News

County seeks exemption from construction review

By Bill Moss, Published: February 4, 2016

Henderson County hopes to get an exemption from state law in order to remain on a fast-track schedule for the construction of a consolidated Early College and Balfour Education Center facility on the Blue Ridge Community College campus.
John Mitchell, who as director of Business and Community Development is helping to guide the county’s construction schedule, told the Board of Commissioners that required reviews by the state construction office could delay the construction work and cause the county to miss deadlines.
“As it currently stands by state law any buildings that are built for the community college system have to be reviewed by the construction office,” Mitchell said. “ … They’re very deliberate.”
The last time the county had to wait on the required construction office reviews led to a 14-month delay. “The way these projects are evolving we have to meet certain deadlines in order to not put students in limbo,” he said.
County officials have already appealed to state Rep. Chuck McGrady, who agreed to sponsor a local bill that would exempt the project from the state law.
“We’re on a very tight time frame to get these projects up and rolling,” County Manager Steve Wyatt said. “We’re up against cost escalation with construction and other issues that we might not even be aware of yet.”