GET TO KNOW BOONE

Get to know the town of Boone

BY MOSS BRENNAN

There are many functions in every town no matter how big or small.

A lot of community members may not interact with each and every aspect of town government, but they play very important roles. Here are some of the many key departments in the town of Boone in their own words.

Boone Fire Department

The Boone Fire Department is a full-service emergency services agency. We provide comprehensive fire protection, emergency medical first responder service, hazardous materials response services, and technical rescue services, and serve as the town of Boone’s emergency preparedness coordinating agency. We

The downtown Boone Fire Station. PHOTO SUBMITTED

also enforce state fire codes through annual fire inspections and construction inspections, conduct fire investigations, and provide public fire and injury prevention education programs for the general public and businesses. The Boone Fire Department provides these services for the town limits of Boone as well as a rural district surrounding Boone for a total of 40.5 square miles.

To accomplish all this, our department operates out of three fire stations, staffed with 32 full-time positions and 10 volunteers. Annually, we respond to almost 2,200 emergency calls for service. The Boone Fire Department is rated as “Class 2” in the town limits and a “Class 3” within five miles of a fire station by the insurance industry.

We can be reached at (828) 268-6180, which is the non-emergency number.

Boone Police Department

Welcome to Boone! There is a bumper sticker that you’ll see around town that says, “Boone sucks, tell your friends.” You are here now, but we need your help in keeping our little secret. Life is pretty great here in the High Country. There is a real sense of community. Road rage is a rare thing even though we have a lot of traffic congestion.

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Staywithus onyour next visittothe HighCountry

1184Highway105 Boone,NC28607 828-268-0099

2060BlowingRockRd. Boone,NC28607 828-268-0677

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We do not have an absence of crime, but compared to many other places our crime rates are low. Boone is the type of place where people chose to raise their family.

The Boone Police Department is made up of 38 sworn officers and two civilian employees. We strive to be a highly professional organization that delivers excellent police service to our residents and visitors. We are in the process of (as of late 2022) developing a social work program to further meet the needs of those in our community. We typically rely on local media to report our serious news as we have a close relationship, but we also use social media to provide information and unsolicited commentary on mostly light-hearted issues. You can follow us on Facebook @Town of Boone Police Department to stay in the know. If you need our assistance, we are dispatched through the Watauga County Communications Center at (828) 264-3761, which is the non-emergency number.

Boone Public Works Department

Boone Public Works consists of 75 employees who both install and repair Boone’s infrastructure. Thirty-one employees are employed within the General Fund budget, and complete maintenance for five bridges; resurfacing, patching, snow removal, leaf pickup and sweeping for 43+ miles of street; new construction, replacement, mowing and snow removal for 18+ miles of sidewalk; maintenance and mowing for 5+ miles of green ways, plus 6 parks, maintenance and mowing for Boone Cemetery; maintenance and repair, plus new installations for approximately 213 parking meters, seven pay-stations and 10 electric vehicle charging stations downtown; maintenance and repair for approximately 250 vehicles and pieces of equipment; leaf and debris pickup for our citizens; and new construction plus replacement and maintenance for approximately 10% of stormwater infrastructure throughout town.

Forty-three employees are employed within the Water and Sewer Fund budget and complete maintenance and repair for approximately 103 miles of water mains ranging in size from 2 inch to 24 inch in diameter, plus approximately 800 fire hydrants; maintenance and repair for approximately 100 miles of sewer mains ranging in size from 4 inch to 30 inch in diameter, plus approximately 2,327 manholes; read approximately 6,700 water meters each month for billing purposes; maintenance and mowing at seven water tanks totaling 6.1 million gallons of storage for treated water; perform maintenance and mowing for seven water pump-stations and 10 waste water pump-stations; provide safe drinking water to Federal and State requirements from three surface water intakes and the Ricky L. Miller Water Treatment Facility, plus treat both Boone and Appalachian State University’s waste water to federal and State requirements at the Jimmy Smith Waster Water Treatment Facility before discharging back to the New River.

We can be reached via email at publicworks@townofboone. net or by telephone at (828) 268-6230 or (828) 268-6250.

Planning and Inspections

The Planning and Inspections Department assists the Boone Town Council and appointed Boards and Commissions in managing growth and promoting public health, safety, and general welfare through the formulation of plans, policy recommendations, as well as the administration of the Town’s Unified Development Ordinance (UDO, North Carolina State Building Codes and various other codes and statutes). Our goal is to provide the very best service to

The sign for the Boone Police Department. PHOTO SUBMITTED

PHOTO SUBMITTED The sign for the town of Boone Public Works Department.

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our customers in the community while developing strategies to guide growth in a manner that preserves and enhances both the natural and built environments while creating a community of lasting value. Provided on the Department’s website — www.townofboone. net — are links on a variety of topics intended to assist residents, business owners and visitors on topics relating to land use, subdivision, building, inspections services, and development information in general.

The Planning and Inspections Department is located in the lower level of the Downtown Post Office located at 680 West King Street, Suite C. Limited free parking for customers of both the Post Office and the Department is available on Linney Street adjacent to the

PHOTO SUBMITTED The Boone Cultural Resources Department hosts many different events, including concerts at the Jones House.

building.

We can be reached via email at planning@townofboone. net or by telephone at (828) 268-6969.

Cultural Resources Department

The Town of Boone’s Cultural Resources Department helps oversee historic properties, host programs, and serve as a community resource. Housed in the Jones House Cultural Center in downtown Boone, the Cultural Resources department includes three full-time employees and several parttime event workers. In addition to the Jones House, the Cultural Resources Department helps work with user groups and programming at the Daniel Boone Park, Rivers Park and North Street Park. Cultural Resources oversees programming at the Jones House and other special events in town. Some of these programs and events include historic tours of downtown Boone, Summer Concerts at the Jones House, Boone Junior Appalachian Musicians, Boonerang Music & Arts Festival, Doc Watson Day, July 4th parade and fireworks, Boone BOO!, Festive First Friday and Solar Tree Lighting, and the Holiday Parade. Cultural Resources also works on special programs, like 2022’s Boone 150, sesquicentennial celebration.

For more information about the Cultural Resources Department, visit www.joneshouse. org or call (828) 268-6280.

For more information on the town of Boone, visit www. townofboone.net/.

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