Go to the homepage for the Sylva Herald and Ruralite

County considering another addition to jail budget

By Lisa Majors-Duff
Jackson County commissioners are considering adding another $585,000 to the jail construction budget.

The additional funds, if approved, would be used to construct a shell on the jail's second story. The figure generated by Grant Tharp of Barge, Waggoner, Sumner and Cannon, the architectural firm employed by the county to design the new jail and Sheriff's Department administrative offices, estimates a cost of $45 per square foot for 13,000 square feet of space to include walls, roofing system, windows, mansard, lighting, fire protection and an alarm system.

The second-story space would not necessarily be used by the Sheriff's Department, Chairman Jay Denton told the board. The added space could house other county offices.

The budget for the new jail currently stands at $4.85 million. This includes a half-million dollar boost given to the project in February, when architects asked for additional funds to construct a law enforcement-only access road, a new parking lot and to outfit the lower portion of the building to hold a second story.

Commissioners did not make a decision on adding to the jail budget at their meeting last Thursday (June 15). That meeting was recessed until 9 a.m. Friday, June 23, at which time it could be revisited.

In other business last week, board members accepted a tax collection report from Beverly Buchanan. Recent effort by her department and the county's law firm to collect back taxes have resulted in more than $166,000 being taken in, she said. The funds have come from nine paid-in-full bills out of 36 attachments and salary garnishments and three fully-paid bills out of 27 foreclosures.

Board members tabled a request by Sylva attorney Jay Coward on behalf of Southern Lumber Co. to remove a lien on 83 acres the Stovall family would like to sell to Patrick and Jeanne McGuire. The county's lien on the Caney Fork property came about in April 1999, when Tom and Phil Stovall, owners of Southern Lumber, used the land as collateral on $1.6 million they borrowed to expand their home improvement business in Sylva.

The county's loan of $218,000 represented only a portion of the total. Macon Savings Bank and the town of Sylva made up the difference. The funds were used to build a 36,000-square-foot home center on Skyland Drive, and 25 jobs were predicted to be created.

"Macon Savings Bank is the primary lien holder and has agreed to release its lien upon receipt of one-half the purchase prices," Coward wrote in his letter to county attorney Raymond Large. "The purchase price is $125,850."

"I'm OK with it as long as the county receives its pro-rata share of the deal," Large said. The Sylva Town Board's approval is also needed, he said.

In an effort to address traffic concerns on N.C. 107 in Sylva, board members agreed to draft a resolution to be sent to the N.C. Department of Transportation requesting a feasibility study of the thoroughfare. Board members also waived an occupancy tax penalty of $150 for Winding Waters Cottages in Dillsboro. The business's owner, Barbara Snavely, submitted her request for the waiver in writing, citing her husband's recent health problems as the reason the $31.50 tax was not paid on time.

Jackson County commissioners will meet tonight (Thursday) for four separate public hearings beginning with the proposed solid waste ordinance at 5 p.m. and the three-year solid waste management plan at 6 p.m. The Rural Operating Assistance Program public hearing will start at 6:30 p.m., following by a hearing on the county's proposed 2000-01 budget.

Back to Archive: 06/22/00.