Macon County Commissioners Meeting 09-27-2010 Full Video

This is the full video of the Macon County Commissioners meeting that took place on the afternoon of September 27, 2010 in Franklin, NC.


If you are on dial up and cannot watch the video of the meeting, here is the audio of the meeting for you to listen to:

Here is the Press Packet for the meeting, it includes the draft minutes for the previous meeting of the County Commissioners:
MCC 09-27-2010 Press Packet

Meeting Notes

During this meeting of the Macon County Commissioners, Ronnie Beale announced that he has made a formal request to the NCDOT to hold a public hearing in Macon County regarding the Needmore Road Project. The NCDOT held a public hearing in Swain County, but hasn't scheduled one for Macon County. He reported that the request would be considered.


Brian Ingraham of the Smoky Mountain Center for Mental Health made a report to the Commissioners, including an update on the effort to pry loose funds from the Evergreen Foundation. Doug Trantham and Duncan Sumpter accompanied him and provided additional information and assisted in answering questions from the Commissioners.


The Commissioners than opened a public hearing regarding an authorization for the Macon County Housing Department to pursue a CDBG 1010 Scattered Site Rehabilitation grant in the amount of $400,000. No one from the public signed up to speak. John Fay of the Macon County Housing Dept spoke to the Commissioners regarding the grant and answered their questions. The Commissioners voted 5-0 to approve the pursuit of these federal funds. For more information on the Community Development Block Grant program visit the US Dept on Housing and Urban Growth.


Debbie Roberts of the National Alliance for Mental Health shared her story in order to put a face on mental health for the Commissioners. She spoke of the importance of Crisis Intervention Training [CIT] with local law enforcement. She praised the participation of the Macon County Sheriff's Dept under the guidance of Sheriff Robbie Holland. 


The Macon County commissioners next took up questions regarding bid specifications and qualifications of the low bidder on the Security System for the Macon county Detention Center. There was considerable back and forth, with questions regarding whether or not the contractor had (or needed) a special license to install the system. After much discussion, the Commissioners voted 4-1 to approve the bid, with Commissioner Bob Simpson voting against.


Kim Angel, Director of Macon County Transit, appeared before the Commissioners to request policy changes as requested by the NCDOT Public Transportation Division. Under federal Regulations, a transit service may not provide services that compete with those of private providers, in particular, providing charter services. Macon County transit was also directed to have "an approved System Safety Program Plan which includes provision for local system safety data collection and reporting". Commissioners unanimously approved her requests. 


Verlin Curtiss, of the Franklin Town Board of Aldermen, reported to the Commissioners that the State of North Carolina was going to put up a 474 feet  VIPER Tower at the end of Ivar Street [see Google Earth map], just north of The Sunset Restaurant. The Alderman said that this was in the local flight pattern for the Macon county Airport and was inappropriate for a residential area. He asked the Commissioners to contact the state and urge them to place the tower in another location. Ronnie Beale directed Jack Horton to pursue the matter further. 


The Consent Agenda was discussed, and passed, including a resolution concerning US Senate Bill S510 relative to local farmers, tailgate sales, etc. [see the above pdf document for the text of the resolution]. A video of a presentation by Macon County residents can be seen on You Tube. Bob Simpson asked that the resolution be sent to every county in North Carolina and Jim Davis promised to hand deliver a copy to senator Richard Burr at an event on October 2, 2010.


Under Appointments, on the Board of Adjustments, the term of Ben Swafford and alternates, Byron McClure and Charles Thun were renewed until April 2013. 


After brief comments from commissioners, the meeting was adjourned.




**8.17am** 

Here is the local media online coverage of the meeting:

Macon News and Shopping Guide

Food safety bill threatens small growers, producers




The Franklin Press


Town voices opposition to 471-foot tower (subscribers only for full article)