The vote was unanimous to put the new courthouse downtown on property owned by the county. Among those who agreed were Mary Ann Enloe, Jim Stevens, Bill Noland and Jack Stevens.

That vote, however, was on March 1, 1999, and it was made by the often-referred to “Haywood County Court Facilities Task Force.” That and other discussions from the very earliest meetings about the now controversial justice center project are contained in the minutes from those meetings.

This task force pre-dated the Howard Geisler needs study analysis and the hiring of architects.
Committee members (listed below) included county and court officials and five “at-large” citizens. Noland, now a county commissioner, was on the task force as a representative of the juvenile justice area.

“As time passed and we studied the issue, we determined that downtown was the best avenue to go,” said Larry Ammons, a banking executive and a member of that task force who was interviewed last week.

Ammons said he remembered the main purpose of that task force was to make a recommendation about siting the new justice center.

“It was not a given then that it would be downtown, but that was where we were when we finished,” said Ammons, who was one of the five task force members not involved in county government or the court system.

He realizes that discussions about moving from downtown became more relevant when cost became a factor. However, he still feels that downtown site would be best.

“If Haywood County wants to lead in this area, you have to do things that are visionary. If you want a center of government that speaks of leadership and good government, the best place to be is in the downtown area,” said Ammons.

Canton mayor and attorney Pat Smathers was also on that early task force. He, in fact, made the motion to keep the new facility downtown and adjacent to the existing courthouse.

“That was certainly my understanding, that it would be at the downtown site,” said Smathers.

As he remembers it, Smathers said that committee was primarily focused on siting the proposed center. It was also charged with determining if there was a need for one, but that decision was made early on in the process.

“I was one of the more vocal advocates for the downtown site,” said Smathers. “I felt we could still make a lot of use of the existing courthouse.”

The vote earlier this month to move the new justice center to Hazelwood came as a “surprise” to Smathers.

“I would still like to see the existing courthouse used as a Superior Courtroom, and my first preference would be on the current site — somehow, some way,” he said.

A third at-large member of that early task force was Artis Lee, a Waynesville resident. She too said it was the early consensus of the task force to stay on Main Street.

“Nothing was finalized, but I do know that at the beginning we were all in agreement to stay downtown,” said Lee. “Since then a lot has happened.”

Although those early meetings did not specifically discuss costs, the minutes reveal that there was information disseminated by county Finance Officer Donna Clark on what kinds of financing were available to the county. In addition to general obligation bonds (which require voter approval) and certificate of participation bonds, she also told the committee about lease-purchase financing. That option is only available for projects which cost less than $10 million.

Members of the Court Facilities Task Force included County Manager Jack Horton, Commissioners Mary Ann Enloe and Jim Stevens, Finance Director Donna Clark (who now works in Buncombe County), County attorney Chip Killian, Judges Marlene Hyatt and Danny Davis, attorney Pat Smathers, Clerk of Court Gil Henry, Tax Collector David Francis, Juvenile Justice employee Bill Noland (now a county commissioner), Probation officer Olin Finger, Sheriff Tom Alexander, District Attorney Charles Hipps, Register of Deeds Amy Murray and citizen members Larry Ammons (Waynesville), Pat Greely (Canton), Troy Mann (Canton), Artis Lee (Waynesville) and Barbara Sue Parker (Clyde).

 

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