Buncombe commissioners approve $15 million training center in Woodfin

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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 I’m surprised that nobody has really investigated plans that Buncombe County commissioners approved on Tuesday night to build a $15 million training center for firefighters and law enforcement personnel.

The center is going to be built on property the county owns off Riverside Drive in Woodfin, and it will be operated by the Law Enforcement Academy at AB-Tech. Again, the center will be in Woodfin, a town whose mayor is Jerry VeHaun, the man who works for Buncombe County government as director of Emegency Management Services. 

What’s the rationale behind moving forward with this project, and spending taxpayers’ money, right now? If there’s a dire need for this training center, I haven’t heard it (or seen it). Someone educate me.

Here’s what the center will feature:

the training center will provide training facilities, including classroom space; live fire burn buildings for residential, commercial, mobile home, and high rise buildings; flammable liquids simulator; road and skills courses; and other facilities that will not only accommodate state-of-the-art training techniques, but will foster teamwork across the various disciplines of law enforcement and emergency response; and

Go here to see a sketch of the facility, the county resolution and more.