Buncombe is moving to buy tens of thousands more masks for free distribution at buildings and to government employees after recent high demand for quality masks made them run out quickly.

During the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners Feb. 1 meeting, County Manager Avril Pinder added an item to the old business agenda, requesting the county be allowed to buy $50,000 of new KN95 masks, which the CDC says offer better protection against COVID-19 than cloth or surgical masks.

Commissioners voted to approve the spending 6-1, with Commissioner Robert Pressley voting "no."

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These masks would be available to members of the public visiting government facilities and to Buncombe government employees, who used them up quickly when they first became available in 2021.

"We ordered 10,000 before and they were gone within two days of opening," Pinder said.

When commissioners asked, Pinder said the masks cost about $12,000-$20,000 per bundle of 15,000 masks and that the county would be using American Rescue Plan Act money to make the purchase.

The county in August 2021 set aside $1 million in ARPA contingency funds for "COVID pandemic response as needed," according to a document tracking COVID relief spending. This "contingency" money is dedicated to vaccination, testing, contact tracing and personal protective equipment.

More: $17.9 million in federal COVID funding: Asheville groups pitch requests to City Council

Pinder said she wanted mask spending to repeat until the county got to a certain COVID percent-positivity goal — 5% was mentioned, but leaders haven't committed to a number yet.

But some commissioners wanted to wait. 

"I support the recommendation but with the idea we monitor this, see how quickly those (masks) are depleted," Commission Chairman Brownie Newman said. "I don't think it needs to be limited."

He said the county needs to pay attention to other ARPA spending priorities, too.

More: Buncombe County Commission to vote on $1.6 million in ARPA funds for arts, business recovery

Pinder, who during the meeting initially proposed purchasing 30,000 masks, said she believed supplies would "go quickly, in my opinion."

"Do you think it would go before our next meeting in February?" Commissioner Jasmine Beach-Ferrara asked Pinder.

Pinder said they could talk about holding off on repeat orders until the Feb. 15 Board of Commissioners meeting.

Buncombe County's current mask mandate for public spaces lasts through Feb. 16. 

More:Omicron like a 'wildfire': Buncombe mask mandate extended, 'really hard' weeks coming

"We will come back on Feb. 15 and have a final conversation about that," Pinder said.

Commissioner Robert Pressley expressed his reservation about the spending, initially voting "yes" to add the item to the agenda, but then said he'd vote "no" on the spending because local fire departments, which had been the main distribution posts for the masks and tests on Jan. 20 and 27, had been burdened by the distribution process.

More:Buncombe is handing out more free COVID tests and masks. Here's where.

Pressley said that "$50,000 is a lot of money," adding he had heard fire departments "didn't want to get back into the program" for distributing masks and tests because of "harassment."

Pinder said the $50,000 wouldn't go toward this public distribution program.

"About the fire departments, we would not be using that method again," Pinder told Pressley. She explained the masks are just for employees and for distribution at government facilities.

Commenting on Pinder's request, Commissioner Parker Sloan noted he also was supportive. 

"People should expect things from government in crisis; things for free and things at their fingertips," he said, adding research he read showed the best way to get people to wear mask was to get them easily accessible.

"That's why I support it above all else."

Related:COVID-19 cases skyrocket in Asheville, Buncombe: Where and how can you get tested?

Related:Omicron rises, but so do vaccinations

When asked about specifics regarding the mask spending since it was an added agenda item, Buncombe spokesperson Kassi Day said: "(W)e will be ordering KN95 or N95 masks to replace the surgical style masks that we have on hand in public facing buildings for the public to access. These will not be distributed via fire departments or other community partners."

She added specifies about how many masks will be ordered and the actual cost will be available once the order had been placed.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that "loosely woven cloth products provide the least protection, layered finely woven products offer more protection, well-fitting disposable surgical masks and KN95s offer even more protection."

Since about mid-December, Buncombe like the rest of the nation has reported massive new COVID case spikes, a result of the quickly spreading omicron variant. New case numbers, however, have recently declined in Buncombe.

Compared to COVID metrics from between Jan. 24-31, cases have dropped from 907 new cases per 100,000 to 875 new cases per 100,000, according to Buncombe's Health and Human Services department.

As of Feb. 2, 491 Buncombe residents have died of COVID-related symptoms. 

Andrew Jones is Buncombe County government and health care reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the  USA TODAY Network. Follow or reach him at @arjonesreports on Facebook and Twitter. Email him at arjones@citizentimes.com.