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BRCC theater students to star at MLK Unity Breakfast

Hendersonville News

City seeks architect to guide major projects

The city of Hendersonville is seeking an architect to guide the construction of several major buildings over the next five years, including a new police station, maintenance facilities, public restrooms. The architectural firm would also conduct a citywide facility space analysis and plan and design multiple renovations and expansion projects, the city said in a request for “statement of qualifications.” Responses are due on Friday, Jan. 13. The city plans “to select the three best qualified firms on the basis of demonstrated competence and qualification for the type of professional services required and to engage the services of such firms on an individual project basis for a period of five years,” the request said. “The selected firms would provide work on an as-needed basis and upon assignment by the City. Projects will be assigned to selected firms based on expertise, experience and staff capacity.”The scope of work would include evaluating projects and sites, evaluating financing and zoning, design the projects and present them to the public if requested, preparing construction bid documents and cost estimates and overseeing the construction and renovation projects.In hiring an architect to guide major projects, the city would be following a model used by Henderson County. The county Board of Commissioners has retained the ClarkNexsen architectural and construction management firm for more than $150 million worth of construction jobs, including the Health Sciences Center, Innovative High School, Hendersonville High School, Edneyville Elementary School, emergency services headquarters and law enforcement training center.   Read Story »

Hendersonville News

Van Winkle lawyers on 'Legal Elite' list

Van Winkle Law Firm attorneys Ryan W. Coffield and Michael M. Thompson have been recognized as Business North Carolina magazine’s 2017 Legal Elite. Coffield was honored in the “Young Guns” category and Thompson was honored in the “Real Estate” category.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

City eyes Redevelopment Commission, streetscape makeover for 7th Avenue

A vision for development of the Historic Seventh Avenue District includes brick paver crosswalks, a grassy median and design elements that tie the area to Main Street while maintaining a distinctive look.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Don't miss this week's Hendersonville Lightning (112)

You won't want to miss this week’s Hendersonville Lightning.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

McGrady commits to sponsor rollback of costly class size law

State Rep. Chuck McGrady vowed to lead the charge in the state House to roll back a K-3 class size law that local school leaders say will cost the county $3.5 million and potentially eliminate music, art and P.E. or force bigger classes in higher grades.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Tree recycling extended to Saturday

Snow, ice and single-digit cold could stay Mountain True from its appointed round — to grind up Christmas trees for mulch. Because of last weekend’s snowstorm the environmental organization's annual Holiday Recycling Event at Jackson Park has been rescheduled for Saturday, Jan. 14, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at ballfield 6 in Jackson Park. Area residents are invited to bring their Christmas trees, broken string lights and used greeting cards to be mulched and recycled. Trees can be dropped off on or before January 14; lights and greeting cards should be brought on Saturday. The mulcher has been provided by King Hardware & Rental and Hendersonville and Henderson County personnel will be on site to mulch the trees. Lights will be recycled by the Henderson County Coop Extension Service of the 4-H Project. MountainTrue volunteers will be on hand to help and serve free cookies and hot apple cider.     Read Story »

Henderson County News

Schools on two-hour delay

Henderson County schools are on a two-hour delay Wednesday, the first day back since the weekend snowstorm dumped 5-7 inches of snow in the area. Buses will not run on icy roads.     Read Story »

Henderson County News

Fire hydrant markers not just decorative

The Hendersonville Fire Department is nearing completion of a program that will assist firefighters in identifying fire hydrants and their flow rates during emergency incidents. Firefighters installed color-coded reflective markers on hydrants within the city to increase visibility and identify the hydrants water flow rate.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Ask Matt ... about sidewalk dining, HHS parking, French Broad River dock

Q. How did the outdoor dining on Main Street get started? The idea was lifted from South Carolina in 2002 but it didn’t get traction until then-Mayor Fred Niehoff and Downtown Hendersonville Director Jim Kastetter were having lunch. “Fred had just returned from Hilton Head and was telling me about a neat restaurant that offered outdoor dining,” said Kastetter. “The conversation sparked the idea that it might work on Main Street, so we got the city manager to look into it.” It was that simple.My own research showed that about the same time, someone wanted to sell hot dogs from a vending cart on Main Street. Local businesses quashed the sidewalk sales but they were intrigued with the idea of outdoor dining. City staff cranked out an ordinance and Council agreed to give it a try. The Charleston Grill pulled the first permit. Today there are 17 sidewalk dining choices on Main Street but still no hot dog vendors. Q. If they put extra student parking across US 25 for the new Hendersonville High School, what will that cost? Let’s make some broad assumptions. The County paid $2.75 million for the 3.1-acre Boyd Automotive tract so one may assume the 1.1 acre former used car lot across the street could be had for $976,000. That property would need to be cleared of all structures so let’s just put the price at an even one million dollars. Using a University of Tennessee design standard, at best you might squeeze 150 parking spaces on site at a cost of $667 per space. Keep in mind that we are not taking into account a pedestrian bridge over U.S. 25 nor are we looking at the nearby scout cabin property owned by the county schools. Q. What happened to the old “mask museum” on Fifth Avenue West. It’s gone. The property was recently purchased by the First United Methodist Church. Jim Kane, the church’s facilities manager, said the wooden structure was in very bad shape and could not be relocated or remodeled so it was razed. “You could almost see through the walls,” said Kane. The church has no current plans for the corner lot but may need it for future expansion. “Right now all we are going to do is plant grass,” said Kane. The church owns the adjacent eight apartment units, which will be remodeled and used for a project in line with the church’s mission. Q. Will the pier on the French Broad River in Horse Shoe tear away during a major flood? No, not according to Jeff Ferguson, an engineer with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. He contends that the Horse Shoe dock design has been thoroughly tested across the state. The dock is rock solid. It is secured to the bank by a 10-ton concrete abutment with steel post anchors. The dock rises with the river level because the sections are hinged together and the dock floats on foam-filled compartments. “By rising above the flood waters, the dock is subject to less stress that it would otherwise sustain if the free end were tied to the bank,” said Ferguson. “Also the dock is angled downstream to reduce resistance.” There is a similar dock a few miles downstream at Westfeldt Park near Sierra Nevada. * * * * * Send questions to askmattm@gmail.com.     Read Story »

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