Robbinsville – Less than an hour after the unanimous approval of the upcoming fiscal year’s budget, Graham County commissioners were behind closed doors and revisiting the idea of building a new justice center on existing school grounds.
Just over five minutes of Monday’s joint meeting between commissioners and the board of education were spent in open session, as elected officials on both sides hammered out details in a closed session that lasted well over an hour.
No action was taken at the conclusion of the summit, although the two boards seemed pleased with the progress made. The only statement offered on the proceedings came from county attorney Jay Coward.
“We’re not finished yet; we’ve got a lot of work to do before we’re able to make any public comment,” Coward said. “We took no action, and we’ll continue to work with the school board in a cooperative manner.”
If the scenario sounds familiar, that’s because it is. District 43A Chief Superior Court Judge Tessa Sellers issued an Aug. 21 letter to the county, pointing out concerns with the courthouse and giving the board 60 days to come up with an action plan. The letter was the second issued from the judicial level, as retired district judge William Coward condemned the courthouse in a letter dated Aug. 28, 2017.
The board of commissioners voted 4-1 on Oct. 17 to construct a new facility on Knight Street. The site would border the existing Graham County Community Building and Big Oaks Stadium, but would also occupy the space utilized by the original Robbinsville High School baseball field and Robbinsville Elementary School itself. The idea was to launch the project once Graham County Schools opened the new elementary school, which is in a pre-construction phase.
Commissioners later withdrew their selection of the site Feb. 10, saying the county and school district could not come to financial terms concerning the sale of the Knight Street property. It’s unclear what brought the two entities back together Monday, but the county has said at recent meetings that other locations were still being scouted.