Press Release Jim Tate, Ronnie Beale and Derek Roland Participates in NCACC Legislative Goals Conference

PRESS RELEASE

DEREK ROLAND

Macon County Manager

January 16, 2019

Wake County, N.C. – Last week, Jim Tate, Ronnie Beale and Derek Roland from Macon County joined voting delegates from counties throughout the state to determine the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners’ (NCACC) legislative priorities for the 2019-2020 biennium session of the North Carolina General Assembly. Governor Roy Cooper delivered keynote remarks and thanked county commissioners for their commitment to public service.

“From broadband expansion and capital needs in the school system to accessing mental health services, all counties in North Carolina are facing challenges similar to those that we are experiencing in Macon County. This conference gives all North Carolina counties the opportunity to come together as one voice and make our challenges known to the North Carolina General Assembly.” Ronnie Beale, Vice Chairman, Macon County Board of Commissioners.

Kevin Austin, NCACC President Elect and Yadkin County Commissioner presided over the two-day Legislative Goals Conference, which was held January 10-11. Macon County sent Ronnie Beale to serve as a voting delegate to the conference to debate, amend, offer new proposals and cast votes on the Association’s guiding principles and legislative priorities, which guide advocacy efforts at the General Assembly.

The conference is the final step in a comprehensive process, which gives each county a voice in shaping NCACC’s legislative agenda. NCACC President Elect Austin explained this inclusive approach. “Our process offers an opportunity for all our counties to participate. These goals come from counties all across the state and have been vetted by their boards before they come to the Association. It’s a grassroots effort, which involves all 100 counties,” President Elect Austin said.

“As we all know, the availability of broadband internet has been discussed here in Macon County for quite some time now. It was interesting to see how many other rural counties across the state are facing similar issues with respect to broadband availability. I was very pleased to see that the expansion of broadband to unserved and underserved areas emerge as the top legislative goal for FY 19-20’.” Jim Tate, Chairman, Macon County Board of Commissioners.

Below is the list of NCACC’s top five legislative goals for 2019-2020 as determined at the Legislative Goals Conference; visit www.ncacc.org/legislativegoals to access the full list of goals for the biennium.

NCACC’s Top Five Priority Goals for 2019-2020

1. Seek legislation, funding, and other efforts to expand digital infrastructure/broadband capability to the unserved and under-served areas and residents of the state.
2. Seek additional revenue sources, including a statewide bond and lottery proceeds, to equitably address statewide public school and community college capital challenges.
3. Support efforts to preserve and expand the existing local revenue base of counties and authorize local option revenue sources already given to any other jurisdiction to all counties. Oppose efforts to divert to the state, fees or taxes currently allocated to the counties or to erode existing county revenue streams.
4. Support provision of state resources to ensure county ability to provide essential public health, behavioral health and social services, with specific consideration to the challenges of incarcerated persons, the continued county role in behavioral health governance, and programs addressing substance use disorder, throughout Medicaid transformation.
5. Seek legislation to repeal the statutory authority under N.C. Gen. Stat. 115C-431(c) that allows a local school board to file suit against a county board of commissioners over appropriations to the local board of education’s capital outlay fund.

About the NCACC: The North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (NCACC) is the official voice of all 100 counties on issues being considered by the General Assembly, Congress and federal and state agencies. The Association provides expertise to counties in the areas of advocacy, research, risk management and education and leadership training.

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Published at 4:22 pm on January 16, 2019

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Election 2018: Candidates for District 2 Macon County Commissioner

These videos were part of a forum that was held Wednesday, April 25th at the Macon County Public Library for candidates seeking votes from Macon County voters. The event was organized by the Smoky Mountain News and the Macon County News and Shopping Guide.

County Commissioner, District 2, All Candidates



Betty Wallace, challenger



Ron Haven, challenger



Ronnie Beale, incumbent


Gary Shields, incumbent



Video of the event was recorded by Macon Media and has been cut into smaller segments for those lacking the intestinal fortitude sit through the entire forum.

Links to the Full Forum [LINK]


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If you receive value from what Macon Media provides to the community, please consider becoming a supporter and contribute at least a dollar a month.

If you have a business or event you are interested in sponsorship opportunities or underwriting coverage, send an email to editor@MaconMedia.com for more information. Serious inquiries only. Macon Media rewards early sponsors/underwriters with lifetime guaranteed low rates while newer sponsors/underwriters pay higher rates based on the date they first support Macon Media.

Thank You to the people who have been sending in donations and those businesses who are underwriting coverage of news and events. You have kept Macon Media online. You have made it possible for Macon Media to begin purchasing state of the art equipment and begin work on building a real website with features not employed by any local news outlets.

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Published on April 30, 2018

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Franklin Dialysis Center Open House and Ribbon Cutting

Here is video and some of the photos I took at the open house and ribbon cutting of the Franklin Township Dialysis center that will be operated by DaVita.

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Ronnie Beale and Jim Davis Recognized by State Association of County Commissioners

Ronnie Beale (L) and Charles Thun (R)

The North Carolina Association of County Commissioners has named Ronnie Beale as the recipient of the Outstanding County Commissioner Award for 2012-13. Ronnie Beale is currently serving as Vice Chairman of the Macon County Commissioners and has been a tireless advocate for the citizens of Macon County during his tenure in office and the soon to be opened Kidney Dialysis Center in Westgate Plaza is but one of the projects he has been largely responsible for securing for Macon County. 

 Ronnie represents the Board of County Commissioners on the Department on Aging Advisory Board, Inspections/Building Committee, Law Enforcement, Courthouse Security, REACH, Macon Citizens for the Handicapped, Mental Health, Planning Board, Region A including the Advisory Council and Transportation Advisory Council, Senior Services, Schools and the WNC Caucus Board.

He also serves on the board for Macon Bank, Macon County Fair, and Macon County Heritage Foundation.

Read more about the awards  given to both him and NC Senator Jim Davis on the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners website.



NC Senator Jim Davis served for two terms as a Macon County Commissioner, and also served as Vice-Chairman. He was elected to the North Carolina General Assembly in November 2010 and is on his second term.

Senator Davis serves as Chairman of the Joint Legislative Committes on Local Government, as Co-Chairman of the Appropriations on General Government and Information Technology,Co-Chairman of the State and Local Government Committee. He serves a member of the following committees: Commerc, Health Care, Insurance, Judiciary II, and the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services.

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Dedication Ceremony for the Nathan B. Henry Bridge

A local bridge was named in honor of Nate Henry yesterday and I was able to attend and record the proceedings to share with those who were unable to be there due to other obligations.


Program for the Nathan B. Henry Bridge Dedication Dedication Ceremony that was held Friday, October 12, 2012 in Franklin, NC at 2pm in the Veterans Memorial Park:

MASTER OF CEREMONIES
Ronnie Beale
Macon County Commissioner

WELCOME
Kevin Corbin, Chair
Macon County Commissioner

Joe Collins, Mayor
Town of Franklin

Pledge of Alleigance
Ron Haven
Macon County Commissioner

NATIONAL ANTHEM
Nikki Pons Corbin

INVOCATION
Chaplain Sam Hastings
Vietnam Veterans Chapter 994

INTRODUCTIONS
Ronnie Beale

SPEAKERS

Heath Shuler, Member
U.S. House of Representatives

John Snow
Former State Senator

Rick Norton, President
Vietnam Veterans Chapter 994

Bobby Kuppers
Macon County Commissioners

Larry Kernea, Member
N.C. Board of Transportation

PRESENTATION OF REPLICA SIGNS
Larry Kernea

RESPONSE
Nathan B. Henry

THANK YOU and GOODBYE
Becky Henry


Here are some of the photos I took during the ceremony and at the photo opportunity at the bridge:



Individual photos may be viewed on Flickr by clicking here.

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Macon County Commissioners Special Meeting with the Macon County Planning Board December 2, 2010

This is the full video of the special meeting of the Macon County Commissioners with the Macon County Planning Board that took place in Franklin, NC on December 2, 2010. [Note: I am aware that certain speakers have been misidentified during my haste to get the video out...and will correct that in a future edition of the video. --Bobby Coggins]





Before the meeting convened, the Commissioners Board Room was packed wall to wall with standing room only for the special meeting of the Macon County Commissioners. Chairman of the Macon County Commissioners, Ronnie Beale, opened the meeting and gave a very brief overview of why this meeting had been called and announced that due to the size of the crowd, the meeting would again go into recess and reconvene one floor up in the large courtroom of the Macon County Courthouse. [Info on why this meeting was called]





It took about 15 minutes for everyone to move up the single set of stairs to the next floor and get settled in the large courtroom on the 4th floor. Members of the Macon County Planning Baord were seated in the 1st row.





The commissioners sat in the front of the courtroom and each spoke in turn, addressing their part in the events of November 22, 2010 that precipitated this meeting at the request of Lewis Penland, the chairman of the Macon County Planning Board, who objected to the appointment of Jimmy Goodman to the Board and the removal of Al Slagle by the County Commissioners.





Ronnie Beale, Chairman of the Macon County Commissioners, said that what happened last Monday night was not the way the business of the county is conducted in Macon County. During the meeting, he said that "When emotion takes over, good judgement can escape us all." He said that no one who wished to stay on an advisory board had ever been taken off, that Al Slagle was the first time this had happened. He offered a suggestion to the incoming board (members will be sworn in on the morning of December 6th and meet later that night) on a possible way to resolve this problem. He wants them to add two new seats to the Macon County Planning Board, and give one of them to Al Slagle. He said that this board could not do that because a public hearing is required to change the ordinance that establishes the structure and terms of the Planning Board.






Macon County Commissioner Bob Simpson said that in 2007, "Jimmy Goodman was pulled off the board politically. I was involved in it and I made a mistake that night I've regretted ever since. I've prided myself for not doing anything politically during my eight years, but I did do that.

"I righted a wrong. Mr Goodman needs to be put on that board. His way of thinking, his ideology of the community represents a tremendous amount of people in this county. They cannot be ignored, regardless. Jimmy's just one man among eight or nine."





During the meeting, Macon County Commissioner Brian McClellan said, "In my whole time on this board, there's only been one person that's ever been removed from a board that wanted to remain on the board, only one time, ever, until Monday night, and that was Jimmy Goodman. Two wrongs don't make a right. Again, we could have handled it much better. It was not anything having to do with (getting) Al off the board and I'm one hundred percent for getting him back on the board."






Vice Chairman of the Macon County commissioners, Jim Davis, said that he apologizes to everyone involved, including the people of Macon County County, for the way the vote last Monday was handled. He further stated, Three years ago "Jimmy Goodman was taken off the board, and the way it was done, it was not right. But the way we did it Monday night was not right either, and I apologize for that. It's not the way I wanted to end my career as a county commissioner for Macon County." He joined the other commissioners in praising Ronnie Beale's efforts to find a solution to the problem.





Macon County Commissioner Bobby Kuppers was the last of the commissioners to speak during the opening segment of the meeting, saying "Al, [addressing Al Slagle] what this county, this board put you through is unnacceptable. You have my apology for it, because it should never have happened. This is Macon County, North Carolina and we don't treat people that way.


"I can't go as far back in history as the people to my right. I can only speak to the two years I've been here. It has been my greatest honor in the two years I've served on this board to be a liaison to that group that is sitting on the front row, and if you think that we don't have diversity on our planning board, I would invite you to come to the next meeting. I would invite you to listen to them go at it. Then, I would like you to see them shake hands and walk out the door friends, all political agendas laid aside."





Lewis Penland, Chairman of the Macon County Planning Board, addressed the commissioners and among his remarks he said, "I respectfully request that you remove Mr Goodman from the Planning Board, and appoint Al Slagle in his place. I also request, that in the future, as has been the tradition of the planning board [sic] be consulted on any appointments to the board and their appointments be based on qualifications, not political affiliations."





After Lewis Penalnd spoke, Ronnie Beale added, "The planning board came to us...you need to know this...you've heard about a wrong being done right. The planning board came to us and asked that he step down. He was [not constructive?] to the board. That's the reason he was not put back on the board. It wasn't a political agenda at all. That was the reason."


Lewis Penland then introduced the members of the Planning Board to the crowd, including Al Slagle, although he technically isn't on the board, to sustained applause.


I'll be posting short videos of each speaker individually to You Tube over the next couple of days and will link to them from here...as well as replacing the above video with a version that correctly identifies the speakers. I apologize for those errors I made in my haste to get the video online.

Previously:

Macon County Commissioners 12-02-2010 Special Meeting With Planning Board Live Twitter Coverage at 6pm

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Macon County Commissioners 12-02-2010 Special Meeting With Planning Board Live Twitter Coverage at 6pm

**8.14pm** I've just returned from the meeting and report that was nothing decided tonight. Long story short is that Chairman Ronnie Beale has suggested that the next Board of Commissioners add two extra seats to the Planning Board and give one of them to Al Slagle. 

I will work on getting the videos of the meeting processed as soon as I can. 


**12-03-2010** See the video and notes from this meeting. [link]

This is from the official notice of the meeting:


The Macon County Board of Commissioners will hold a special meeting on Thursday, December 2, 2010, at 6pm in the Commissioners Board Room on the third floor of the Macon County Courthouse. The purpose of the meeting is to meet jointly with the Macon County Planning Board to discuss items of mutual interest and possible action concerning appointments to the Planning Board.


Here is a video of the appointment that has caused such an uproar:











Watch the 1st two minutes of the above video where the appointment takes place. I'm thinking that there will be an attempt to either remove Jimmy Goodman or pack the Planning Board by adding an extra seat and appointing Al Slagle to it...we'll have to see what develops tonight.


The Macon County News and Shopping Guide has a story on the incident, but they do not mention that the same method was used three years ago to remove Jimmy Goodman from the Planning Board as was used to get Al Slagle off this time. In fact, Brian McClellan voiced the same concerns then as Chairman Ronnie Beale has. It's funny how the wheel turns in these things, isn't it?


Here is an excerpt of the minutes from the meeting where Al Slagle was chosen to replace Jimmy Goodman without advance notice:




APPOINTMENTS: Board of Adjustments - Upon motion by Commissioner McClellan, seconded by Commissioner Davis the Board unanimously voted to appoint Gary Drake to fill the vacant unexpired term on the Board of Adjustments. Term will expire April 23, 2009. 


Planning Board – Commissioner Beale, Planning Board liaison, presented Al Slagle’s resume and made a motion to appoint him to fill the vacancy on the Planning Board. The motion was seconded by Chairman Leatherman. The motion passed three to two with Commissioners Davis and McClellan opposing. Commissioner Davis stated he had been previously contacted by Jimmy Goodman whose term is expiring and had committed his support to him. Commissioner McClellan stated since he had been on the Board they have never failed to reappoint someone who was eligible and willing to continue serving. Mr. Slagle’s term will expire November 1, 2010.


You may read the entire minutes from that meeting by clicking here.



I'll be covering this special meeting live via Twitter and using the hashtag #MaconGov


Here is the twitter widget you can follow the meeting on if you don't have a twitter client: 






In short, what has happened is that Jimmy Goodman has been re-appointed to the board in the same manner that Al Slagle was two years ago.


Here is an excerpt of a  letter sent out by the POA (I don't have permission to run the whole thing, so I can only excerpt part of it: [link to POA website]


Here is an excerpt from a letter sent out by the Property Owners Association regarding this situation:


As usual, there are all kinds of rumors going around and a healthy dose of “misinformation”. So, we at the POA did some research using the minutes from the past Commission meetings and thought we’d do a little historical educating before this thing really takes another ugly turn for the worse. Be sure to note comments made by McCellan and Davis when they supported Goodman below. Consider:


NOVEMBER 3, 2003 MINUTES MACON COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Goodman appointed to Planning Board
Upon a motion by Commissioner Leatherman and seconded by
Commissioner Shepherd Jimmy Goodman was appointed for a one year term.


DECEMBER 6, 2004 MINUTES MACON COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Goodman - Reappointed
Planning Board – Commissioner Leatherman made a motion to reappoint
Jimmy Goodman to the Planning Board. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Davis
and all favored. Term will expire November 1, 2007.


NOVEMBER 13, 2007 MINUTES MACON COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Slagle put on Planning Board – Goodman voted off…
Planning Board – Commissioner Beale, Planning Board liaison, presented Al Slagle’s resume and made a motion to appoint him to fill the vacancy on the Planning Board. The motion was seconded by Chairman Leatherman. The motion passed three to two with Commissioners Davis and McClellan opposing. Commissioner Davis stated he had been previously contacted by Jimmy Goodman whose term is expiring and had committed his support to him. Commissioner McClellan stated since he had been on the Board they have never failed to reappoint someone who was eligible and willing to continue serving. Mr. Slagle’s term will expire November 1, 2010.


We find it amusing that 3 years ago (11/13/07) Goodman was voted off the Planning Board and Slagle was put on all at the same meeting and with no outcry at all. Now the EXACT same thing happens again but this time in reverse - Slagle off, Goodman on. OMG!!! You’d think that the dean’s and teachers had been locked in the bathroom, the school yard has turned into a free-for-all, spit-balls are flying and the Franklin Press is writing HUGE stories making all but a mockery of the entire process not to mention our Commissioners.

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The Macon County Board of Commissioners Flips to Republican Majority

Ron Haven thanks his supporters.


The political makeup of the Board of Macon County Commissioners will switch from 3 Democrats and 2 Republicans to 3 Republicans and 2 Democrats starting with the December 2010 Meeting and will be electing a new chairman from their number.


Only 180 votes separated the top two finishers, Ron Haven and Ronnie Beale, and a mere 178 votes kept the third place finisher, Charlie Leatherman, from winning a seat on the Macon County Commissioners. 


Bob Simpson lost his seat on the County commissioners and Vic Drummond came in last place in an independent run for a seat on the Board of County Commissioners. I believe he received many of the votes that would have likely gone to Charlie Leatherman had there not been another choice for conservatives. 


A Table of the results are below:

Candidate	Percent of Votes	Number of votes
Ron Haven (R)	24.66%	5,719
Ronnie Beale (D) incumbent	23.88%	5,539
Charlie Leatherman (R)	23.12%	5,362
Bob Simpson (D) incumbent	18.36%	4,259
Vic Drummond (I)	09.98%	2,316

Table by Bobby Coggins

Jim Davis, Vice Chairman of the Macon County Commissioners, won his race to unseat John Snow in the NC Senate Race for District 50 and he will be replaced by an appointee of the Executive Committee of the Macon County Republican Party, who is expected to take up the matter this Thursday night. 

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