Ashe County commissioners voted Nov. 3 to approve an incentive agreement supporting a pending economic development project described in meeting materials as "Project Pandora." The agreement, which was reviewed by county and town attorneys, ties local cash incentives to specified capital investment and job‑creation metrics.

Presenter Nick told the boards the county would distribute $390,000 over three years, the town of West Jefferson would distribute $300,000 over three years, and Ashe County Job Development would provide $310,000 in the period described in the agreement. He said many of the specific investment and job numbers remain confidential until a state announcement and that redactions in the draft agreement reflect proprietary business information.

The county held a joint public hearing with the town of West Jefferson on the proposed expenditures. No members of the public spoke during the hearing and the public hearings were closed before the board took action. Commissioners then moved to approve the incentive agreement; the board recorded the motion and asked for a voice vote, which was taken as "Aye."

The presentation emphasized that the incentive is cash based and conditioned on metrics in the agreement tied to capital investment and job creation, and that the underlying private‑sector investment remains confidential until the state formally announces the project. Staff and presenters said more complete financial and job details will be disclosed after the state announcement.

Because specific employer names and confidential figures were withheld in the draft materials, the board did not discuss additional fiscal offsets or workforce commitments at length during the public meeting.

The county and the West Jefferson town board approved the measure during the same session.

Votes at a glance: the commissioners and the West Jefferson board approved the Project Pandora incentive agreement by voice vote; individual roll‑call tallies were not provided in the meeting record.