From Staff Reports 

 Buncombe County officials are opposing an effort by Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College to construct a meeting room with 800 seats in a planned building, so that the school can host allied health and workforce development programs.

If A-B Tech gets its way in holding more conferences than classes in a planned $50 million building at the school, Buncombe taxpayers could be indebted for tens of millions of dollars, according to county Finance Director Donna Clark.

In a worst-case scenario, Clark has estimated that the impact of the meeting room on the financing of the project could about double the cost to $101.9 million.

Conversely, Scott McKinney, A-B Tech’s vice president for business and finance, said the meeting room will not increase borrowing costs and would be used for events that are the core of the school’s educational mission.

As of the end of March, school and county officials have not been able to agree on whether the space is needed and whether it would jeopardize the tax-exempt status of bonds the county will issue to finance the building. The loss of the status would add millions of dollars to borrowing costs.