Commission agrees to seek grant funds

The Alleghany County Board of Commissioners agreed during a special called budget meeting Monday night to seek Building Reuse and Restoration Program grant funds to help renovate spaces for a new dentist and to help a day care expand.

County Manager Don Adams said the funds are being requested from the North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center Inc. and may be used to help renovate space for businesses that plan to create new jobs.

In the case of the day care, which he said can't be named until the process is complete, it hopes to relocate and expand into to the former location of Roxie's Ranchouse on the Sparta Parkway (U.S. 21 bypass). He said the business is planning to create two new jobs and hopes to get a $24,000 grant for the renovation work.

The creation of jobs is a key part of the grant process, which allows for the renovation of certain vacant facilities in rural areas. The grants must be repaid by the business if the jobs aren't created and maintained for a set period of time.

Adams said the dentist hoping to come to this area cannot be named until the negotiations are complete. However, the office would result in the creation of three new jobs and would be seeking $36,000 in renovation funds from the Rural Center in the form of a grant.

Adams said the town and county will be working with the dentist to try to work out an incentive agreement with the dentist, which likely would involve the repayment of student loans by the county and town in return for the new dental clinic locating here.

Adams said discussions on the contract with the dentist, as well as the renovation grant, will be coming back to the board at a later time.

The commission has a joint meeting scheduled for March 30 with the Sparta Town Council, at which time the dentist contract likely will be discussed. That meeting will be held in the meeting room on the bottom floor of the County Administration Building.

The commissioners also have scheduled another budget session for April 27 at 5:15 p.m.

Adams told the board that sales tax revenues remain down and that it is difficult to speculate on how the taxes might come in as the budget cycle progresses. The commissioners are already facing a budget shortfall of about 5 percent using this year's numbers and expected revenues. However, Adams said that number could increase to up to 7 percent if the lower sales tax collections seen in February continue.

In other action March 16, the board:

• agreed to allow Jim Connor to again oversee the Alleghany County Farmers Market in the parking lot of the new County Administration Building at 348 S. Main St. in Sparta. The market's official opening date was not set, said Conners, but it usually begins around May;

• agreed to pursue a plan that would allow the Alleghany Tax Office to accept credit cards. The office will likely start accepting credit cards sometime later this year—hopefully by August—for all vehicle and property taxes; however, those making the payments will be charged a non-refundable fee per transaction.