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2026 Watauga County Meet the Candidates - Watauga County Board of Commissioners · Mind Your Business - A Podcast Series produced by the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce

0:25
SPEAKER_02: At the Appalachian Theater Back on October 1st, candidates for U.S.
0:29
SPEAKER_02: House, Wataga County Sheriff, and Wataga County Clerk of 40 were interviewed individually.
0:34
SPEAKER_02: This episode contains the audio archive for our session with the candidates for the Watague County Board of Commissioners.
0:40
SPEAKER_02: We are excited to have our candidates for Watauga County Board of Commissioners with us here tonight, representing districts one and two.
0:48
SPEAKER_02: First for District 1, we have the Democrat Adam Hege and the Republican Rick Woods.
0:54
SPEAKER_02: In District 2, we have Stava Costas, the Republican and Democrat Ray Russell.
1:00
SPEAKER_02: If you can give them a round of applause as they come to the stage.
1:40
SPEAKER_03: My wife Jennifer and our daughter Ellie and I have called Wataga County home for the past 12 years.
1:47
SPEAKER_03: This is where we built our lives, raised our family, and invested in our community.
1:53
SPEAKER_03: I am a first-generation college graduate, and I've spent nearly 20 years working in higher education and local government.
2:00
SPEAKER_03: I hold a PhD in community health education from UNC Greensboro and a master's degree in public administration from Appalachian State University.
2:09
SPEAKER_03: Today, I proudly serve as an associate dean and professor of public health at Appalachian State.
2:15
SPEAKER_03: I also currently serve on the Watauga County Board of Education where I was elected in 2024.
2:21
SPEAKER_03: These experiences have reinforced for me how important it is to listen, bring people together, and focus on practical solutions that improve people's lives.
2:33
SPEAKER_03: As a county commissioner, I want to focus on some of the issues that matter most to families across Wataga County.
2:40
SPEAKER_03: That means working to make housing more affordable and addressing the rising cost of living.
2:46
SPEAKER_03: It means expanding access to quality child care and early childhood education so families and our local economy can thrive.
2:53
SPEAKER_03: It means continuing our recovery from Hurricane Aline and making sure our communities are prepared for whatever comes next.
3:01
SPEAKER_03: It also means protecting access to rural health care, supporting public health, being responsible stewards of our environment, and ensuring that smart growth strengthens, not overwhelms the communities we love.
3:15
SPEAKER_03: I'm running because I believe local government works best when it listens, collaborates, and puts the needs of the community first.
3:22
SPEAKER_03: I would be honored to have the opportunity to serve in this position.
3:25
SPEAKER_03: Thank you.
3:26
SPEAKER_06: Next is Rick Woods.
3:29
SPEAKER_07: Thank you.
3:30
SPEAKER_07: Again, I truly thank the Of the Commerces and Appalachian Theater for allowing us to happen tonight.
3:38
SPEAKER_07: I moved to Boone in 1984 to begin my career as a nurse in Ezodus.
3:43
SPEAKER_07: I lived here for over 40 years now.
3:46
SPEAKER_07: I call Boone home.
3:48
SPEAKER_07: I may not have been born here, but I sure feel that this is where I plan to be.
3:55
SPEAKER_07: My wife Jan and I have been married almost 50 years.
4:00
SPEAKER_07: We have two kids, Ryan and Whitney.
4:03
SPEAKER_07: My son is a chiropractor here in town.
4:05
SPEAKER_07: My daughter is a rapid response nurse in Nobon Hospital in Charlotte.
4:13
SPEAKER_07: Both my kids went into healthcare, which kind of surprised me, but my wife is an accountant.
4:22
SPEAKER_07: We moved here.
4:23
SPEAKER_07: She started working at uh App State as an employee, taking classes, got interested in accounting, and so she earned her accounting degree and then went on to her CPA license and worked several years and then came back and taught at App State for over 20 years until we retired a couple three years ago.
4:47
SPEAKER_07: I spent four years in the Air Force during the Vietnam era, and I was proud to serve my country.
4:54
SPEAKER_07: I've been a member of Mount Vernon Baptist Church for fifty for fifteen years.
5:01
SPEAKER_07: My faith guides what I do in life, it guides what decisions I make.
5:08
SPEAKER_07: But it also tells me that everybody is important.
5:13
SPEAKER_07: All the beliefs are important and everything.
5:16
SPEAKER_07: I'm running to keep Watauga County the best place in the state of North Carolina to live.
5:23
SPEAKER_07: I want to build on what the current county commissioners have done and make sure that we can continue to solve the problems that we face here in Watauga County.
5:34
SPEAKER_07: Thank you.
5:37
unknown: Mr.
5:38
SPEAKER_05: Costas.
5:39
SPEAKER_04: Hey everyone.
5:40
SPEAKER_04: Thank you for having me here tonight.
5:43
SPEAKER_04: My name's Sava Costas, and I know my name might not sound like it, but I was born and raised here in Boone, North Carolina.
5:50
SPEAKER_04: On my mom's side of the family, she has deep roots here to this county for generations with the Wilcox and Aldrich families.
5:58
SPEAKER_04: Every day I find new people I'm related to.
6:01
SPEAKER_04: It's truly amazing.
6:04
SPEAKER_04: My dad, he immigrated here from Greece, and I met him, or I mean, he met my mom while he was attending App State.
6:11
SPEAKER_04: Many of you would remember the Polar Palace, that's where they met.
6:14
SPEAKER_04: Now it's called Skate World.
6:16
SPEAKER_04: I grew up in Watauga County schools, went to Cove Creek, played football, and wrestled my time there.
6:22
SPEAKER_04: You may have heard my name a time or two on the radio from Mike Kelly.
6:27
SPEAKER_04: I went on to study construction management and business at App State while continuing my wrestling career.
6:33
SPEAKER_04: There I met my wife, Stephanie.
6:34
SPEAKER_04: We've been together for 15 years.
6:37
SPEAKER_04: She's a current Wataga County teacher.
6:39
SPEAKER_04: She's taught at the high school, Coke Creek, and currently at Harden Park.
6:44
SPEAKER_04: Together we have a six-year-old daughter, or six and a half, as my daughter would want me to say.
6:51
SPEAKER_04: I met my wife, excuse me.
6:53
SPEAKER_04: She's a first grader at Harden Park.
6:55
SPEAKER_04: I work in the construction industry as a general contractor, estimating, project management, budgeting, and managing teams.
7:02
SPEAKER_04: I wear many hats, but I try to do it all and do the best I can.
7:09
SPEAKER_04: I currently serve on the Wataga County Planning Board, where I've been involved in discussions about the different challenges facing our communities.
7:16
SPEAKER_04: I've worked with others to find practical solutions.
7:19
SPEAKER_04: That experience has given me a better understanding of the process and the importance of balancing different perspectives and long-term impacts.
7:28
SPEAKER_04: I'm running because I care about Wataga, its home.
7:32
SPEAKER_04: I want to know where it's headed.
7:34
SPEAKER_04: I want to be practical and bring a local perspective to the table.
7:38
SPEAKER_04: Thank you.
7:39
SPEAKER_01: And up next is Ray Russell.
7:42
SPEAKER_01: Good evening.
7:43
SPEAKER_01: I'm Ray Russell.
7:45
SPEAKER_01: Some of you have lived in this county for 70 years, and some of you moved here three months ago.
7:53
SPEAKER_01: Either way, Boone and Wataga County is your home, and we're glad you're here.
8:00
SPEAKER_01: 35 years ago, Rhonda and I, my wife, were newcomers to Wataga County.
8:06
SPEAKER_01: I still remember that day.
8:08
SPEAKER_01: We drove up here in a truck.
8:10
SPEAKER_01: There was no help from App State to move.
8:14
SPEAKER_01: And most of the people that came to my house were strangers, but there were so many people we could hardly handle the crowd.
8:23
SPEAKER_01: And a four-bedroom house was unloaded from the truck and in place within two hours.
8:28
SPEAKER_01: And the kitchen was unpacked within two more hours.
8:32
SPEAKER_01: I'm like, what have I moved to?
8:34
SPEAKER_01: What a wonderful place this is.
8:36
SPEAKER_01: We raised our two daughters here, both went from Parkway School to Wataga High.
8:43
SPEAKER_01: We've got two degrees in the family from App State.
8:47
SPEAKER_01: And truly, this community wrapped its arms around us and welcomed us.
8:52
SPEAKER_01: And that's what I want for you in Wataga County, the same type of home and the same place of belonging for you to be.
9:02
SPEAKER_01: I taught at App State for 30 years and was the first chair of the computer science department.
9:08
SPEAKER_01: Rhonda has taught there now for 16 years after having taught in two different elementary schools in Wataga County.
9:17
SPEAKER_01: My weather hobby went berserk in uh 20 uh 26 years ago and became the most widely read media outlet in northwest North Carolina, and it still is.
9:30
SPEAKER_01: This chamber gave uh was awarded us the Small Business of the Year in 2016.
9:37
SPEAKER_01: In 2018, I won um the seat, a seat in the North Carolina House of Representatives, defeating a four-term incumbent.
9:46
SPEAKER_01: In 2022, I was appointed to finish the term of John Welch on the County Commission.
9:55
SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
9:57
SPEAKER_06: All right, we begin with the questions, and um, Mr.
9:59
SPEAKER_06: Rick Woods, you'll be first.
10:02
SPEAKER_06: Uh this November, voters will decide on a constitutional amendment that would let the legislature rather than the county limit how much local governments can raise property taxes.
10:14
SPEAKER_06: If you are no longer solely in charge of setting the county's property tax rate, and additional revenue is needed to maintain essential services like school construction, operation, EMS, law enforcement, trash collection, and other essential services residents count on, how would you fund these programs?
10:36
SPEAKER_07: Well, always dealing with uh less revenue presents a challenge.
10:46
SPEAKER_07: Uh there is uh probably in all likelihood that amendment will pass, and then we as a county commissioner will be faced with uh limited uh possibly limiting our resources, but the uh if you read the resolution, it really doesn't, it's very vague.
11:10
SPEAKER_07: So when that when that I'm sorry, amendment passes, it will go to the state legislature, and then they will legislate it and they will send out the rules that we have to live by.
11:21
SPEAKER_07: So until they make put teeth into this leg uh amendment, we don't really know exactly how it will affect us.
11:28
SPEAKER_07: I do believe that the legislators that we have do care about us as county commissioners, they care about how we fund it.
11:35
SPEAKER_07: And I don't believe they want us to suffer, they don't want us to sacrifice services.
11:42
SPEAKER_07: I do believe they want us to be able to meet the needs of our community without sacrificing.
11:50
SPEAKER_07: That being said, until we know what they are, we won't really know how to deal with it, so we will just have to cover that when we get to it.
11:59
unknown: Mr.
11:59
SPEAKER_05: Costas.
12:01
SPEAKER_04: I agree with Rick.
12:02
SPEAKER_04: It's hard to know what the legislation and General Assembly actually is gonna put in place before making a final judge judgment.
12:09
SPEAKER_04: But I what I can reassure you is the North Carolina Association of Counter Com County Commissioners does have a tax committee working with the General Assembly on this issue.
12:18
SPEAKER_04: And being a part, if I'm able to be a part of the county commissioner, I would love to stay involved in that process.
12:25
SPEAKER_04: Because if if this passes and there is a tax rate that is set, no telling what it could be, most every county is going to go to that highest rate to pay for every services they can.
12:38
SPEAKER_04: But at more taxes, people just can't afford that in today's economy.
12:45
SPEAKER_04: And so I really would like to see them come together and figure something out and not do this because it would be really bad for the local government and what they would be able to provide.
12:58
SPEAKER_04: Thank you.
12:59
unknown: Mr.
13:00
SPEAKER_01: Russell.
13:01
SPEAKER_01: Before I answer the question directly, I just want us to ponder the hypocrisy of what's going on at the legislature.
13:07
SPEAKER_01: The body that cannot pass its own budget is telling us how to budget.
13:14
SPEAKER_01: We by law have to budget every year, and it has to be done by July 1.
13:18
SPEAKER_01: The constitutional amendment that I want to see passed is one that says if they don't get their budget done by August of the even number years and the mini budget and odd number of years, or I'm sorry, reverse of that, they don't get paid.
13:33
SPEAKER_01: Nobody gets paid up there until they get a budget.
13:35
SPEAKER_01: That's the one that needs to happen.
13:37
SPEAKER_01: But both of the two answers that we've heard already are correct.
13:42
SPEAKER_01: We won't know until it's done.
13:44
SPEAKER_01: We know the story.
13:45
SPEAKER_01: We've seen this, we've seen this before.
13:48
SPEAKER_01: They'll come in in a lame duck session, they'll pass some onerous, onerous stuff, and we'll be left dealing with the mess.
13:56
SPEAKER_01: But it is it is gonna be a challenge for all of us to deal with that.
14:01
SPEAKER_01: We have to vote it down.
14:02
SPEAKER_01: We just have to get that done.
14:04
unknown: Mr.
14:05
SPEAKER_06: Hage.
14:06
SPEAKER_03: I'll agree with a lot of what I've heard already.
14:09
SPEAKER_03: Uh, I am very much against the amendment.
14:12
SPEAKER_03: I feel like uh there's a lot of decision making that's going on right now with both of the amendments regarding taxes.
14:18
SPEAKER_03: I think it's gonna put the state and local communities in a lot of challenges.
14:22
SPEAKER_03: So I'm I'm a little concerned about that, but as the others have said, we really don't know for sure what will happen.
14:29
SPEAKER_03: Um and so we're gonna have to kind of adapt and learn as we go.
14:33
SPEAKER_03: And we're gonna be learning along a lot of like a lot of other counties, as Sava mentioned.
14:38
SPEAKER_03: Um, one of the things that I will go to, though, is we we've been through a lot in recent years here in this region, this county, and uh that's what's beautiful about this community.
14:48
SPEAKER_03: We all come together, and I feel like we have some really good assets, some really good community leaders uh that I think will come together and and figure out how to how to make things work for everyone.
14:59
SPEAKER_06: All right, we'll go to question number two, and this one will go to Mr.
15:02
SPEAKER_06: Cussas.
15:04
SPEAKER_00: In Watauga County, the typical home is valued near half a million dollars.
15:08
SPEAKER_00: And given the wide variety of rental users in our area, two out of three spend more than 30% of their income on housing.
15:17
SPEAKER_00: What actions would you support to encourage builders to create homes that local workers can afford to rent or to buy?
15:24
SPEAKER_00: And how would you make sure those homes stay affordable over time?
15:29
SPEAKER_04: Uh great question.
15:30
SPEAKER_04: That's definitely been a problem for many counties and especially ours.
15:36
SPEAKER_04: Um as a builder, cost it's just something that's created from the materials, and I can't control the price of a two by four or a bag of concrete and the labor to mix that.
15:51
SPEAKER_04: Um, I think the best thing we can do to create workforce housing is focus on helping the working families own a home.
15:58
SPEAKER_04: And to do that, I'd like to look at the housing trust fund, working house loan program, and federal home funds that can help.
16:07
SPEAKER_04: With my construction background, I understand what it costs to build a house, but right now no one wants to invest in that.
16:13
SPEAKER_04: And we hear a lot of talk about private and government partnerships.
16:18
SPEAKER_04: And if we do do go that route, I would love to see that partnership be local with local investors and um and leaders.
16:29
SPEAKER_04: Um, and if if we do create these houses, we need to figure out a way that you know more people than just a certain portion of the workforce can live in those homes.
16:41
SPEAKER_04: So thank you.
16:43
SPEAKER_06: Mr.
16:43
SPEAKER_01: Russell So there's several things we can do.
16:52
SPEAKER_01: One thing we need to do is look at every regulation and every policy that we have, both at the municipalities and at this at the county government, and understand what the impact on cost for that regulation is.
17:07
SPEAKER_01: Now I'm not I'm not a big deregulation person, but we've got to bring some balance to make it more affordable to actually build here in Wataga County.
17:19
SPEAKER_01: There is plenty of available land here.
17:22
SPEAKER_01: People tell me there's not land to build on.
17:24
SPEAKER_01: There is.
17:25
SPEAKER_01: We've got to identify the land that's accessible and easier to build on and be innovative.
17:32
SPEAKER_01: You know, one thought that I've had is to actually have an innovation zone to allow builders to work with new innovative construction processes and materials.
17:43
SPEAKER_01: Or, you know, we don't have any one building modular up here in the high country.
17:50
SPEAKER_01: We need to recruit those industries and have those here in place so that we can cut the cost of housing.
17:58
SPEAKER_01: There are six to nine thousand people a day that drive into Wataga County to work from outside of the county, many of whom it's because they cannot afford to live here.
18:10
SPEAKER_01: We've got to address it, and the problem is huge.
18:13
SPEAKER_01: It is 1,600 units short, based on the study that we commissioned two years ago in the in the county.
18:22
SPEAKER_01: 1,600 units.
18:23
SPEAKER_01: We have a long way to go to get the housing right, but we've got to focus first on infrastructure, identifying the locations, planning, and go from there.
18:34
unknown: Mr.
18:34
SPEAKER_06: Hickey.
18:35
SPEAKER_03: Yes, I'd I'd like to agree a lot with uh Mr.
18:38
SPEAKER_03: Russell.
18:39
SPEAKER_03: I you know, with where he was headed.
18:40
SPEAKER_03: Um, you know, I've sit through the the previous two sessions and and heard a lot about our local schools.
18:46
SPEAKER_03: Um I have the privilege of serving on our school boards.
18:49
SPEAKER_03: I know the impact that the housing crisis is having on our ability to retain teachers, uh, recruit teachers, recruit our workforce.
18:58
SPEAKER_03: Uh I work in the area of public health and healthcare, so I understand the needs we have there.
19:03
SPEAKER_03: Um I think um, you know, we need to think about think about it from this standpoint.
19:08
SPEAKER_03: If if if people can't afford to live here, then we're we're really gonna be suffering in the long term as it as it as we think about our the future of our schools, our our healthcare system, all of those, all of those areas.
19:19
SPEAKER_03: So I would I would be uh you know, uh one that would like to look at uh public-private partnerships.
19:26
SPEAKER_03: I would love to look at opportunities, working collaboratively with the state, representation around workforce housing, um, working with our municipalities.
19:34
SPEAKER_03: I have good relationships with those who currently serve on the Boone Town Council, uh being living here in Boone.
19:41
SPEAKER_03: Uh I would love to work with them.
19:43
SPEAKER_03: Uh in it really comes down to balancing some of these needs with our capacity infrastructure, our roads, transportation, uh, water sewage, uh, while also balancing it with environmental stewardship, our community character, uh, some some of those areas.
19:58
SPEAKER_03: So those would be areas I would start.
20:00
SPEAKER_03: And last but not least, we have some really good assets with the university, community college, and school system, I think could be a good partner.
20:06
SPEAKER_03: Mr.
20:07
SPEAKER_07: Woods.
20:08
SPEAKER_07: Thank you.
20:09
SPEAKER_07: I am a big fan of deregulation.
20:13
SPEAKER_07: I have talked to many people who are in the construction business, and they don't even want to think about building in the town of Boone because regulations add costs, headaches, and make it almost impossible to do it and add months to the building project.
20:33
SPEAKER_07: I think we need to identify land out in the county that would be suitable for building projects, but then getting water and sewer to the land.
20:42
SPEAKER_07: The town of Boom will not share the water, they don't want to let it go out there.
20:46
SPEAKER_07: They keep it in town, so that makes it even more costly.
20:50
SPEAKER_07: We need to update county rules and construction of duplexes and townhomes and apartments and things are that people can buy into cheaper so that they can uh afford to have a place they call home without just renting and watching their money go out.
21:07
SPEAKER_07: Uh, you know, to do it is it is a team effort, though.
21:12
SPEAKER_07: I agree.
21:13
SPEAKER_07: The town, the university, the county, we all need to work together.
21:18
SPEAKER_07: We all want the same thing.
21:19
SPEAKER_07: We want our nurses, our firemen, our policemen, and every other profession to be able to live here in Boone and not spend 30, 45 minutes a day driving to and from work.
21:31
SPEAKER_07: So that is something that this county definitely needs to work on, and I will pledge to do that with all my ability.
21:40
SPEAKER_07: Thank you.
21:41
SPEAKER_06: We go to question number three now, and we'll start off with Mr.
21:45
SPEAKER_06: Russell.
21:46
SPEAKER_02: Thank you, Umer.
21:47
SPEAKER_02: County commissioners pay for a variety of school related issues, including construction.
21:52
SPEAKER_02: They also provide a local share of school operating funds, including teacher supplements.
21:57
SPEAKER_02: Several Wataga schools have aging facilities.
22:00
SPEAKER_02: Even as enrollment is declining, how would you decide how much to invest in Watauga County schools and how would you plan for major renovation or replacement projects?
22:11
SPEAKER_01: Thank you for the question.
22:13
SPEAKER_01: That's right in the wheelhouse of the campaign that I've had in the primary and the campaign that I have going now.
22:23
SPEAKER_01: We have got to address the overcrowding at Parkway School, and we have we have to replace uh Harden Park School.
22:33
SPEAKER_01: The Harden Park replacement is a huge price tag.
22:38
SPEAKER_01: We can't even think we can do some planning for that, but we can't even think about doing it until the high school bond debt rolls off of the county county uh cost in 2028.
22:51
SPEAKER_01: We can do it.
22:53
SPEAKER_01: We and the other good thing is we have been planning for this for a while.
22:59
SPEAKER_01: Now the price tags are bigger than we would have ever imagined, but we've been putting aside money into the capital fund year after year after year, to the tune of over$5 million.
23:11
SPEAKER_01: And so we're not starting at zero.
23:14
SPEAKER_01: We do need the legislature to come to the plate to help us.
23:17
SPEAKER_01: They have given money to schools in Ash County.
23:20
SPEAKER_01: They have given a ton of money to schools in Mitchell County.
23:23
SPEAKER_01: We need them to help us here.
23:25
SPEAKER_01: But all of these have got to happen.
23:27
SPEAKER_01: Our kids deserve it.
23:29
SPEAKER_01: We've got to provide the schools that they deserve.
23:32
SPEAKER_01: We did it in in Valley Cruis just in the last few years.
23:36
SPEAKER_01: We've got to tackle these next projects.
23:39
unknown: Mr.
23:39
SPEAKER_06: Higgin.
23:40
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I I also again agree with a lot of what was said.
23:44
SPEAKER_03: Um, you know, being on the school board right now, the Board of Education, I recognize that um Parkway School is gonna need to be expanded.
23:53
SPEAKER_03: Um, going back to the previous question, as our county thinks moving forward, uh, that area of the county is is probably gonna be an area that we see some growth.
24:02
SPEAKER_03: And so we know that there may be some growth as it relates to Parkway School.
24:06
SPEAKER_03: Harden Park is the big one.
24:07
SPEAKER_03: Uh, we we've got to, there's gonna have to be a new build of a school there.
24:11
SPEAKER_03: And so uh, you know, we have some funds, but I think we're gonna have to think strategically, uh, working with our state partners, looking at other ways, other funds that we might be able to pursue, whether that be through grants, whatever funds those might be.
24:25
SPEAKER_03: Um, we may need to look at uh sales tax, some of those types of areas that we just have to be kind of creative and in terms of thinking about being able to fund that for the future.
24:35
SPEAKER_06: Mr.
24:35
SPEAKER_06: Woods.
24:37
SPEAKER_07: Uh yes, thank you.
24:38
SPEAKER_07: Um yeah, we are faced with many challenges with our school systems.
24:42
SPEAKER_07: It's been years since I had children in the school system, but I remember when my kids were going through elementary school, their school was being rebuilt, then they moved on to high school and it was being rebuilt, and it seemed like it was a never-ending process, and it is a never-ending process as our schools are aging.
25:01
SPEAKER_07: Uh Hardin Park School is 52, 53 years old.
25:06
SPEAKER_07: Uh you you gotta wonder when uh the building standards today are nothing like they are uh back then, so we need safe environments, so we do need to address this issue.
25:17
SPEAKER_07: Funding is always an issue.
25:18
SPEAKER_07: How are we gonna fund this?
25:21
SPEAKER_07: Well, the our current county commissioners have already been dealing with this.
25:28
SPEAKER_07: It is not something that is just all of a sudden hit us.
25:31
SPEAKER_07: They already have a plan in place, they are already working on funding it.
25:36
SPEAKER_07: I plan to go in to the county commissioners and work with them and to see how we can achieve this funding without raising taxes, if at all possible.
25:47
SPEAKER_07: But we do need to provide a safe environment for our kids.
25:51
SPEAKER_07: We need to provide an environment an environment that gives them the ability to maintain their physical health with outdoor and indoor recreation.
26:00
SPEAKER_07: But we need to do it in a constructive manner, in a logical manner, and a one that allows us to build the best school we can at a budgeted price.
26:13
SPEAKER_07: We need to stop this going way over budget.
26:18
SPEAKER_07: Saba would know exactly what we're talking about when uh you budget something for 45 million and it winds up being 75 million.
26:26
SPEAKER_07: So it is a challenge and it is something that we will need to address, but it is something that can be done.
26:33
SPEAKER_07: Mr.
26:34
SPEAKER_07: Casas.
26:35
SPEAKER_04: Thank you.
26:36
SPEAKER_04: Uh, three things to look at for a school is it safe, is it functional, and built for longevity?
26:42
SPEAKER_04: And we have a lot of different building life cycles in this county with our schools.
26:47
SPEAKER_04: My wife's a teacher, and my daughter's started her time in Wataga County Schools.
26:52
SPEAKER_04: They're both at Harden Park, and we do need another Harden Park school.
26:56
SPEAKER_04: It's the largest element, K through A elementary school that we have in the county, and it's in a tough spot because land is not really available in that district.
27:07
SPEAKER_04: It'd be really expensive.
27:08
SPEAKER_04: But I know the county has been looking at different options and doing boring samples on the football field to plan for that as long as and as excuse me, this is nerve-wracking, so bear with me.
27:21
SPEAKER_04: And to plan for the new school.
27:25
SPEAKER_04: Um, our school systems rank among the best in the state, and I really think our facilities should show that.
27:34
SPEAKER_04: I think something with my construction background insight, I can bring something to the commissioner's table.
27:40
SPEAKER_04: I've spent my career dealing with construction costs, budget schedules, some contractors, and the consequences of decisions made on the job.
27:48
SPEAKER_04: We need to look at each other, understand its condition, and spend the money where it makes the most sense as far as the other schools.
27:55
SPEAKER_04: Flat roofs don't work here in the mountains.
27:58
SPEAKER_04: Um, my goal would be to work with the school board staff, develop a real realistic long-term plan instead of waiting until something fails and then having to react.
28:08
SPEAKER_04: Thank you.
28:10
SPEAKER_06: All right, we move on to question number four, and Mr.
28:14
SPEAKER_06: Hakey will be the first one to handle this.
28:17
SPEAKER_06: Wataga County is short hundreds of licensed child care spots for children under five, and local child care workers earn about$30,000 a year.
28:29
SPEAKER_06: The Boone Area Chamber Foundation and local donors have stepped in with private money to keep centers open and help child care workers stay in the field.
28:39
SPEAKER_06: What role should county government play in expanding safe and affordable childcare?
28:46
SPEAKER_03: If I had like a magic wand and had a pot of money, that's where I would want to invest it.
28:51
SPEAKER_03: Uh, investing in our children and families is really thinking about the future.
28:56
SPEAKER_03: Um, and so uh I think thinking about the importance of that zero to five age period and having good quality teachers, having um multiple types of opportunities for families.
29:08
SPEAKER_03: Uh, I think there's a lot of partnerships, as I mentioned earlier.
29:12
SPEAKER_03: Uh early on, uh several years ago, I was very closely connected with the Wataga Children's Council.
29:18
SPEAKER_03: As a public health professor, I was brought on to kind of do some research and look look at those areas.
29:24
SPEAKER_03: Um I think we need to think about not only quantity but quality, making sure that we're uh providing good training, uh, that we're looking at ways that we can supplement funding in any ways that we can, um, expanding access in any ways that we can through our employers, through the university.
29:45
SPEAKER_03: Um, and I and I really see child care as it was mentioned during some of the earlier sessions.
29:51
SPEAKER_03: Uh, child care is vital to our economic development.
29:55
SPEAKER_03: Uh, it's in vital, it's vital to our workforce and thinking about our families.
29:59
SPEAKER_03: Uh, with the cost of living right now, it's just another layer there.
30:03
SPEAKER_03: And so we we've got to really think through that.
30:04
SPEAKER_03: Uh, so I'm I'm all about, as several others have mentioned earlier, I'm I'm I'm all about partnerships, collaboration.
30:10
SPEAKER_03: That's kind of who I am as a person.
30:12
SPEAKER_03: So I relish in that opportunity.
30:15
SPEAKER_05: Mr.
30:15
SPEAKER_05: Woods?
30:17
SPEAKER_03: Child care.
30:18
SPEAKER_07: So that is a an issue that I haven't had to think about for many years.
30:25
SPEAKER_07: But I do remember when my my children were young, it was an issue back then, but it was doable.
30:31
SPEAKER_07: You could hire people to babysit your kids, but today that's not the case.
30:36
SPEAKER_07: Affordable child care isn't just a family issue, though, it it's an economic issue.
30:41
SPEAKER_07: You know, we have parents, many parents, that have chosen to stay at home because they just can't afford the child care.
30:49
SPEAKER_07: This affects our local businesses because they can't get employees to run their businesses, they can't hire people to meet the needs of the customers.
30:59
SPEAKER_07: So you know, pe and people that want to start a child care business, uh I mean, they're faced with these challenges.
31:08
SPEAKER_07: I spoke with Haley Harley or I emailed her today and and she gave me this astounding fact.
31:14
SPEAKER_07: It costs$1,400 to$1,600 per child to take care of them, but yet they can only charge eight to nine hundred dollars per child because that's all the parents can afford.
31:26
SPEAKER_07: How can you stay in business like that?
31:28
SPEAKER_07: The good news is effective today, the legislature was the legislature was just passed that will almost double the amount of money the child care to reimbursed.
31:39
SPEAKER_07: Childcare is a complex topic, but the basics are always affordability, accessibility, and quality.
31:49
SPEAKER_07: We just need to address these issues for the parents that need to take care of their kids.
31:56
unknown: Mr.
31:57
SPEAKER_05: Casas.
31:58
SPEAKER_04: Child care is something my family has experienced firsthand.
32:02
SPEAKER_04: My wife stepped away from teaching for a little bit to raise our daughter, but she was also involved in a local preschool.
32:08
SPEAKER_04: When she went back to teaching, we had to make some decisions a lot of working families face when it comes to child care and going back to work.
32:16
SPEAKER_04: I think there are two issues we need to address.
32:18
SPEAKER_04: Cost is one, but availability is another.
32:21
SPEAKER_04: North Carolina's Tri-Share Pro Pilot Program is worth looking at because it brings families, employers, and the state together to share the cost.
32:29
SPEAKER_04: We already have a couple child care facilities in Wataga participating in the program, and I would love to add more.
32:37
SPEAKER_04: I would like to see us build on that and get more local child care providers and businesses involved.
32:42
SPEAKER_04: If we can make child care more affordable while also create more available spots, we can help more parents with the challenges they face with child care.
32:52
SPEAKER_04: Thank you.
32:53
unknown: Mr.
32:53
SPEAKER_06: Russell.
32:54
SPEAKER_01: This is one I've got to get right because my ride home will be Rhonda.
32:59
SPEAKER_01: And uh if I don't get this right, I'm gonna have to walk home.
33:02
SPEAKER_01: I may need uh some help getting home if I mess it up, but I don't think I will.
33:07
SPEAKER_01: Um couple of things that we can do.
33:10
SPEAKER_01: First of all, there's a$75 million grant that just was announced by the governor's office, and that's gonna provide a lot of relief in Western North Carolina, but it won't be enough.
33:21
SPEAKER_01: Whether we've got to do our part as a county.
33:24
SPEAKER_01: A few things that I think we can do.
33:27
SPEAKER_01: Just like I said with housing, I'm I'm not a big fan of deregulation, and we're not gonna do any, we don't want to do anything that makes a child or a teacher unsafe, but we need to look at every rule that's there and think about the cost of what's there and who's being denied service as a result of that cost.
33:47
SPEAKER_01: What I really believe is that at one layer, my wife was the uh chair of the Wataga Children's Council for two years, I think.
33:58
SPEAKER_01: We need to keep that, I'm all for it.
34:00
SPEAKER_01: They do great work.
34:01
SPEAKER_01: We need to keep that layer as thin as possible.
34:04
SPEAKER_01: And the thing that I have proposed from the time I was on the county commission is that we hand over a chunk of money to an independent agency that then can in turn make competitive grants from providers to actually increase capacity.
34:22
SPEAKER_01: That's what's going to finally get the job done.
34:25
SPEAKER_01: We've got to make the pipeline much shorter in terms of where we provide the help and how we how we assess the value of what we're doing.
34:35
SPEAKER_06: All right, we begin with question number five, and we'll start with Rick Woods.
34:40
SPEAKER_00: Shifting gears here a little bit.
34:42
SPEAKER_00: In August, county commissioners approved a$12,000 incentive to help Rootsey, a local food manufacturing startup founded by Appalachian State professors, open a pilot plant here, but the company chose another county instead, based in part by an available county-controlled facility.
35:02
SPEAKER_00: Is there a lesson here?
35:03
SPEAKER_00: And should Watauga County use its tools to recruit new businesses and industry and help local ones grow?
35:10
SPEAKER_00: How would you make sure those investments pay off for taxpayers?
35:19
SPEAKER_07: Well, that is a that was a disappointing thing.
35:22
SPEAKER_07: When I heard about that uh plant coming to town, I thought what a win-win that would be.
35:27
SPEAKER_07: We would be able to use our resources here for a a business that would be good for the environment, but yet uh, like you say, they chose to go to another county.
35:41
SPEAKER_00: Um I think I've lost my train of thought, but the question was Is there a lesson here and should Wataga County use its tools to create recruit new businesses and industries and help local ones grow?
36:04
SPEAKER_07: Well, we should recruit new businesses.
36:06
SPEAKER_07: Absolutely.
36:08
SPEAKER_07: Uh we we need businesses to help our economy grow.
36:12
SPEAKER_07: We need businesses to provide jobs for people, and we need businesses to meet the needs of the people.
36:19
SPEAKER_07: We also need to support the ones that are here.
36:21
SPEAKER_07: So the businesses that are here have been struggling because of Hurricane Helene.
36:27
SPEAKER_07: They've been struggling because of uh issues that were way beyond their control.
36:31
SPEAKER_07: So uh the county commissioners do need to do everything they can to bring new business in and to support the businesses here.
36:39
unknown: Mr.
36:40
SPEAKER_05: Costus.
36:41
SPEAKER_04: Thank you.
36:41
SPEAKER_04: I believe this tends to be a little bit more towards local opportunity.
36:45
SPEAKER_04: And yes, rather, I hate that they left and jobs and revenue coming in, but we can't let that stop us from trying again.
36:55
SPEAKER_04: I truly think we need to help the businesses we already have here succeed and make it possible to start and grow new businesses here.
37:03
SPEAKER_04: Location for businesses that support degrees for upstate students who do want to stay here, but more importantly for the locals.
37:11
SPEAKER_04: I think Rise Wataga, Rise Caldwell Watauga is already giving Watauga students a great way to get real work experience with the local employers while they're still in school and a path to apprenticeship and good local jobs.
37:24
SPEAKER_04: And even the Watauga Innovation Academy, where students have already been learning and getting college certificates in automotive technology, welding, drafting, health sciences, along with their high school degrees.
37:35
SPEAKER_04: I'd love to see us continue to grow these programs with partnerships with local trade businesses, and that would inspire these kids themselves to start their own businesses right here in the community.
37:46
SPEAKER_04: This is near and dear to my heart, especially with Caldwell Community College, because my grandfather, who served on the county commission, this was he was a vital part in securing the land where the Wataga campus currently sits.
37:59
SPEAKER_04: So I'm a big supporter of partnerships with Caldwell County and any type of businesses and helping the local community out.
38:10
SPEAKER_04: Thank you.
38:11
SPEAKER_04: Mr.
38:12
SPEAKER_04: Russell.
38:14
SPEAKER_01: I I think the explanation and that's a part of the question is a polite reconstruction of what actually happened there.
38:22
SPEAKER_01: When I left the county commission, that project was ready to go.
38:26
SPEAKER_01: We had selected the contractor.
38:33
SPEAKER_01: And then it all went away when the new board came on board.
38:39
SPEAKER_01: I really think we need to understand what the point of that project was.
38:45
SPEAKER_01: We need to support our farmers in Wataga County.
38:48
SPEAKER_01: Our farmers to get an animal slaughtered are having to haul them hundreds of miles sometimes in order to make that happen.
38:56
SPEAKER_01: Lose weight, cost fuel, all of that, and it's costing them money.
39:01
SPEAKER_01: And the national organization determined that Wataga County a few years ago said that Wataga County was the 36th most likely county to lose farmland in the entire country.
39:16
SPEAKER_01: If we can't help them make money as farmers, they're gonna sell those farms and they're gonna be developed as housing.
39:25
SPEAKER_01: And when we do that, we lose all of the beautiful landscape that we have here, and we will have kill the goose that laid the golden egg.
39:34
SPEAKER_01: That's what that project was about.
39:36
SPEAKER_01: It was a mistake to let it go, and we very well should have it here.
39:41
unknown: Mr.
39:42
SPEAKER_01: Hegel.
39:43
SPEAKER_03: Yes, I also wish wish we were able to keep that here.
39:46
SPEAKER_03: Um, I I would really like to focus on supporting our existing businesses here and helping to strengthen them.
39:53
SPEAKER_03: Um, I think uh what I mentioned earlier working between the school system, Caldwell, the university, I think there's a lot of opportunities to see a lot of innovation.
40:05
SPEAKER_03: Uh having been at the university now for the last several years and seeing the research and innovation continue to grow there, I think there's a lot of opportunities that could be coming there.
40:14
SPEAKER_03: And so I really want to really want to lean into those opportunities.
40:18
SPEAKER_03: But it also comes back to thinking about uh the infrastructure that's available to attract uh uh new businesses here, uh the other issues that we've talked about, housing, childcare, all of those types of issues before we really want to start to think about really trying to recruit further business here.
40:36
SPEAKER_06: All right, we go to question number six, and we'll start with uh Mr.
40:40
SPEAKER_02: Costas.
40:41
SPEAKER_02: Thanks, Homer.
40:42
SPEAKER_02: Last week the governor released the Western North Carolina Economic Recovery Plan with goals for workforce, housing, infrastructure, tourism, outdoor recreation, health care, and agriculture.
40:54
SPEAKER_02: What have you seen in that plan that fits Wataga County's economic development priorities, and how would you use use your position as an advocate for funding these priorities?
41:07
SPEAKER_04: That's a good question.
41:08
SPEAKER_04: I I've not looked into that as far as um the funding for these for for the projects.
41:15
SPEAKER_04: Do you care to repeat that question one more time, sir?
41:18
SPEAKER_02: Yes, sure.
41:19
SPEAKER_02: Um so Governor passed the plan last week.
41:22
SPEAKER_02: It covers uh goals for workforce housing, uh workforce housing, infrastructure, tourism, outdoor recreation, healthcare, and agriculture.
41:30
SPEAKER_02: What have you seen in the plan that fits Watauga County's economic development priorities?
41:35
SPEAKER_02: And how would you use your position as an advocate for funding these priorities?
41:40
SPEAKER_04: Okay, got it.
41:41
SPEAKER_04: Um Wataga County, especially Boone, is tourism based.
41:46
SPEAKER_04: I've not seen the plan, and I have no idea, I'll be completely honest.
41:51
SPEAKER_04: But I am gonna work hard to figure out what that plan is and make sure it fits the mold of Wataga County and support our businesses and what our um businesses need is tourism and anything that can support that.
42:07
SPEAKER_04: Sorry, thank you, Mr.
42:09
SPEAKER_01: Russell.
42:09
SPEAKER_01: Sava, we are in the same boat.
42:11
SPEAKER_01: I have not heard of that plan either.
42:13
SPEAKER_01: It's okay.
42:14
SPEAKER_01: Um let me tell you, I you know, I what I heard you say in that was workforce housing goals and and such, and plan.
42:25
SPEAKER_01: I can tell you what I think our path to economic growth and success is like.
42:33
SPEAKER_01: It does need more diversification diversification of industry.
42:39
SPEAKER_01: We cannot just keep mining university and and uh tourism for everything we need.
42:47
SPEAKER_01: Not every industry is suitable up here, but we need to find more diversity of that.
42:54
SPEAKER_01: The workforce housing is the main thing that I want to get done.
42:58
SPEAKER_01: And uh there are a number of ways to pull that off.
43:01
SPEAKER_01: Let me share with you one way that that I have been researching, and I think it's a viable plan.
43:08
SPEAKER_01: It's not in that plan, because I assume.
43:11
SPEAKER_01: But there's a plan across the country that is called Lease to Locals.
43:18
SPEAKER_01: It has been successful in dozens, if not scores, of communities across the country, and all they do is provide some incentive for people to turn property that is not in short-term rental into short-term rental for workforce housing.
43:36
SPEAKER_01: I just told today to check with um Lake Tahoe.
43:41
SPEAKER_01: They're doing it successfully.
43:43
SPEAKER_01: They have turned 150 units in four years into workforce housing.
43:48
SPEAKER_01: We could do the same thing here.
43:51
unknown: Mr.
43:51
SPEAKER_06: Hagey.
43:52
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I would I would agree with that.
43:53
SPEAKER_03: I would like to to try to build upon what we already have here.
43:57
SPEAKER_03: Um you know, I I see Like my work in public health and healthcare, I really see healthcare as being a big area that we're going to need to be thinking about.
44:07
SPEAKER_03: I have serious concerns with the the transitions we're going to see with Medicaid.
44:13
SPEAKER_03: And so I think there's going to be, there potentially could be some opportunities.
44:16
SPEAKER_03: One of the things I've been involved with in my day job is around the rural health transformation program that's being rolled out at the state level and thinking about ways that we can uh utilize those funds to try to build the healthcare workforce in some of our rural communities.
44:34
SPEAKER_03: But you know, housing's got to be a part of that.
44:37
SPEAKER_03: Um and so I'm glad to hear that.
44:38
SPEAKER_03: I have not explored, I have not dug into specifics of what the what's been laid out.
44:43
SPEAKER_03: Uh, but you know, I would be uh interested in exploring um assets that we already have available and and you know maybe repurposing them, those those kind of things.
44:54
SPEAKER_03: Mr.
44:55
SPEAKER_03: Woods.
44:56
SPEAKER_03: I'll make it four for four.
44:57
SPEAKER_07: I don't really I got set up.
45:02
SPEAKER_07: Uh but it in in relation to that uh he's talking about health care.
45:10
SPEAKER_07: That's been my my career all the time and my whole life, and I've I've seen uh health care in this in this county go from uh when I came to work here, community hospital, uh county hospital, to now being owned by a large corporation.
45:30
SPEAKER_07: And we feel that we're no longer part of it.
45:33
SPEAKER_07: I don't know the if we can really address the issues that deal with health care at a county commissioner level, but I know the prop the hospital itself is on county property, and yet we have no really say so in the direction that our hospital is now going.
45:50
SPEAKER_07: I find that as a county commissioner, that would be to be very frustrating.
45:56
SPEAKER_07: I think we need to be really involved in the direction that our hospital wants to take us.
46:02
SPEAKER_07: I worked at Mission Hospital for over 20 years, and I've seen that hospital now just go downhill because of a corporation that didn't.
46:10
SPEAKER_07: So since I can't answer your question, I won't talk any longer, and I'll just say I was happy to share my thoughts on healthcare.
46:18
SPEAKER_06: All right.
46:19
SPEAKER_06: Um Mr.
46:21
SPEAKER_06: Russell will be the next one to start this one.
46:24
SPEAKER_06: Helene showed how quickly roads, power, water, and communications can fail in the mountains.
46:32
SPEAKER_06: And federal officials now want states and counties to handle more disaster response on their own.
46:39
SPEAKER_06: What would you do to make sure Watauka County government can keep essential services running and respond quickly in the next major disaster?
46:49
SPEAKER_01: Well, first of all, they didn't handle the last one well.
46:52
SPEAKER_01: That's the first problem.
46:54
SPEAKER_01: The second problem is the state was playing a cat-and-mouse game with the federal government.
46:59
SPEAKER_01: They had billions of dollars in a rainy day fund.
47:03
SPEAKER_01: Well, dang it, we had a rainy day, and we saw peanuts out of that fund come our way.
47:09
SPEAKER_01: We've given up teacher raises, we've given up funding for schools for years to build up this rainy day fund.
47:16
SPEAKER_01: Where was that money when we needed it, at least at the level that we needed it?
47:21
SPEAKER_01: So the thought that a disaster like Helene could happen to the tune of 60, 80 billion dollars, and that the state and local governments could pick up that tab is ludicrous on the surface of it, and it's just covering up the fact that they didn't do their job in the first place.
47:44
SPEAKER_06: Mr.
47:44
SPEAKER_06: Hake.
47:46
SPEAKER_03: That needs to be shouted from the mountaintops.
47:48
SPEAKER_03: Uh that that uh sitting around just watching the state sit on money that could be utilized has really frustrated me.
47:56
SPEAKER_03: Um, you know, in in terms of things that that we can do here locally is is uh you know pulling our partners together.
48:05
SPEAKER_03: We we have handled it the best we could with what we have, but it's not enough.
48:09
SPEAKER_03: Uh, but we're gonna we're gonna need to uh learn some lessons what where we where we can address things at a local level.
48:17
SPEAKER_03: Uh, and we're gonna have to uh look at some of the long-term recovery and and working with our state partners, uh look for federal funds as well.
48:27
SPEAKER_03: Uh I think some of the things that that you know we learned was um it was hard to communicate with people when something like that happens.
48:34
SPEAKER_03: And so we need to think about how we're able to get emergency communication out, coordination.
48:39
SPEAKER_03: Uh, you know, in my training in public health and and teaching of it, we do a lot of emergency preparedness work and thinking about some of the lessons that we learned and try to grow and learn from those.
48:52
SPEAKER_03: Um, and uh just really um trying to make sure that we're prioritizing the things we can hear at the local level to be more resilient in the future, looking at our uh roads, our water systems, our drainage, some of those types of things.
49:09
SPEAKER_05: Mr.
49:10
SPEAKER_05: Woods?
49:12
SPEAKER_07: Well, I I sit here and listen to them uh blame the state legislature for all the failures that we faced during Helene, but they seem to forget that uh uh our governor was Governor Cooper and uh felt like that he was uh missing in action.
49:28
SPEAKER_07: I think he could have played a much more important role in uh uh abating all the issues that we had to face up here after that once-in-a hundred-year storm that came.
49:40
SPEAKER_07: Uh, but there are things that we need to do.
49:42
SPEAKER_07: We do need to learn from lessons from this.
49:45
SPEAKER_07: When we rebuild, we need to look at uh what we can do to make sure that when the next hundred-year storm comes, and it will, that we don't have the devastation that we had.
49:59
SPEAKER_07: We can restore critical infrastructure, we need to build by stronger.
50:03
SPEAKER_07: We need to make sure that uh outside the banks and everything are built, the roads are built to withstand it.
50:11
SPEAKER_07: We make sure that uh uh we strengthen partnerships with the NCDOT and we build roads that can tolerate it.
50:18
SPEAKER_07: And bridges, our bridges, how many bridges were washed out?
50:21
SPEAKER_07: I mean, my gosh, it's it was just hard.
50:25
SPEAKER_07: We need to, you know, and all said we need to prepare for the future.
50:30
SPEAKER_07: Next time that we have a hundred-year storm, we need to be ready.
50:33
SPEAKER_07: But putting blame is easy to do, but solving it is hard to do, and that's what we as county commissioners will need to focus on.
50:41
SPEAKER_07: Thank you, Mr.
50:42
SPEAKER_05: Costas.
50:43
SPEAKER_04: Thank you.
50:44
SPEAKER_04: First off, I'd like to commend our county and commissioners, commissioners especially, uh what a great job they did do um for the county in this disaster compared to some of the other counties.
50:57
SPEAKER_04: We went with the U.S.
50:58
SPEAKER_04: Army Corp of Engineers, which is completely refundable to the county.
51:02
SPEAKER_04: Some of these other counties went private and had to come up with the money to pay them, expecting to get the FEMA money.
51:08
SPEAKER_04: And now they're financially in trouble and have to come up with a way to figure this out.
51:14
SPEAKER_04: I think we need to stay focused on finishing the recovery effort here, especially with our road bridges and critical infrastructure, and make sure every state and federal dollar we can get into Wataga to prepare for what's to come next, because these seem to be happening more often.
51:31
SPEAKER_04: Thank you.
51:32
SPEAKER_06: All right, it's now time for you to make your case to the voters.
51:36
SPEAKER_06: You'll have two minutes for your closing remarks, and we'll start off with Adam Hagee.
51:42
SPEAKER_03: Well, I want to again thank you all for being here.
51:45
SPEAKER_03: Thank you all for uh listening to us uh share our messages, and I want to thank you all for the Chambers of Commerce and Appalachian Theater again.
51:53
SPEAKER_03: Um, as we close tonight, I want to come back to something simple, and that is why I'm running.
51:58
SPEAKER_03: I'm running because I believe Wataga County is worth fighting for and worth investing in.
52:04
SPEAKER_03: My family and I have called this county home for 12 years.
52:06
SPEAKER_03: We built our life here, we've raised our daughter here, and I've had the privilege of serving this community in multiple ways, and most recently as a member of the Watague County Board of Education.
52:17
SPEAKER_03: I've spent my career working in higher ed, public health, and local government.
52:22
SPEAKER_03: And those experiences have taught me that progress doesn't happen because one person has all the answers.
52:29
SPEAKER_03: It happens when we listen, it happens when we bring people together, and it happens when we focus on solving the problems that actually affect people's lives.
52:40
SPEAKER_03: As you're a county commissioner, I'll focus on the fundamentals.
52:45
SPEAKER_03: Working to make Wataga County more affordable, strengthening our schools and child care opportunities, supporting Hurricane Helene recovery, expanding access in any ways possible to rural health care, protecting our environment, and managing inevitable growth responsibly.
53:03
SPEAKER_03: But I also want to be clear about how I will approach the job.
53:07
SPEAKER_03: I will listen before I act, I'll ask tough questions, I'll work across differences, and I'll make decisions based on what is best for Wataga County, not what is always easiest or the most politically convenient.
53:24
SPEAKER_03: Our county is changing that brings challenges, but it also brings opportunity.
53:30
SPEAKER_03: We have an opportunity to build an economy where people can afford to live, a community where families can thrive, and a future where our children and grandchildren can still recognize the place we call home.
53:41
SPEAKER_03: That's the Wataga County I want to help build.
53:43
SPEAKER_03: I'm not running because I think you have all the answers.
53:46
SPEAKER_03: I'm running because I'm ready to listen, ready to work, and ready to serve.
53:50
SPEAKER_03: And I humbly ask for your vote.
53:51
SPEAKER_03: Thank you.
53:52
SPEAKER_06: Rick Woods.
53:54
SPEAKER_07: Thank you.
53:55
SPEAKER_07: Uh again, it is a privilege and an honor to be here.
54:00
SPEAKER_07: I thank you, the chambers.
54:02
SPEAKER_07: I thank the Appalachian Theater, and I thank the people for listening to us.
54:07
SPEAKER_07: Um I'm not an eloquent speaker, so I get sidetracked.
54:13
SPEAKER_07: That's fine.
54:13
SPEAKER_07: I apologize for that.
54:15
SPEAKER_07: But I've lived in Boone since uh 1984.
54:17
SPEAKER_07: When I moved to Boone here in Boone, it was a very small, it was a small community.
54:23
SPEAKER_07: App State had maybe seven, eight thousand students.
54:27
SPEAKER_07: You could drive around and just enjoy time.
54:30
SPEAKER_07: Five o'clock was no different than three o'clock.
54:33
SPEAKER_07: Uh over the 40 years I've seen it grow.
54:37
SPEAKER_07: Now town is if you go somewhere at five o'clock, you think it'll take you 20 minutes, it might take you 20, it might take you 30, but roads congested, streets, buildings, I mean, everywhere you look.
54:51
SPEAKER_07: Uh I am proud of Abstate.
54:53
SPEAKER_07: I think uh I'm in a unique position where a majority of my voters are abstate students, and uh I think that having them here is a is a is a blessing.
55:06
SPEAKER_07: I think that the problem is that so many voters think that uh elections are like a football game.
55:17
SPEAKER_07: It's the R's against the D's, and it's just it couldn't be further from the truth.
55:21
SPEAKER_07: We're up here to tell you our issues and elections are about issues.
55:25
SPEAKER_07: Please don't vote for or against any one of us because of the letter next to the name or because somebody hands you a list.
55:34
SPEAKER_07: I thank you for taking the time to listen to our issues tonight.
55:37
SPEAKER_07: I thank you that you took you care enough about the issues that you took the time.
55:41
SPEAKER_07: I uh ask that you uh consider voting for me.
55:45
SPEAKER_07: I would appreciate it.
55:47
SPEAKER_07: I will serve as your county commissioner.
55:49
SPEAKER_07: I love this town, it's home, and uh that's all I can say.
55:52
SPEAKER_07: Thank you.
55:54
SPEAKER_05: Sabba Costas.
55:57
SPEAKER_04: Thank you.
55:57
SPEAKER_04: Now that I'm feeling a little bit more uh comfortable, it's over, right?
56:00
SPEAKER_04: I really should have taken that public speaking class uh at AB State.
56:05
SPEAKER_04: So I do appreciate you guys being here tonight, and thank you guys, Boon Area Chamber of Commerce, for putting on this event.
56:11
SPEAKER_04: We've heard a lot of different opinions and thoughts about what a county commissioner should and shouldn't be, and some of those contradict each other on topics.
56:19
SPEAKER_04: But at the end of the day, I want you to choose who you believe in would be best for your vote for county commissioner.
56:25
SPEAKER_04: With me, you what you see is what you get.
56:28
SPEAKER_04: Everything you've heard tonight from me is the core of who I am.
56:31
SPEAKER_04: If something resonated with you tonight, know that you will be getting that as a leader when you vote for me.
56:36
SPEAKER_04: Running for county commissioner has been a really humbling experience for me.
56:40
SPEAKER_04: I've learned even more about our community throughout this experience, and it's ignited a fire in me to want to serve even more.
56:48
SPEAKER_04: I've had many people reach out to me and say they don't care what side of the ballot I'm on.
56:53
SPEAKER_04: I'm a fan of Savakostas, his character, work ethic, and that they support me.
56:58
SPEAKER_04: And I'm not gonna get emotional over that.
57:01
SPEAKER_04: Um, it's hard not to, right?
57:03
SPEAKER_04: But anyway, many of you may be in my district, but you may not know exactly what that means.
57:08
SPEAKER_04: So, district two in local terms is New Market out to Old 421, Browns Chapel, Bamboo, East Side of Boone, up Poplar Grove or Winklers Creek to Poplar Grove.
57:22
SPEAKER_04: If you're living in that district, I really appreciate your vote.
57:25
SPEAKER_04: And if you're not in that area, I bet you know someone or you thought of someone when I said those names.
57:32
SPEAKER_04: If you want to support me, call them, tell them you heard what I had to say, and that you believe I'd be the best fit for uh County Commissioner for Wataga County.
57:41
SPEAKER_04: Thank you.
57:42
SPEAKER_05: Ray Russell.
57:44
SPEAKER_01: Thank you for being here tonight.
57:46
SPEAKER_01: Um, thanks for your interest in this race, and thank you to our moderators for um taking doing such a good job to uh set us up with these questions.
57:58
SPEAKER_01: And thank you, Sava.
58:00
SPEAKER_01: I I mean I I I talked to that's okay.
58:03
SPEAKER_01: I talked to a couple of folks last weekend that know Sava, and I said, you know, I don't really know him very well.
58:10
SPEAKER_01: And and they had nothing but they said you were a gentleman, and uh you have proven that tonight.
58:16
SPEAKER_01: I I do want to make one correction and throw out one kudo.
58:21
SPEAKER_01: One correction is Governor Cooper did not have the authority to pay send any money to Western North Carolina.
58:29
SPEAKER_01: He cannot change a toilet in the governor's mansion unless there's an allocation from the legislature to do it.
58:37
SPEAKER_01: So that part we need to take care of.
58:39
SPEAKER_01: And one kudo.
58:41
SPEAKER_01: Watauga County, there was such a challenge through through Helene.
58:47
SPEAKER_01: And one person who has not gotten enough credit was Darren Gioque.
58:53
SPEAKER_01: Darren, our county manager, if we hadn't had him in place, he knew exactly what needed to happen from day one, and he went through to do it.
59:02
SPEAKER_01: And kudos to him for his excellent work.
59:05
SPEAKER_01: We we were just kind of following behind his lead when it came to that.
59:11
SPEAKER_01: I've been campaigning since January, and I've talked to probably a thousand voters at least.
59:19
SPEAKER_01: And here's what they've told me matters to them in this election.
59:23
SPEAKER_01: They want housing that doesn't, that's that they can afford, they want child care that is available, and they want schools that our children deserve.
59:33
SPEAKER_01: Those three things come up over and over again, and that's my agenda.
59:39
SPEAKER_01: That's what I want to get done.
59:41
SPEAKER_01: And and you know, I have experience in a very variety of things and and have people around me that can help me understand issues that I wasn't trained to understand.
59:53
SPEAKER_01: But one thing that I know, I heard a lot of people talk tonight about problems that can't be solved.
1:00:00
SPEAKER_01: And I I'm never a believer in that.
1:00:03
SPEAKER_01: I'm a believer that with courage and inspiration, we can accomplish much.
1:00:08
SPEAKER_01: And that's why I'm running for county commission.
1:00:12
SPEAKER_06: These are your candidates for County Commission, District 1, Adam Hagee, and Rick Woods.
1:00:17
SPEAKER_06: District 2, Sava Costas, and Ray Russell.
1:00:21
SPEAKER_06: Let's give him a big hand.
1:00:22
SPEAKER_02: That concludes this special edition of Mind Your Business.
1:00:25
SPEAKER_02: Subscribers of our podcast will see these full archives for these more individual candidate interviews, as well as the full archives of our individual interviews broken down to race.
1:00:53
SPEAKER_02: Thanks for making this cool thank you for your interest in local collections.
1:01:04
SPEAKER_02: Thanks for listening.
1:01:05
SPEAKER_02: David Jackson, so long, everybody.