Issues not to be forgotten

For those who have forgotten, though, there are other very important issues facing Haywood and every other county in Western North Carolina.

The state is broke and is taking money from local governments. Medicaid is one of the main reasons, and human services (DSS, health departments, etc.) have surpassed or are about to surpass education as the number one expense for local governments.

This is a very real systemic problem. Unlike the hullabaloo over welfare moms — who were actually eating up only a very small portion of local budgets — the elderly who rely on Medicaid are not going to be denied. We must provide medical care and nursing home care for our senior citizens. Two years ago when the economy was barreling along, it seemed we thought increasing tax revenues would solve all ills. Now, very quickly, a crisis is looming.

Then there are the land-use issues that won’t go away in Western North Carolina. County commission candidates in all our western counties will have to make crucial decisions regarding the future of our water and land. Be sure to make them defend their positions and elucidate them clearly as the primary and general elections get closer.

And we can’t forget education. Unfortunately, it seems a pretty safe bet that needed increases will likely be delayed as counties struggle to cover the cost of other programs. The supplements that will keep good teachers during the current teacher shortage probably won’t get raised. Just today I was talking to a bright young man who is preparing to go back to college and get his teaching certification. The supplements offered in Asheville and Buncombe County are already on his radar, and they will weigh in his decision as to where to teach.

Will it be built?

All this will certainly play a part in the upcoming election, but in the most populous county west of Buncombe, the justice center is center stage. How it has been handled to now — and its future — is being discussed at every turn.

The release last week of a report by the seated Grand Jury provided a nice little analysis of the debate. The report found a need for immediate improvements in the county’s jail and justice facilities. The downtown jail, on top of the old courthouse and built in the 1930s, is old and dilapidated. Many of its doors don’t even work and have to be held shut with padlocks.

All that information, and the report’s take on the judicial facilities, is not new. “We need a new jail pretty badly,” said Sheriff Tom Alexander.

A few weeks ago, County Board Chairman Jim Stevens distributed to commissioners a plan that would have put off jail construction until 2003-2004. The plan was not voted on, but it put the justice center and the downtown parking garage as the county’s number one priorities — ahead of the jail.

That, however, may change. Stevens is not running for office again, and some of those who are have a different opinion. In fact, much of the work done up to now on this project could fall by the wayside, according to who wins in May and November.

Commissioner Wade Francis, who is running for re-election, says he thinks the justice center project as it is now envisioned may never be built.

“Honestly, I just don’t know if it will ever get going,” said Francis, referring to what may happen when a new board is elected.

Another incumbent who is running, Mary Ann Enloe, has said that she thinks it might be a good idea to build the jail first. Under that scenario, a partial renovation of the current jail space at the existing courthouse would occur as a new jail is being built. Afterward, a determination could be made of how much floor space could be added to the judicial facilities by using the old jail space. Only then would a new justice center be planned.

Mark Swanger, who is currently chairman of the school board and considered by many the Democratic front-runner for the county board, also advocates building the jail first. He said that would provide time to try and build consensus about how much judicial space is needed.

A potential problem in this scenario is that the judges who say the county needs to increase its court space immediately may not be so patient. If a proper analysis of the downtown jail was done, though, a good determination could be made as to how much office space could be gained when a new jail is built. The only reason, then, to wait on the justice center would be that it cost too much or that a new space-needs study should be done.

The challenge facing Haywood County is not insurmountable. The problem is that so little has been accomplished in the past year because important issues became controversies, and our leaders did not find ways to work through them.

Will the new justice center be built? Some say a majority on the board may push it through before the primary. After more than a year of debate, though, I still wouldn’t bet the farm on it.

(Scott McLeod can be reached at info@smokymountainnews)