The Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College/Buncombe County Joint Capital Advisory Committee convened a meeting on Monday, October 5, 2020, via Zoom, a video conferencing platform.
The following A-B Tech representatives were in attendance: Roger Metcalf, Board of Trustees (Chair); Matt Kern, Board of Trustees; Dr. John Gossett, President; Dirk Wilmoth, CFO.
The following Buncombe County representatives were in attendance: Al Whitesides, Commissioner (Vice Chair); Matt Evans, Financial Planning Analyst, Buncombe County.
Others present for the meeting included: Robert Lane, Community Member; Avril Pender, Buncombe County Manager; Deborah Wright, VP of Economic and Workforce Development and Continuing Education at A-B Tech; Don Warn, Finance Director, Buncombe County; Tim Love, Director Intergovernmental Projects, Buncombe County.
Called to Order
Meeting was called to order via Zoom at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, October 5, 2020.
Introductions
Chairman Metcalf opened the meeting with introductions.
Minutes
Chairperson Metcalf presented the minutes for approval. Vice-Chair Whitesides motioned to approve the minutes as submitted, seconded by Mr. Kern. Minutes have been approved and will be maintained by the Board of Trustees and Board of Commissioners, to be posted on the A-B Tech website.
Article 46 Fund Project Update
Dr. Wilmoth presented to the committee an update of Article 46 projects. (See chart below)
| Project | Cost | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency Projects | $40,000 | Not Spent |
| Energy Conservation Measures | $500,000 | Project Completed. Energy cost saving from the installation of LEDs throughout A-B Tech is valued at $90,000 annually. |
| Enka | ||
| Facility Assessment and Master Plan | $125,000 | Brailsford & Dunlavey is currently developing the Facility Assessment and Master Plan of the TCC building. Stakeholder surveys are underway and will be completed by November 2020. |
| 1st Year Programmatic Capital Investment | $75,000 | Not spent. |
| New TTC Roof | $1.7 million | Not spent. Awaiting facility assessment results. |
| Totals | $2,440,000 |
Mr. Kern led a discussion regarding the growing concern of potential tenant loss due to the need for critical roof repairs to the TCC building. Vice-Chair Whitesides will bring this topic up for discussion at the next Buncombe County Commissioners meeting.
Article 46 Fund Balance Update
Dr. Wilmoth provided a current fund balance and forecast review of Article 46 funds noting the decrease in revenue since March 2020 due to the impact of COVID-19 on the economy, resulting in a decrease in tax revenue.
- Beginning Available Fund Balance is currently sitting at $16,552,250
- Total Revenues at $14,176,458.
Mr. Kern revisited the issue of roof repairs to the TCC building by inquiring about funding for critical repairs. Ms. Pender, Buncombe County Manager, shared with the group that the General Services Department is putting together a cost assessment of roof repairs to the TCC building and will bring back to this committee the assessment results. Ms. Pender will work with Dr. Gossett to arrange for a future meeting of this committee to review the cost analysis and interim proposed solutions.
New Proposed Projects
Chairperson Metcalf opened the floor to discuss new proposed projects. Dr. Gossett briefed the committee on Project Ranger, one of the largest economic development projects to ever come to the area with the initial hire of 700 employees providing top-level salaries. The College has pledged to provide pre-employment and post-employment training to support Project Ranger and asks the committee to consider a recommendation to the College Board of Trustees to allocate Article 46 Funds to build a training facility in South Asheville to support Project Ranger.
Mr. Love provided further details of the proposed project, as discussed with Project Ranger leadership.
- The training facility will be 20,000 square feet priced at $250 a square foot.
- To be built adjacent to the Project Ranger 750,000 square foot manufacturing facility.
- The building's fixed cost for the training facility is set at $5 million; this would be an "all-in price," which includes land prep, land lease, construction, fixtures, and finishes.
Additionally, Mr. Love presented the letter signed by past A-B Tech President, Dr. Dennis King, expressing A-B Tech's commitment to constructing a training center contiguous with the proposed site for Project Ranger. The letter states final approval of the project would need concurrence by the College Board of Trustees and the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners.
Dr. Wilmoth clarified to the committee the project's actual total cost would be $6,575,000, with a debt service of 20 years. Furthermore, Dr. Wilmoth reminded the group that the College's Memorandum of Understanding regarding the use of Article 46 Funds is set to expire in 2027 and that a continuing funding source will be required after this date.
Vice-Chair Whitesides motioned to approve Article 46 Funds' use in the amount of $5,000,000 to build a Training Facility in South Asheville subject to A-B Tech Board of Trustee approval. Mr. Lane seconded the motion. All were in agreement, none opposed, motion carried.
The committee approves Article 46 funds for the requested project subject to the College Board of Trustee approval. If approved, the Article 46 Funding Request will move to the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners for final review and approval.
Next Meeting
County Manager Avril Pender will work with Dr. Gossett to arrange a date for the Joint Capital Advisory Committee's
next meeting to discuss the TTS roof.
Adjourn
Mr. Kern motioned to adjourn the meeting at 9:30 am, seconded by Vice-Chair Whitesides.