Brady Cody
Robbinsville – It was a welcome sight for those disposing of their household refuse May 16: freshly placed gravel at the Snowbird Road sanitation center.
Amid a myriad of complaints from residents about the large potholes in the lot – which quickly filled up with water during heavy rainfall, creating yet another obstacle – Graham County commissioners have been analyzing methods of permanently fixing the recurring problem.
Gravel has been laid in the past, which officials acknowledge is just a temporary solution. At the May 20 county meeting, project manager Jason Marino included a pair of estimates for a complete overhaul to the lot in his monthly report for the board's review.
There is only a $5,000 difference between stripping the lot completely and replacing it with either 150 tons of 4-inch, hot-mix asphalt ($95,000) or 170 yards of 6-inch-thick, reinforced, fibered, 4,000-PSI concrete ($100,000). The report noted that the estimate did not include the additional costs of engineering, site work and drainage.
Aldridge Brothers delivered and spread the gravel at an expense of $750.
County Manager Brady Cody commented on the much-needed improvement during his monthly report.
"It is definitely a short-term solution; there are definitely discussions about how to resolve it long-term," he said.
Cody also presented three potential increases to the monthly collection of sanitation cans, which would help the department become self-sustaining and offset the cost of repairs such as the ones needed at the Snowbird Road site.
The board voted for new rates of $60 (in-town), $85 (out-of-town).
This would create monthly revenue of $9,635 and generate $115,620 annually – an increase of $37,440.
The increases go into effect Tuesday, July 1.
SRO update
The workshop that preceded the meeting included a presentation by Graham County sheriff's Chief Deputy Cody George, regarding the reclassification of duties for school resource officers from Graham County Schools to under the office's umbrella.
George recapped the events thus far, which included the pivot from the district's original stance of wishing to keep SROs under the school system's jurisdiction to a sudden change in March. Now, the SROs are under the sheriff's office – but remain Graham County Schools' employees, at their current salary.
However, the agreement included the caveat that should the existing SROs leave, the position could be refilled as a county employee – with the school district reimbursing salaries and benefits (a cost of $143,600). George pointed out that Robbinsville Elementary School SRO Josh Reap left shortly after the change was announced in March, while Robbinsville Middle/High School SRO Jeff Knight chose to retire at the end of the school year.
George's presentation was accompanied by a proposed Memorandum of Understanding with the discussed terms, including the school district turning over all of its SRO-related weapons, equipment and vehicles to the sheriff's office.
He added that a pair of candidates to fill the positions have already been chosen, though he did not name the officers at the meeting.
George did indicate the two share a combined 20 years of law-enforcement experience.
"This streamlines communication and makes things easier for us," George said. "It keeps us in the loop about what's going on in Graham County Schools and gives them available resources that they don't have. It expands their jurisdiction to go out and do home visits in the county.
"We feel like this is the best move going forward."