Macon County commissioners and the Franklin town board independently considered a draft plan this week that would require Duke Power to provide millions of dollars for special projects and donate land holdings in Macon County to the county for recreation.

The Franklin town board members voted 4-2 to sign on to the plan. Macon County Commissioner Bob Simpson’s motion to adopt the plan died for lack of a second. Commissioners have said they want to attempt face-to-face negotiations with Duke officials to get what they want first before signing on to the plan, which would be submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission as a quasi legal filing.

“I think there are some issues we need to talk to Duke about, but I would prefer to do them outside of litigation,” Macon Commissioner Jim Davis said. “I think we have a responsibility to represent the best interests of the citizens of Macon County, and I think that would be achieved better by dealing with Duke directly than using FERC as an intermediary.”

The failure to vote on the plan is not a reflection on the content of the plan, according to Chairman Allan Bryson.

Jackson County, which spearheaded the draft plan, has attempted sit down negotiations with Duke over the past year in an attempt to find a compromise, but Duke allegedly made few concessions, precipitating the draft plan that would go over Duke’s head and be filed with FERC.

“We may eventually end up going that route if we can’t end up working anything out,” Bryson said.

Franklin Alderman Verlin Curtis, who has led efforts to find a seat at the negotiating table for the town, said that this alternate plan simply provides new material for discussion. Duke — which was not familiar with the plan prior to its being made public at the Macon County meeting — will answer and commissioners may rethink the issue.

“Of course they’ll come back with their version. They never had time to read and study this, and I don’t think the county commissioners did either,” Curtis said.

During the Monday night board meeting at which the alternative plan was discussed, opposing board member Bob Scott said that he was concerned about the plan’s language limiting Duke’s ability to cut and spray native vegetation along the Little Tennessee River under power lines. Also, the proposed dredging in Lake Emory could be detrimental to downstream waterways, Scott said. Fellow opposing board member Edwin Hall did not express any views on the issue.