Thursday, December 12, 2013

AppalCART Annual Banquet

AppalCART's Annual Banquet
Tuesday December 10, 2013
Rick Presnell and Kay Wood

 
Director Chris Turner

Kay Wood and Chris Turner

Dusty Childress

Juliana Harrison

Marchelle Miller

Tommy Medley


Mack Johnson

Louis Ogletree

Rob Baskerville

Tim McGuire

Stephen Howard

Logan Freeman

Angie Boitnotte and Barry Sauls



Chris Caudill
 
Shop - Jerry Pearson, B.A. Arnette, Terry Wolfe
Kedith England

Mike and Joanna Wilcox




 

Thursday, August 8, 2013

Our View: And the wheels on the bus...

Director Chris Turner and NCDOT's Secretary of Transportation Tony Tata. Aug 2, 2013

Originally published: 2013-08-08 14:11:12
Last modified: 2013-08-08 14:11:55           

http://www2.wataugademocrat.com/Editorial/story/Our-View-And-the-wheels-on-the-bus-id-012193

Because we're all pleased that AppalCART replaces what would otherwise be about 1.6 million traffic-stifling vehicular trips each year, the solidification of the organization's new headquarters in Boone by way of a ribbon-cutting Aug. 2 is cause for celebration.

But there's more than a new building off the N.C. 105 Bypass to celebrate.

AppalCART began providing public transportation in 1981, and since that time the organization has never been solely about a building, buses and vans, and trip routes. Indeed, more important and critical to the success of this largely no-fare enterprise has been the partnerships which have allowed it to thrive.

From the diversity of its federal, state and local funding sources, to the host of statewide and community players which keep the wheels turning, that partnership was on fine display Aug. 2: Among those joining the event were representatives from N.C. Department of Transportation, the town of Boone, Watauga County and Appalachian State University.

By any account, that day was a long time in coming. A project first conceived in the form of renovation in 2000, it rightly morphed over time into a new construction project that would take -- including significant snags such as the departure of the original contractor only last year, forcing completion into the hands of the bonding company -- about four years.

But 13 years later, Watauga County is home to the crown jewel in the NCDOT's transportation system.

While there are unique aspects to Boone and Watauga County which help account for the achievement of this transportation model, it has worked also, albeit in more limited ways, in areas such as Chapel Hill, Carborro and Raleigh.

 Based on these success stories, it is a model -- and partnership -- that at least bears scrutinizing throughout the rest of North Carolina where centralized vehicular congestion is a concern.

Monday, August 5, 2013

Open-House Photo's

photo's by Joanna Wilcox












Ribbon-Cutting/Open-House

Stakeholders and supporters gather for a ribbon-cutting for the new AppalCART headquarters on Friday afternoon Aug 2, 2013. The group included, from left Boone Mayor Loretta Clawson, N.C. Secretary of Transportation Tony Tata and AppalCART Board Chairman Jerry Moretz.

AppalCART celebrates new building

by Kellen Short
              
Community members gathered for a ribbon-cutting Friday to celebrate the partnerships that led to the long-awaited opening of the new AppalCART headquarters.

N.C. Department of Transportation Secretary Tony Tata, who attended the event, called AppalCART the "premiere transit system" in the state, and he praised the staff for offering 1.6 million rides a year.  "That's 1.6 million trips in a car that you've taken off the road," Tata said.

AppalCART Director Chris Turner noted that construction of the building had been a long process. 
The agency first received a grant in 2000 to renovate its former building but later determined that the renovation would not yield enough space. By 2004, the agency had purchased land in Boone for a new structure and shortly thereafter hired Bill Clarke and David Moses as architects, Turner said.  Work began on the property off N.C. 105 Bypass in summer 2009 but hit snags last summer when the original contractor left the project in the hands of the bonding company, which then hired Greene Construction to complete the project.  Despite the hurdles, Turner said the building represented a true partnership between the N.C. Department of Transportation, the town of Boone, Watauga County and Appalachian State University, among others.  "The cooperation we've had over the years has been just fantastic," Turner said.  The result is an attractive new building with 23,000 square feet, improved garage and parking space, energy-saving features and more.

AppalCART board chairman Jerry Moretz remarked on "what a mess it would be" if AppalCART didn't exist to shuttle the students of ASU and community members.  He noted that he also had been present for the dedication of the former building on Winkler's Creek Road, a space now too small to adequately handle the agency's traffic.  "We look forward to it being our home for a long time," Moretz said.
 
 

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

consider yourself invited

and please come!

Thursday, May 30, 2013

May 28th Local-Coordinated-Plan Meeting

Although we haven't moved in, our second official meeting at the new facility. First one was May 14th Substance-Abuse Class taught by George Kilpatrick.

In attendance for the Local-Coordinated-Plan Meeting was:
Christopher Turner - AppalCART Director
Joanna Wilcox - AppalCART Secretary
Elaine Norris - Watauga County Social Services
Angie Boitnotte - Watauga County Project on Aging
Greg Lovins - Appalachian State Uni Vice-Chancellor for Public Affairs
Time Townsend - AppalCART Operations Manager
John Spear - Watauga County PLanner
David Graham - Region D
Kait Keller - Cottages of Boone
Phil Trew - Region D
Billy Ray Rhyne - Horizon Coach Lines
Robert Woods - Horizon Coach Lines
 
see photo's below

 





Billy Ray and Phil Trew