The Joint Economic and Community Development Board met Monday at noon to discuss the development of resort plans along Watauga Lakefront.

County Mayor Rusty Barnett said current projects show the resort finishing phase one by next spring.

“First phase includes 20 rooms, four suites, a salon and spa, an event center for 150 people, a few cottages, a bakery and a dining room that can fit 150 people,” Barnett said.

He said the resort currently sits on a “green belt” of forest in the area, which means the buildings would work to preserve the natural habitats of plants and animals in the region.

Elizabethton City Planner Jon Hartman said people’s concerns about the development endangering the local “identity” of the Watauga region are misplaced.

“We often get concerned about losing our identity,” Hartman said.

He said this was an unnecessary fear, however, as the resort area is strictly in the rural part of Carter County, meaning the large urban areas will largely be unaffected.

With the area being largely undeveloped, Barnett said the county needs to start pushing internet up in the region, a project other board members said could snowball into similar projects for the rest of the county.

The board also discussed its future in the long-term, with Carter County Attorney Josh Hardin’s discussion of the potential opening of four more positions on their board, going up to 15 members.

“Carter County Tomorrow as it exists right now may be changing, and we might be absorbing some of its responsibilities,” Hardin said.

The board currently has around 11 members, consisting of representatives from both Elizabethton and Johnson City. They said they will be looking to fill the positions with an equal number of Elizabethton and Johnson City representatives in the next few weeks.

The board’s next meeting will take place on June 10 at noon at the Carter County Courthouse.