Robbinsville – Though it remains unclear exactly when efforts will begin, the Graham County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Friday to move those employed inside the detention center to a different location inside the courthouse while crews work to remediate lead-based paint in the workspace.
Estimated to take two weeks, the job will lead to a shuffle in how inmates are brought into the detention center itself. The interim process will see those arrested brought to the Grand Jury Room of the Graham County Courthouse for booking, then escorted to either the eight-bed jail or a transport van to be housed in another county. Graham County typically keeps around 40 inmates in custody; chief deputy Cody George said at a Feb. 10 commissioner meeting that $336,000 was spent to house inmates outside the county in 2024.
The meeting came two days after Graham County Sheriff Brad Hoxit explored the jail alongside Graham County Commission Chair Meggan Smith, commissioner Natasha Williams and county manager Brady Cody. Hoxit called into Friday's meeting, as he was at a conference with the North Carolina Sheriff's Association.
However, he shared his takeaway from the July 23 visit to the detention center in an email sent to the commissioners roughly 30 minutes before Friday's meeting began.
"I was asked during the meeting by Commissioner Smith if I felt like the jail was unsafe," reads a portion of Hoxit's email. "I stated to her that I'm not a medical professional and I couldn't give that opinion but as you come into this jail, you can look around and tell that the conditions are not favorable for inmates and/or employees.
"I then asked her since she's a medical professional what her opinion was, and I did not receive an opinion and I do not understand why this is an emergency all of a sudden."
At Friday's meeting, Smith leaned into her role as a family nurse practitioner when addressing the conditions of the facility.
"While (in) this role that I play I'm not supposed to wear my medical hat, I will try to share a little bit of medical opinion," Smith said. "The way that I treat patients is, if a patient tells me, 'This is going on,' I believe them. That's just how I am.
"So, I can't give an expert medical opinion without seeing you, listening to your lungs, running labs, doing a CT scan, all those things. If you say working in the jail makes you feel sick, I have to believe that."
Lead-based paint is largely contained to door frames and tiles in the booking area at the front of the detention center, and was not found in the cell block itself. OSHA inspected the jail July 21 and in a preliminary report to Cody, indicated that nothing hazardous had been located – though samples had been taken for further testing.
Smith said she was told by one unnamed detention-center employee during July 23's walkthrough that feeling ill was a constant.
"We're not turning a blind eye," said Smith. "Our plan hopefully – very soon – is to have a new justice center. So, we don't want to throw tons of money at the old jail when we know we're going to have a new justice center.
"We want to make it as safe as we can for you; I hope you guys understand that."
Hoxit also noted the presence of lead-based paint inside the area known as the "drunk tank," which is an isolated cell in the back of the jail. The area would need to be re-purposed as a holding area before transportation following arrest, Hoxit said.
Hoxit's email also alluded to when the topic was first broached, which was the Jan. 23, 2024 commissioner meeting. Commissioner Jacob Nelms – then the chairman of the board – asked county project manager Jason Marino to start accepting bids at the time and some were received.
"I was told when it was presented to the board chairman Nelms told Jason that the money was (sic) forgot to be put into the budget for this project so we had to go onto our next physical (sic) year, which just started July 1, 2025," reads another portion of Hoxit's email.
"This should have been taken care of a long time ago."
Marino and Cody both contended to The Graham Star after Friday's meeting that the word "forgot" was not used in the discussion.
There are still a few logistics that will still need to be addressed. One topic discussed Friday was needing to move female inmates around the facility without having to pass in front of the general population.
Front-office equipment for the jail was being moved into the Grand Jury Room on Tuesday. Bids will still need to be received and approved by commissioners before the remediation process can begin.
"We will work with whatever the board wants to do," Hoxit said, shortly before Friday's 5-0 vote was rendered.