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EDC members discuss forgiving debt, hiring employee with county
By Justin Goble
Members of the local Economic Development Commission met with Jackson County commissioners Monday (Aug. 13) and discussed forgiving an outstanding loan and hiring an economic developer.
The work session came at the request of EDC members as a way to better define their working relationship with county leaders. One of the biggest issues is an outstanding loan payment on the former Tuckaseigee Mills plant.
Commissioners July 2 voted unanimously to accept Jackson Development Corp. assets, including Tuckaseigee Mills and Whittier Industrial Park properties and 10 acres adjacent to the former Buster Brown plant.
In acquiring the properties, commissioners also assumed the JDC’s debt on those parcels. The biggest of those is a $619,042 loan the EDC made to the JDC to purchase the Tuckaseigee Mills plant.
EDC members had discussed forgiving the debt during a July 23 meeting with commissioners. While Patrick Holleman made a motion to do so, other members said they wanted to discuss the matter further before making a final decision.
EDC Chairman Rick Fulton said that after discussion, EDC members had indicated they want to forgive the debt.
“Our committees have met, and I think there’s a consensus that we should forgive that debt,” Fulton said. “It’s not official. The whole board has to meet Aug. 27 to vote on it, but I think we will.”
That sentiment was echoed by EDC member Eugene Hansen.
“From all the discussions I’ve had with people, it’s pretty clear that the right thing to do is to forgive the debt and just close that door,” Hansen said.
Though stating his approval, commissioners’ Chairman Brian McMahan said there are still some outstanding payments county leaders had to take care of.
When looking over the JDC’s former assets, McMahan said he and finance officer Darlene Fox had determined that around $30,000 in back taxes are owed to the county, while another $5,800 was owed to the town of Sylva.
Though the $30,000 will be going back into county coffers, McMahan said the taxes couldn’t be waived and a record of the payment is needed for auditing purposes.
“That’s just one of those things that comes up and you don’t expect it,” McMahan said. “I asked someone at the Local Government Commission if we could just waive those taxes, but statutes state that they have to be paid by the end of this month. So at our next meeting we’re going have to appropriate around $38,000 from our contingency fund to take care of that.”
Another issue discussed was hiring a full-time economic developer. Though the new EDC bylaws state the position will be funded by the county, Fulton said EDC members are prepared to pay the first year’s salary for that position.
Fulton said an economic developer is needed to devise ways to attract new businesses to the area while serving as an informational resource for those already here. If the EDC is willing to pay the first year’s salary, Fulton said officials could start looking for a person soon.
“We need a full-time person,” Fulton said. “We have enough work to do to keep a full-time employee busy. It’s an essential part of what we’re trying to do. This is something we’d have to vote on to make official, but I think we’re prepared to pay for that first year.”
If the idea is approved, the position would switch to the county’s payroll after a year. Fulton said keeping the economic developer as a county employee would be a smart idea since the county has the money to provide benefits.
Since bylaws state the county will hire an economic developer, EDC member and Sylva Mayor Brenda Oliver said she wanted to make sure the EDC had a say in who was chosen.
“I think we should have some say in the hiring process,” she said. “We need to develop a job description and the duties covered in that.”
McMahan said he thought EDC members would sit in on interviews and help out with the hiring process.
The EDC will next meet Monday, Aug. 27, at 5:30 p.m. in Room 246 of the Justice Center.
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