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County leaders write off $15,677 debt
By Derek Hodges
County commissioners voted Monday (May 15) to cancel a $15,677 debt.
Citing a question from The Sylva Herald, county Manager Ken Westmoreland explained the county has no choice but to write the outstanding revolving loan off the books.
“There’s been many attempts to try to collect this debt,” Westmoreland said. “There’s nothing the county can do. It simply makes no sense to leave it on the books.”
The loan was made to Country Collections in 2000 from a fund used to encourage economic development in the county. Gregg Thomas and Bud Boynton established the company to do door-to-door solid waste and recyclables collection in Sylva, Westmoreland said.
When it was first made, the loan totalled $12,500. Country Collections’ owners made a few payments on the loan, but soon entered legal proceedings against each other. The company closed shortly afterward, leaving the county holding the loan, which has been accruing interest as county leaders hoped the money would be repaid, Westmoreland said.
With the company defunct, the county cannot hold Thomas and Boynton responsible for the loan, Westmoreland said. There is also no collateral to help repay the debt, he said.
When asked by The Herald May 2 how the company was allowed to default on that amount of money, Westmoreland pointed the finger at Tom McClure, then-chairman of the revolving loan committee.
“Why don’t you ask Tom McClure about that?” Westmoreland said. “He was the party that recommended this little company to the county.”
When contacted for a response, McClure said he was not alone in recommending the loan.
“I don’t recall the details, but it wasn’t just me,” McClure said. “It always had to be approved by the loan committee. I just carried the request to the commissioners and they approved it.
The Revolving Loan Committee was dissolved and McClure was removed from all county posts by commissioners in February 2005. At that time commissioners voted to take on the work of the committee.
In other business May 15:
– Commissioner Joe Cowan said he is concerned about community members who believe construction of a new senior center is not in next year’s budget.
“I had a number of phone calls from people who seemed to be confused about whether the new senior center is in the 2006-07 budget,” Cowan said.
Cowan made a motion directing Westmoreland to recommend an architect to commissioners to begin drafting plans for the new facility that is slated to include the Department on Aging, Mountain Projects and a Jackson County Mission Center, according to the county’s draft budget. It will also house a professional kitchen available to the organizations and others in the county, Westmoreland said.
The proposed budget includes $150,000 for architectural and engineering work on the building, which will be part of the Webster Complex. Money for construction will come later, Westmoreland said.
Cowan’s motion, which Westmoreland said is already standard procedure, passed unanimously.
– Dillsboro resident T.J. Walker addressed commissioners on a recent Federal Energy Regulatory Commission recommendation regarding Duke Energy’s relicensing applications that would allow removal of the Dillsboro Dam.
Walker, who owns the Dillsboro Inn located adjacent to the dam, opposes its removal.
Walker suggested commissioners consider building up the county’s reputation as a haven for trout fishermen to encourage tourism. The dams at Dillsboro and Cullowhee would be key parts of that plan, he said.
“The two reservoirs at those dams are the best places for trout,” he said.
(Both the Tuckaseigee Water and Sewer Authority’s and Western Carolina University’s water system intakes are just upstream of the Cullowhee Dam. The Herald has heard no report of plans to remove it.)
While he does not like Duke’s plans, Walker supports the county’s alternate proposal that would keep the Dillsboro Dam in place.
“This latest Environmental Assessment that’s come out is an example of how Duke Energy has really abandoned our community,” Walker said. “I just want to compliment (county leaders) for sticking to your guns. The rubber is starting to hit the road with respect to this relicensing.”
– Timm Muth, coordinator of the county’s Green Energy Park project, told commissioners work on the center is progressing well and a grand opening on the first phase is planned for Oct. 1.
The project will locate various craft studios, greenhouses and a biodiesel operation at the former county landfill in Dillsboro. The center will be powered by burning methane from the buried trash.
“The place is really starting to shape up and it really looks good now,” Muth said.
The center is projected to create 20 jobs in its first year of operation and more will follow in the coming years, Muth said.
– Commissioners voted unanimously to change the name of the road that accesses the Green Energy Park site from Landfill Road to Green Energy Park Road.
The change was made in an effort to avoid connecting the word “landfill” with the project.
– County officials voted to change one Health Department employee’s title from dental assistant to dental hygienist.
The employee will soon complete necessary training to serve as a hygienist, a position the county currently fills with a contract worker. Allowing a county employee to fill that position will save about $10,000 a year in that department, since a salary is cheaper than the contract payments, Westmoreland said.
The open assistant’s position will be filled after July 1, Westmoreland said.
– Commissioners agreed to reimburse the Jackson County Rescue Squad for several extended searches conducted over the past year.
“They approached me about this, and I told them to collect their receipts and bring them to us,” Commissioners’ Chairman Brian McMahan said.
The operations totalled $9,210, Westmoreland said.
“That placed them in a pretty difficult financial situation for the rest of this year,” he said.
County leaders voted unanimously to repay the squad out of the county’s contingency fund.
– Commissioners approved July 4 fireworks proposals from the Recreation and Parks Department for shows in Sylva and Cashiers, and from Wade Hampton Golf Club south of Cashiers.
– County leaders agreed to hold a joint meeting with School Board members at 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 30, at Smoky Mountain High School. The groups are expected to take action during that meeting to approve bids for the next phase of construction at SMHS.
Commissioners are expected to discuss possible amendments to the proposed budget during their June 5 session at 6 p.m. They will approve a budget for the 2006-07 fiscal year on June 19, also at 6 p.m.
At Crawford’s suggestion, county leaders agreed to meet only once in July. That meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Monday, July 17, in the Justice Center.
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