Future of old courthouse goes to committee

By Lisa Majors-Duff

Meeting Tuesday at the Justice Center, county commissioners agreed to form a nine-member task force and charge it with recommending a use for the 90-year-old building.

"One of these days the sheriff is going to move out of the old courthouse," Chairman Stacy Buchanan said. "Many people have expressed interest in making plans for the old courthouse."

"I'm very interested in seeing the courthouse preserved and possibly turned into a heritage museum," said Commissioner Roberta Crawford, whose sentiment was echoed by her fellow commissioners.

One potential stumbling block to any plan proposed for the courthouse is the county's lease agreement with Kudzu Players, said Chairman Buchanan, who suggested county attorney Paul Holt review the document and offer the board his opinion.

Jackson County officials entered into a 10-year lease with the community theater group in 1996, giving Kudzu use of the courtroom space to stage performances. The document provides for up to five five-year extensions.

Attempts by the county to secure a $300,000 state grant in 1999 to renovate the building were halted, in part, by the Kudzu lease. Commissioners at that time discussed finding the theater group an alternative performance location, but no action in that direction was ever taken.

In other business discussed Tuesday, commissioners gave county Manager Ken Westmoreland the go-ahead to pursue a $400,000 state grant to be used for low- to moderate-income housing rehabilitation. Jackson County becomes eligible for these type funds about every three years, Westmoreland told the board, and about $30,000 could be used per household to bring the buildings up to code.

"I would recommend you authorizing us to move forward with the loan application," Westmoreland said.

Should the county be successful, a mechanism would have to be set up to administer the funds, he said. "We've got a lot of the things in place to do the project; we just need a few more elements," Westmoreland said.

Also Tuesday, action on a request from the revolving loan committee appeared imminent until Commissioner Joe Cowan voiced several questions related to the process and attorney Holt expressed concern about the company's legal status.

Loan committee chairman Tom McClure appeared before the board to request a $125,000 loan be approved for Fraternal Composite Specialities for the purchase of 14 digital cameras. The company, which located in a Jackson Plaza storefront last year, has plans to employ 100 people by July, McClure told commissioners.

Cowan's confusion about the county's role in approving loans of this nature, in addition to Holt's question about the company's legal name prompted Commissioner Crawford to withdraw her approval motion.

In reply to Holt's question, Tamera Crisp of the county's planning and development office said the company name "Fraternal Composite Specialities" was chosen after the N.C. Secretary of State's office rejected the name "CMG" as being too similar to another North Carolina company. But before the rejection was announced, the county approved a loan of $200,000 using the CMG initials. Paperwork revisions are in the process of being made, Crisp said.

Another request heard but not acted on was made by Register of Deeds Joe Hamilton, who asked that $11,000 be transferred from his equipment account into an account used for salaries. A county employee has requested a transfer into his office, Hamilton said.

During discussions with the register of deeds, commissioners questioned the need to hire additional staff at this time and asked if the request could be delayed until the new budget year.

"My office handles between 50 and 100 instruments every day," said Hamilton, who gave credit for the increased work load to low interest rates. "I would appreciate the new employee."

Board members in December authorized Hamilton to use up to $15,000 from his salary budget line item to fund a separation allowance after he dismissed longtime employee LaRae Hooper, who lacked 18 months of accruing 30 years of service to the county.

Updating the board on steps taken with regard to developing a commercial zoning district in Cashiers, Commissioner Eddie Madden said two consulting firms have been identified as being qualified for the job. Whichever firm is ultimately chosen would be asked to work with a five-member board to explore the possibility of establishing a zoning district in the Cashiers business area as allowed under state statutes.

Madden proposed the zoning option last month as an alternative to incorporation as a more immediate means of controlling growth in the area. Commissioners are expected to name task force members at their next regular meeting Tuesday, Feb. 18.

On a related planning topic, board members scheduled a special meeting for 6 p.m. Thursday, March 27, to begin the process of establishing "the vision, goals, terms and duties" of the new nine-member planning board. This board will replace the disbanded 16-member planning board and will be composed of six county residents, and one representative each from the N.C. Department of Transportation, the Tuckaseigee Water and Sewer Authority and the Economic Development Commission.

Commissioners also discussed the annual requirement to establish a Board of Equalization and Review, which convenes to hear property owner tax value appeals. Action on the resolution to recreate the board is expected next week.

Another resolution commissioners are expected to approve asks the General Assembly to phase out county contributions to Medicaid, a $1.7 million budget line item this year.

Board members will meet in special session tonight (Thursday) in Cashiers to hear from Community Development Council representatives on long-range plans involving expansion of the CDC site. That meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Cashiers Community Library.

Back to Archive: 02/13/03.