrupt access in the coming weeks.
In addition to new sorting rooms and additional storage, a new paved parking area and a new donation drop off area are planned for the store, at 1214 Greenville Highway. During construction there may be times the thrift store will have to close on short notice for safety reasons. The nonprofit will post delays or closings at its website www.blueridgehumane.org Facebook page and in daily email blasts.
When construction causes the store to be closed to the public, Blue Ridge Humane will still accept donations. If the store is closed and the parking lot is blocked off, the agency will move its truck to the old Food Lion parking lot and will have personnel on duty to accept thrift store donations. Read Story »
