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Dillsboro leaders disagree over theater
By Derek Hodges
Dillsboro town leaders Monday night (Dec. 6) argued over a letter of intent that would allow Kudzu Players to apply for grants to build a new theater in the town.
"It would be irresponsible of this board to enter into any type of agreement without some idea of the cost," said board member Emma Wertenberger.
"But we're not promising to do anything now," Mayor Jean Hartbarger said.
The letter was drafted by town attorney Jay Spiro and states the intent of the letter is to give "Kudzu the authority to apply for grant funding."
The trouble came with another part of the letter, "Dillsboro will work in a collaborative way with Kudzu, within the available construction budget, to construct an appropriate theatre complex that is usable and desirable for future Kudzu productions."
"We can't move forward without knowing more of the cost for citizens," Wertenberger said.
Kudzu can't provide a suitable estimate without some funding to hire an architect, Hartbarger said.
"They need grant money to begin the planning process and they need the letter to begin finding grants," she said.
Wertenberger had previously objected to a different letter of intent from Kudzu. She claimed the theater would cost $1 million.
"I'm not asking for them to hire an architect, I'm asking for them to give us some idea of the cost," Wertenberger said.
Hartbarger insisted Kudzu would have to hire an architect to get an estimate for the property.
"Jean, they have to know something, they must have some idea how much this project is going to cost," Wertenberger said.
Several other board members also weighed in, maintaining that approval of the letter was the first step in getting the project started.
"As I understand it this is a non-binding letter," said board member Jim Cochran. "We can cancel this at anytime if we want to."
Additionally, a plan board members received from Kudzu said the theater company would hire two full-time employees to staff the theater after it is completed. Since Kudzu had reported they were not expecting any profit this year, Wertenberger said the town would have to pay for those positions.
"The town's going to have to pay two full-time people to work there," she said.
"It doesn't say that, Emma," Hartbarger said.
"Yes, it does," Wertenberger said.
After about 30 minutes of debate, Hartbarger called the question. The motion passed with Wertenberger the only dissenting vote.
"I'm glad your tax money is being used so wisely," Wertenberger told one citizen attending the meeting after the vote.
Board members also voted to begin the application process for a community development block grant to help improve a residential area on Hemlock Street and Patterson Drive that is composed mostly of mobile homes.
The grant, which will be administered by either Mountain Projects or the Southwestern Commission, will provide the town money to purchase the property the mobile homes are located on, improve water and sewer service to these homes and several others in that area, remove five older mobile homes and purchase four double-wide mobile homes for the four homeowners who will be displaced.
The fifth mobile home to be removed is a rental, and the tenant in that home will be allowed to find another place to live with some assistance, according to town clerk Herb Nolan.
The homeowners would be provided alternate living arrangments while the new homes are being put in place. The grant would pay for those people to stay in a hotel or other facility for a short time.
Additional property the town would acquire in the deal would be made available to low-to-moderate income homeowners who plan to build small houses or locate double-wides on the property.
The grants are awarded in an area that includes all counties west of Catawba County. The last time a grant was awarded to a town in this area was several years ago, when Robbinsville received one, said Tom Tyre, community development administrator for the Southwestern Commission.
The fact that it has been so long since any community in this region received a grant may be a good sign for Dillsboro, said Tyre. The region seems overdue for another grant, he said.
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