Other locations now being considered by commissioners
Robbinsville – Monday’s special commissioner meeting left those in attendance with one thing perfectly clear: though where the Graham County Justice Center will be built is back up in the air, the structure will definitively not be placed off P & J Road.
An overwhelming consensus from the public at a September hearing carried over into Monday’s gathering, which was called after commissioners decided to withdraw their selection of a site on Knight Street – adjacent to the community building and on the current, existing grounds of Robbinsville Elementary School – and go back to the proverbial drawing board.
By the end of the 90-minute meeting, commissioners had voted to eliminate the consideration of the site altogether. The public’s concern lies with the safety of children, as youth frequent the expansive P & J fields for recreational sports like baseball, softball, soccer, and even golf and youth football practice. The county also houses its departments of public health and social services, as well as its recreation department at the same location.
The same pushback echoed throughout the community room Monday, with one resident blunting stating, “There’s nothing more important to me than my kids.”
Commissioners said that the school district and the county could not come to financial terms on the Knight Street property, which would have become available once the new Robbinsville Elementary School opened off Rodney Orr Bypass. The board had originally selected the location following an Oct. 14 public hearing on the same matter.
Renderings of the county’s preferred options were available for public viewing, before everyone was seated and each commissioner provided a comment on the topic.
* Vice chairman Lynn Cody said he was hoping to avoid a burden on taxpayers. “The reality in my mind is, if we own it, use it,” Cody said. “We have property that we can utilize. The biggest thing is, this building is going to be expensive. We’re trying our best to work with our legislators to help us with the impact and not put as much burden on our taxpayers as possible.” Cody suggested building the structure in phases – for example, constructing the courthouse portion first, then a detention center later – and over a span of 3-5 years.
* Natasha Williams echoed many of Cody’s sentiments. “We can’t get finished until we get started,” Williams astutely observed. “We have some viable options, but we need to do it at whatever will bring the least amount of burden to the taxpayers.”
* Connie Orr also wants to ease the cost for local taxes, but pointed out that requirements will not allow the building to be produced without taking a hit. “We must have adequate facilities, as we have been charged to put in place,” Orr explained, with an order from District 43A Chief Superior Court Judge Tessa Sellers being handed down Aug. 21, mandating the county take action on constructing a new courthouse to replace the current one. “It may not seem like we’re doing much, but we’re trying to do everything we can for the majority. We can’t please everybody, but I believe this board is ready do the best it can for this county in the most economically-sensible way it can.”
* Chairperson Meggan Smith expanded on the idea of cost efficiency by harkening back to the previous hesitation shown by the public about the P & J site’s consideration. “If that’s something you have an issue with, we need to know that,” Smith said. “I do not want to vote on a site until I know you guys are ok with it. That’s why we brought you here.”
Smith turned the meeting over to county project manager Jason Marino, who presented a slideshow of each site commissioners are still considering. The hearing came to a halt when the P & J site appeared on the screen, which included the following highlights:
* A resident suggested keeping as much of the contracting work for the center inside the county, to keep costs down.
* Graham County Clerk of Court Tammy Holloway asked for the amount of money collected since a ¼-cent sales tax referendum was passed. Interim county manager Kim Crisp said the amount hovered around $1.557 million. Funds from the referendum were to be used for constructing a new courthouse.
* Deputy sheriff Cody George said that $336,000 was spent to house county inmates elsewhere in 2024 alone – and at the current pace, the cost would increase to $395,000 this year. However, George estimated that after building a justice center with a 75-bed jail, the county stood to increase revenue by $370,000. The current jail only has eight beds; George said Monday that Graham County had 41 inmates in custody.
* Midway through the lengthy discussion that followed, Graham County Extension Agent Nikki Stewart spoke on the cost analysis of building the center at P & J – from an entirely-different angle.
“Can we put a price on our kids?,” Stewart asked the crowd of 50 in attendance. She then polled the audience on whether the site should continue to be considered, with most raising their hand against the idea.
Moments later, the commissioners voted 5-0 to drop P & J from the running – which drew applause from those on-hand.
The meeting can be viewed in its entirety on The Graham Star’s YouTube channel.