I went to the Buncombe County Commissioners’ workshop this morning. I arrived just before 8:00 because this is what the announcement said:
On March 17, the Board will hold a budget workshop beginning at 8 a.m. in the First Floor Conference Room at 200 College Street.
That meant the board would convene at 8:30 and go into closed session to consider an “emergency economic development” matter. Ah, yes. If a little guy falls short on cash, as when he doesn’t get paid for a month or two, he gets slapped with fines and penalties. If a fat cat falls short on cash, well it’s a county emergency.
So, after an hour and fifteen minutes of wall-staring with six other sidelined souls, staff talked about boring zoning stuff. It’s all arbitrary to me, so whether we’re talking about a quarter mile or 500 feet, I could care less. Staff eventually got around to presenting the commissioners with a handful of bullet points, asking whether or not the commissioners wanted them to spend time and money developing ordinances pertinent thereto.
In response to the bullet point about possibly allowing mobile or manufactured homes in all zoning classifications, Commissioner Joe Belcher extolled the virtues of the homes for what felt like an hour. Sure, if you’re not sitting there on unpaid vacation, without a pile of already impossible deadlines back at the ranch, chewing the fat and bonding might make perfect sense. And so I decided I was doing nobody any favors to stay. I mean, you’re bored already.
