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Library is lucky to have volunteers like Thompson
To the Editor:
I read with interest J.T. Cowart’s letter in last week’s paper. I appreciate his concern about the new Jackson County Library, but being very involved in the process, I have reached very different con---clusions.
Choosing to build the library in the downtown rather than at SCC is a process that took several years and has involved a great many people in the community. Many of them have given generously of their time and expertise to help reach this decision. These are people who care enough about their town and their com----munity to spend hours going to meetings, making telephone calls, distributing petitions, writing letters, doing research, talking to people, making financial contributions and attending more meetings. The process of planning and funding the new library will take many, many more hours of volunteer work.
Many downtown merchants like myself have been involved. Most of us have worked hard over the last 10 years and more to revitalize downtown Sylva, and we feel that the library is an important part of that revitalization. We take pride in the new energy of the town; we have invested our time and our money in our businesses, and we hope to protect that investment. Does this disqualify us to serve on the committees that are working to build the new library? How about people who love books, and who relish the search for new information? These people too have a personal interest in building a beautiful new library full of resources; they would benefit personally from it –they might even benefit financially. Should their help be declined because of this?
Many of the volunteers on these committees have special skills. Some have years of library experience. Others have business skills, fund raising and grant writing experience, ability in community organizing – and all of them are essential to the process of planning the new library. Among these volunteers, we are very fortunate to have people with skills and experience in architecture and construction. Because of his expertise and skill, Odell Thompson was hired by the Commissioners to help them to make an informed decision about the site for the new library. No promises were made to hire him to do the architectural renderings. He is currently a volunteer, working as a part of the project design committee to pull together information that has been and will continue to be gathered from the com-munity and other sources to help plan for the best library that we can build.
How fortunate we are to have the owners of an adjacent piece of property as friends to this project. Plans for the development of condominiums were well underway before the site for the library was chosen. Jim Dukes, Jay Coward and Jay Spiro were not involved in that decision. As a matter of fact, Coward made an eloquent plea to build the new library behind the old Courthouse. I am sure that this development is a financial investment for these people, but if they are willing to support plans for a greenway access to the library through their development, we as a community will be much richer. If people want to live in their development because of they are near the library, so much the better. According to a recent survey by the National Endowment for the Arts, people who read are more involved in music and the arts, in volunteer and charity causes, and in sporting events. Readers don’t just sit home and watch TV.
All the people of Jackson County can benefit from the new public library. This is a reason to get involved, not to look for conflicts of interest. If you have concerns, visit www.newjacksonlibrary.org for lots of information and the dates and times of meetings of the Project Design and Fund-raising committees. Get in---vol--ved – we need all the help we can get.
Joyce Moore
Sylva
New Airport Authority leadership must change course
To the Editor:
In response to a recent letter about the Jackson County Airport entitled, “Make Lemonade,” which comments on the efforts I have made to inform the taxpayers of the the lack of fiscal policy and financial responsibility inherent in the management system, I admit that I am guilty of decrying these issues often.
In fact, I appeared before the Jackson County Board of Commissioners on Sept. 30 pointing out to the commissioners that the Airport Authority’s intention to borrow $1.2 million from the U.S.D.A. at 4 percent interest was unbelievable. I pointed out the airport income is too small and inadequate to pay $48,000 interest for the first year, plus principle payments.
If you can’t even afford an employee and sit in the middle of decay, waiting for a hand-out from the Jackson County Commissioners for large grants of taxpayers’ money, it points out failed and non-existent leadership.
Only by informing the taxpayers of Jackson County of these inherent problems can we hope for changes, a suitable business model geared to becoming no longer the taxpayers’ charity case, but hopefully, a workable business model that is self-supporting. That is my idea (and others’, also) of making lemonade out of this lemon, or at least 26 years of puckering the taxpayers’ mouths.
I think back to the handouts here and the handouts there that may appear small and of little consequence in the larger picture of “rip off the taxpayer.” But the Medicare scandals of many years ago negate that suppostion.
A leading newspaper made this comment: “There are too many people feeding at the public trough.”
It really was a field day for the high and low to bite off big chunks and small chunks of taxpayers’ money and damage the Social Security system extensively, even to this day. Now we have the drug companies having a field day at the taxpayers’ expense, a little at a time. Time has proven that small amounts here and there become an enormous problem.
Under new leadership, hopefully, things will change. A recent article in The Sylva Herald reported that the Airport Authority had received a clean bill of health. The audit report for 2002-03 that I acquired under the Freedom of Information Act, as I read it, indicates otherwise.
The violation of G.S. 1604-20 took place when the Airport Authority borrowed $100,000 from a local bank, but had no authority to do so (2002). The Authority violated G.S. 159-8 by failure to adopt and operate under an annual balanced budget ordinance.
Not only was money borrowed without authority, but the loan was not even paid off on time and an extension was granted. There was also no balanced budget in 2003 and, again, a statute violation on financing because the authority failed to have the Local Government Commission review and approve the financing as required by law.
Are these things indicative of a “clean bill of health?”
An old axiom states, “A new broom sweeps clean.” The Airport Authority has a lot of new brooms and this gives us hope that a new business model will evolve that states, “If we can’t pay for it now and in the future, obligations we contract will be made on this criteria. We will rescale and rethink projects to meet our financial ability to pay.”
Why should some of the board and the taxpayers be kept from being abreast of public information?
All the current authority membership has to do to keep informed and to inform the public is outsource all financial information to a good accountant. This would be invaluable to have monthly updates to keep on track financially and nothing would be hidden from anyone.
How could the full Authority plan for the future when they are operating in the financial dark?
Certinly the airport can’t afford a business manager at a large salary if they can’t even afford an employee to put in light bulbs and do other necessary jobs. All maintenance is done by pilots who volunteer.
The new leadership, because of all kinds of financial problems, is faced with learning to crawl before they can walk. They must learn to give up the addictive process of providing financial solutions to problems by feeding at the public trough.
Marie Leatherwood
Sylva
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