Buncombe County committee hears bond project updates, directs staff to clarify annual report and dashboard

The Buncombe County bond oversight committee on Tuesday heard updates from staff about the status of general-obligation bond projects for affordable housing and open space, was told roughly $14.9 million in bonds has been issued to date, and directed staff to revise the committee’s annual report and dashboard to show clearer data definitions and a simple table of bond issuance.

Committee members were given project-level updates for several affordable housing developments — Laurelwood, Lakeshore Villas and Maryville — and for a list of planned open-space and passive recreation projects, including Redwood Commons and Rocky River Apartments. Rachel Sawyer, strategic partnerships director, said the county’s data sources include FEMA damage assessments and a recent housing needs and capacity assessment (the OAN report), and that staff are using those to update supply-and-demand assumptions after recent storm damage.

Why it matters: Committee members said members of the public and county leaders need clear, consistent figures showing what money is budgeted, what is contractually committed and what has…