The Dillsboro dam and whether it stays or goes has surfaced as a source of controversy in the Dillsboro town elections.

Not that the candidates are split on how they feel about the dam. They all say the small dam and waterfall provide a cornerstone for the town and want it to stay. But some candidates, particularly incumbents, say the town was between a rock and hard place. Duke Power offered the town $50,000 plus in-kind perks if town leaders would sign a contract promising not to oppose Duke’s plan to tear down the dam. The town took the deal.

“David could not fight Goliath. Dillsboro did not have the funds to be able to take on Duke,” Mayor Jean Hartbarger said. “We felt like we made the best of a bad situation.”

But T.J. Walker, who is running against Hartbarger for mayor, said the town caved.

“There is overwhelming support in Dillsboro to save the dam,” Walker said.

Walker appears to be right, witnessed by the comments of the aldermen candidates.

Alderman James Cochran said when they signed the agreement with Duke, they made it known that they didn’t like what they were signing.

“We as a town board made it clear that we were not interested in losing the dam. That was our position as a town board. Yes we are going to go along with it, but we’re not in favor of it,” Cochran said.

Cochran said their choice was either take the deal and get the money, or don’t take the money and lose the dam anyway.

“It doesn’t matter how you vote. Duke Power is going to do what Duke Power wants to do,” Cochran said. “It doesn’t make any difference whether you say yes or no.”

Alderman Bud Smith also said the decision came out of despair.

“Ultimately we were forced into it. We didn’t have a choice. A little town like this can’t fight that,” Alderman Bud Smith said. “What we did say is if it is gone, we want something in compensation for it.”

Smith lives near the dam and drives past it every day.

“I am just as much against taking it out as TJ (Walker) is,” Smith said.

Smith said he would fight to keep the dam today if he thought it would matter.

“I got so rattled at one point and realized, ‘Why? I could be dead and gone by the time this is settled,’” Smith said.

Tearing down the dam is attractive to Duke, which is required to make environmental amends for its operation of 10 other dams in the region. By removing the Dillsboro dam and restoring a stretch of free-flowing river, Duke hopes it will make up for using the public’s rivers at those other 10 dams.

Jackson County, however, would rather see Duke create a trust fund that could be used to fund river conservation, greenways and recreation projects instead of tearing down the dam. The county wants Duke to turn the dam over to be run as a county green power initiative. Jackson County hired a lawyer to argue its case.

“Dillsboro should have been Jackson County’s best partner in this, and for the town administration not to be on the same page with Jackson County for the preservation of a historical icon and monument is ludicrous,” Walker said.

Hartbarger said she personally does side with Jackson County.

“We felt like the county would be able to fight that fight for us,” Hartbarger said.

Alderman Mike Fitzgerald said he also backs the county’s efforts.

“The town of Dillsboro didn’t have the money to challenge Duke Power by any means and Duke Power could just about buy the state of North Carolina,” Fitzgerald said. “The Duke Power thing is very complicated. It goes way beyond just us. It’s out of our hands basically.”

But Walker said it’s not. It turns out the dam and powerhouse are eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, creating a whole new set of hoops for Duke to jump through before the dam can be removed. Duke initially said the dam and powerhouse were not eligible for the register, Walker said. But they were wrong, and so the documents Dillsboro signed are wrong, so it gives the town an out to withdraw from the deal.

“Dillsboro has a chance to turn the tide,” Walker said, who wants it to be an operating museum. “The potential is too great to lose.”

Candidate John Faulk said he wants the dam to stay, too.

“I love that old dam,” said Faulk. But Faulk said he doesn’t know what choices the town was presented with.

Candidate Jimmy Cabe said the same thing.

“I would like to see the dam saved. As far as the town’s negotiations with Duke, I don’t know where that stands. I wouldn’t point the finger at anybody until I see everything that has been said,” Cabe said.

Cabe said he would like to re-examine the town’s position on the dam. His grandfather was superintendent of the dam.

“It is an emotional issue for me. I would like to see it saved,” Cabe said.

If a new town board has a new position on the dam and wanted to join forces with the county after all, it is unclear whether a pact Duke made with the former board would be enforceable if those elected leaders were no longer governing the town. But Cochran is not so sure.

“I don’t think we have a choice as far as second thoughts,” Cochran said.