Jackson commissioner candidates: The issues

Property Revaluations

The hurt is coming. All the candidates agree, it won’t be pretty. In 2016, Jackson County will preform a property revaluation, in which the values of properties on the tax role — currently listed with values tethered to the high times of the housing boom — will be squared up with the values actually reflected in the current real estate market. 

Showdown in Jackson

fr jacksoncommNo one really knows how the Jackson County commissioner races are going to pan out. Incumbent Republican Commissioner Charles Elders has no idea. 

“It’s hard to say,” Elders said. “Straight party voting, that’s a thing of the past. They’re gonna study, they’re gonna look.”

Cullowhee community expresses reservations about planning at public forum

cover2Up to now, the mood at many of the Cullowhee planning meetings and public forums was upbeat and positive — full of rah-rah and optimism. 

Occasionally a naysayer would need to be hushed — Cullowhee property owner Mike Clark has been a consistent and vocal critic — but in general the consensus seemed to be that Cullowhee needs development standards.

Tipping the scales

The past four years have been the first in recent memory that Democrats haven’t held a majority on the Jackson County board.

But likewise, Republicans haven’t had the majority either — a point Chairman Jack Debnam is quick to point out, and points out often.

Debnam is an independent, ascribing to neither party. It was a historical anomaly not just in the mountains but the entire state when Debnam won a county commissioner seat as an unaffiliated candidate four years ago.

But he has been criticized by Democrats for really being a conservative at heart — his independent status merely a ruse to help his election chances with a Democratic-heavy electorate.

But in defense, Debnam pointed to his voting record.

“I voted with the Democrats 95 percent of the time. I also voted with the Republicans. That’s because 95 percent of our votes were unanimous,” Debnam said.

Out of 586 votes by county commissioners over the past four years, 95.06 percent of them — to be exact — were unanimous. Only 24 — or 4.1 percent — were split votes.

But Brian McMahan, the Democratic challenger for chairman, questioned that bragging point. Most of the

“Of the 586, most are routine, procedural agenda items that pretty much are non-debatable,” McMahan said.

Things like approving the minutes, ratifying department head reports, approving budget amendments.

“Those are not a Democratic or Republican issue,” McMahan said. “Those that were split votes were of significance. Those 24 represent real issues where there is a difference of opinion.”

Debnam said Jackson is the only county in the state where neither party has the majority on the county board, and he believes it has brought balance.

“A split board has made things better in Jackson County,” he said. “We have done good things with two Democrats, two Republicans and myself.”

Debnam said it isn’t easy to run as an independent. To get on the ballot four years ago and again this time, he has to collect a passel of petition signatures — he gathered 1,100 in all this time.

Running as a team has posed a conundrum for Debnam. On one hand, aligning with the Republican commissioners could hurt his chances. It certainly won’t gain him any Republican votes. There’s no bona fide Republican running for chairman — it’s just Debnam and Democrat Brian McMahan on the ticket — so Debnam is likely the most palatable choice for conservative voters, regardless of official staking himself out with the Republican candidate camp.

But buddying up with Republican running mates could hurt his chances with swing voters and moderates who question how independent Debnam really is if he is running as a team with Republicans.

At the forum, Debnam addressed the apparent incongruity of running as a team with Republicans on the one hand, despite his partisan independence. A split board is in Debnam’s interest. He needs the two Republican commissioners to win to balance out the two sitting Democrats not up for election this time.

Without a split board, Debnam couldn’t lead from the center.

The other two Republicans likewise touted their ability to work with Democrats and avoid split votes.

“Since we are a mixed board of two Democrats and two Republicans and an independent chairman, we have had to work together to get these things done,” Commissioner Doug Cody, a Republican running for re-election, said.

Still, McMahan questions how genuine it is to use the unanimous voting record as a litmus test of cooperation.

“The chair has so strictly controlled the agenda the more controversial votes have been denied access to the agenda in the first place,” McMahan said.

Some issues get decided by majority consensus without having a formal vote, like whether to give the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad a economic development loan. Regardless, the course has been different than it would have been under a Democratic majority.

“This election is about a vision for the future and where we are going,” Democratic challenger Brian McMahan said in his closing remarks. “We are at a crossroads. Now is the time to grab ahold of the reigns and to lay the foundation. We cannot afford to stumble.”

Jackson sheriff snapshots

Chip Hall, D, 46

Qualifications: Chief deputy at Jackson County Sheriff’s Department. Twenty-five years at Jackson County Sheriff’s Department in a variety of positions.  

Reason to run: “I want to reach out to be active in everything that goes on in our community, to have a relationship with our citizens beyond anything we’ve ever had.”

Philosophy: “Community involvement is the key to a functioning sheriff’s office and a good community response.”

Favorite fruit: apples  

 

Curtis Lambert, R, 44

Qualifications: Former officer at Sylva Police Department. Fourteen years in law enforcement, including service with the Sylva Police Department and Jackson County Sheriff’s Office; former vice president of payroll service. 

Reason to run: “I have a combination of law enforcement and business experience, and that’s what it takes nowadays to be an effective sheriff.” 

Philosophy: “An effective leader will be someone that will have an open-door policy and an open-department policy to where they’re not trying to hide things that are going on.”

Favorite vacation: history tour of Charleston, S.C. 

Jackson commissioner snapshots

Jackson commissioner chairman

• Jack Debnam, the current commissioner chairman and a Realtor. As an unaffiliated candidate, he belongs to neither party. 

• Brian McMahan, a Democrat, previously served as commissioner chairman but lost to Debnam in 2010. The 39-year-old chief of security at Balsam Mountain Preserve is now seeking a rematch.

 

Jackson commissioner: district that spans from Dillsboro to Qualla 

• Charles Elders, a Republican and sitting commissioner, is the owner/operator of Elder’s Superette. 

• Joe Ward, a Democrat and farmer, is retired from CSX Transportation. 

 

Jackson commissioner: district that includes Sylva and Scotts Creek

• Doug Cody, a Republican and sitting commissioner, has worked in the insurance industry for 29 years.

• Boyce Deitz, a Democrat, is a retired teacher and football coach. He coached former U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler as a high school quarterback, and later went to work for the congressman. 

Don’t call it a fracking resolution

Following multiple anti-fracking resolutions passed by local governments around the region, Jackson County commissioners have now taken an action of their own. While their resolution never specifically mentions “fracking” or “hydraulic fracturing,” the board — or at least three of its members — seemed satisfied that it afforded them protection against the natural gas exploration method green-lighted for North Carolina by state legislators this year.

Cullowhee development standards have been drawn up; will the community buy-in?

Cullowhee is the fastest growing area of Jackson County. The growth owes much to Western Carolina University and is evidenced in recent years by a surge in private student housing complexes and smattering of bars.

Without regulations in place, Cullowhee’s growth has taken place in a Wild West, cowboy environment. For more than a year, the Cullowhee Community Planning Advisory Committee has contemplated how to guide such growth.

Dillsboro sells Duke property to Jackson County

The quiet, early morning streets of Dillsboro seemed still asleep as the town board ambled in. They arrived one by one, easing in with casual conversation about health and grandchildren and how delicious Town Clerk Debbie Coffey’s homemade cheese Danish tasted. 

But there was more on the table for discussion than bull and breakfast. Dillsboro’s leaders assembled for their specially called meeting to decide if the town should sell property recently handed over from Duke Energy.

“The county wants to make a river park with that property,” Dillsboro Mayor Mike Fitzgerald had explained the day before.

Over the summer, Duke turned over roughly 17 acres of property bordering the Tuckaseigee River near downtown Dillsboro. The property is located where the energy company previously operated a hydroelectric dam, and the handoff is tied to federally mandated relicensing requirements that require public utilities to give back to areas from which they profit. 

Jackson County has long eyed the riverfront property. There are plans calling for a riverside park already on the shelf. During re-licensing discussions in 2009 the county commissioned Equinox Design Inc. to prepare a conceptual design for a park on the north and south sides of the river.

With Duke’s handoff of the property to Dillsboro this summer, the time has come for Jackson to make its bid. 

“The mayor of Dillsboro contacted me in mid-September to advise that the town board had taken possession of the property and offered to sell the property to the county at market value,” Jackson County Manager Chuck Wooten said.

That’s a move the county had anticipated. Several months ago Jackson had the property appraised with just such an opportunity in mind.

On Sept. 15, commissioners took up the issue during a closed session. They approved a potential purchase price — the appraised value of $350,000 — and decided to make a formal offer. 

“I have a contract right here,” Fitzgerald told his aldermen during their special meeting. 

The mayor explained that, if the offer was accepted, there were no encumbrances on the funds. He laid out the county’s intentions, read a letter from Wooten — “obviously we view this property as a strategic piece of property for recreation purposes” — and called for a vote well before the cheese Danish was finished off. 

The whole thing took about five minutes. Alderman David Gates agreed the decision was a no-brainer.

“Well, yeah, because we can’t afford to keep it, we can’t afford to do anything with it,” he said.

The board adjourned and dove back into friendly conversation. They hung around a bit longer and laughed about what the money might be spent on. 

“Debbie’s going to get a new oven,” Fitzgerald joked following the board’s unanimous vote to accept the county’s $350,000 offer. 

“We’re gonna have a gourmet kitchen,” Coffey laughed. 

While both Jackson and Dillsboro have given nods of approval to the purchase, this is not quite a done deal yet. Commissioners will formally consider the matter during their Oct. 6 regular meeting; approval looks like a safe assumption. 

“They had authorized an offer in executive session and Dillsboro accepted the offer so it is a done deal,” Wooten explained. 

Once commissioners have given their formal approval, the county will develop a scope of work and then plans to reengage Equinox Design. The 2009 designs — which incorporate Duke’s dam into a river park — must be tweaked. Wooten expects the whole process to be moving forward by the end of October. 

This is all good news to Barry Kennan. The Jackson resident — and former World Freestyle Kayak Champion and member of the U.S. National Slalom team — has been pushing for a whitewater park in Dillsboro for a while. 

“Sounds like it’s going to happen,” Kennon said after the town accepted the county’s offer to purchase the Duke property for the purpose of a park. 

Kennon has requested repeatedly that Dillsboro consider putting in a whitewater park. He contends the stretch of river rifling through town is perfect for the venture, calling it “the textbook spot to put a whitewater park.”

“The gradient’s already there,” Kennon said. “It’s a tailor-made spot.”

Plus, the kayak champion said, Dillsboro is located in a prime area insofar as participants in paddlesports are concerned. 

“That’s basically like the paddling crossroads of the Southeast,” Kennon explained. “It’s right between Atlanta, Chattanooga, Knoxville and Asheville.”

The paddler points to parks in Colorado, where the concept of whitewater parks is nothing new.

“The Colorado parks, they’ve got so many of them,” Kennon said. “Like every little river town, they’ll have a park there.”

Those parks, he said, have long attracted not only paddlers but also people watching paddlers.

“These whitewater parks, they attract spectators. They’ll be like 10 spectators for every paddler in the water,” Kennon said. “There’s millions and millions of dollars being spent in Colorado at whitewater parks.”

Kennon won the World Freestyle Kayak competition in 2001 in Spain. Each year the event is held in a different location. Last year, it was held on Swain County’s Nantahala River. 

Kennon entertains notions of the event returning to the region again someday. This time to Jackson County.

“We could have that event in Dillsboro,” the paddler said. 

Dillsboro officials would like nothing more than to see visitors flock to the river. For years, the town benefited daily from visitors transported to its doorstep by the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad, which now offers only limited trips to Dillsboro. Now, the quiet and quaint town boasts a burgeoning art community, but it could still use that extra something to really kick things into gear again. 

Following the Friday morning vote over cheese Danish, Alderman Gates explained why he felt the sale worked for the town. Besides the money in the bank, he’s hoping the river park benefits Dillsboro exponentially. 

“More tourism, bottom line,” Gates said, “for the county and for Dillsboro.”

 

Jackson finally gets its park 

For years, Jackson County fought the removal of Duke Energy’s dam on the Tuckasegee River in Dillsboro. County officials argued that the dam had recreational benefits, historical meaning and green energy potential.

In 2009, as part of its effort to quash the removal of the dam, the county argued in court that the structure should be left in place and incorporated into a river park it had planned. Duke eventually won its fight with the county, dismantling the dam in 2010. 

After a few years of environmental restoration, the power company handed off about 17 acres of riverfront property to the town of Dillsboro this summer as part of its federally mandated relicensing requirements. The town has chosen to sell the property to Jackson County, which still has intentions to place a park at the site, only without the dam.

The planned Dillsboro riverpark — or Dillsboro Heritage Park, as it was dubbed in 2009 — will feature river access points, boat ramps, walking paths and nature trails. It will have parking lots and playgrounds, pavilions and picnic tables. 

The county’s plans call for a North River Park on one side of the river, with a South River Park on the other side. Since the time that the county initially had designs drawn up, Duke Energy has removed its dam and also built a river access point on the north side of the property. Those old plans will need to be dusted off and tweaked.

“I think the general concept will be the same,” said Jackson County Manager Chuck Wooten.

Officials have set aside $100,000 — a portion of the amount. Duke paid Jackson in connection with its removal of the dam — to pay for the project.

Wooten said the county intends to reengage the plan’s author, Equinox Design, to update the plans.

“I think that they are ready to start as soon as we give them the go ahead,” said Wooten. 

County commissioners are expected to give their formal approval to the sale during their Oct. 6 meeting. By the end of the month, they may be ready to consider a possible scope of work for Equinox.

Jackson candidates drill down on fracking

The three Democratic challengers in the Jackson County commissioners race took the sitting commissioners to task for their inaction on fracking at a candidate forum last week.

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