Jackson residents blast library exit, demand explanation

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Jackson residents blast library exit, demand explanation

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Public frustration boiled over at the July 1 Jackson County Board of Commissioners meeting, where speaker after speaker condemned the board’s recent decision to withdraw from the Fontana Regional Library system, urged reconsideration and asked for a public statement from commissioners.

The remarks, delivered during the informal public comment period, revealed deep and lingering concerns about transparency, process and cost, alongside fears of ideological interference in local government.

First to speak was Tom Downing, who opened by acknowledging a detailed presentation on the long list of planned capital improvements in Jackson County delivered by County Manager Kevin King earlier in the meeting.

“It’s really amazing, a lot of work in that, and I can see how we don’t just go and do things. We have a process and a plan … with the [Local Government Commission] looking out for us, making sure we’re doing things correctly. Oh wait, we don’t do that for the library removal though, do we? Never mind,” Downing continued, suggesting that level of planning didn’t extend to the board’s decision to remove Jackson County’s libraries from the FRL system.

“There’s a technical term for that,” he said. “It’s a total cluster fiasco.”

Downing accused the board of abandoning norms, ignoring procedures and bypassing accountability in the way the decision was made.

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“We don’t know what it’s going to cost to leave the FRL,” he said. “And apparently, you don’t care. That’s not management. That’s not leadership. That’s a fiasco.”

Another speaker, Autumn Woodward, followed with a more pointed financial critique.

“I think the public deserves a detailed public statement and rationale for the FRL vote that includes the fiscal analysis of the impacts on the county,” Woodward said. “It seems that this was an emotional decision, and if fully enacted, will result in millions of dollars of increased taxpayer burden over the next decade.”

Woodward cited a projected $1 million increase in the first year, with approximately $4.5 million in additional costs over the following nine years. The county’s own estimates come in at around $500,000 a year in increased costs, with perhaps $300,000 in start-up or transition costs the first year.

“Fiscally, the current library decision appears to represent a violation of the commission’s legal fiduciary responsibility to make financial decisions that benefit the county,” Woodward added. “When can we expect a public statement explaining the reasoning behind your recent decision to leave the FRL?”

Next, a child identified only as “Rowan” approached the podium, barely able to see over it, and delivered brief but emotional remarks that underscored the personal impact of the Board’s decision.

“You’re hurting my favorite place,” Rowan said. “You’re making me and my mom sad. The library is a good place. You’re hurting the schools. You’re making me, my grandpa and dad sad. Libraries support schools.”

The next speaker, Debbie Jeffries, opened by joking that Rowan was “a hard act to follow,” but she quickly turned serious, delivering a pointed rebuke of the board’s decision and leadership.

“By deciding to leave the Fontana Regional Library system, the majority of the commissioners have shown a staggering lack of leadership and foresight,” Jeffries said. Chairman Mark Letson was the only board member to vote to remain in the FRL. “True leaders would have reviewed the financial data fully to see how removing Jackson County’s libraries from the FRL would affect taxpayers and avoid spending more taxpayer dollars to keep the same services.”

Jeffries said the board failed to study library processes, consult experts like the State Library of North Carolina or follow the existing policy for challenging books.

“True leaders would have stood up to outside influences advocating changes that do not benefit county residents,” she said. “It’s hypocritical to say the issue with the FRL board was that other counties’ board members could override votes from Jackson County, when many of the main advocates for leaving the FRL come from Macon and other counties.”

She also tied the decision to what she described as a pattern of broken promises. “You have now gone against compromises,” Jeffries said, referring both to a prior compromise on the library issue and a prior compromise on placing interpretive plaques on the pedestal of a controversial Confederate monument outside the library. Commissioners had the plaques removed in April in a move that legal experts say likely violated the law.

Jeffries concluded by urging commissioners to reverse course.

“Your decision was made in a non-transparent manner. It will result in higher costs for the county and taxpayers, and a loss of the quality services and jobs FRL provides,” she said. “Those who built and support the Jackson County Public Library and the FRL system are the true leaders of this county. You should follow their example and reverse your recent decision.”

Becky Abel spoke next, saying she’d been “woefully disappointed” in the board’s actions.

“My dad used to always have a quip for everything,” Abel said. “About this decision, he would say something like, ‘Well, that dog won’t hunt.’”

Abel said the library had been her “hub” since moving to Jackson County.

“It was where I found my first friends when I moved here,” she said. “And yes, I’m one of those people who moved here. But if nobody moved here, what would we have?”

She warned that the clock was now ticking on the one-year timeline to complete the separation from the FRL and that commissioners still had time to reverse their decision.

“Understand that we’re not going away. We’re still going to be showing up,” said Abel. “We like what we have. We don’t want to change it for the reasons that don’t align with people who can’t see past their own congregations.”

Casey Walawender also expressed frustration, recalling that she watched the previous meeting while on a camping trip with friends.

“Jenny, you’ve made it clear the library is not important to you in any way,” Walawender said, directing her comments at Commissioner Jenny Hooper. “You’ve listened to hours of public comment of people telling you how important it is, and you don’t seem to care. You’ve had your county manager how much it’s going to cost, and you don’t seem to care.”

Walawender continued to bemoan what she sees as a lack of concern over services the library would provide in the future.

“Everybody else is concerned about increased cost, but honestly I’m not,” she said. “Because I think that the lack of caring means that you guys don’t care what services we have in the library. You don’t care what hours they’re open. You don’t care about the quality of staff we have.”

She said she felt “embarrassed” by the board’s performance in a recent joint meeting with the Fontana Regional Library board.

“When you met with our library board … commissioners lost their tempers and raised their voices,” she said. “You were unprepared for the most part. Letson was maybe the only one.”

Walawender reserved specific comments for each commissioner, expressing disappointment in their responses or perceived inaction. She also raised ongoing concerns about Hooper’s eligibility to serve, as well as unresolved questions about the Confederate monument.

The final speaker, Antionette MacWatt, returned to the theme of broken trust but emphasized the possibility of change.

“I really appreciate what your chairman had to say at your last budget meeting about giving this new library board, the new Fontana Regional Library board appointees — of which many you got to appoint — give them a chance to find solutions to the commissioners’ perceived problems,” MacWatt said. “You haven’t given the very people that you asked to serve the opportunity to follow through.”

But MacWatt also touched on more personal feelings.

“I’ve lived here for 22 years,” they said. “But I’m still not considered somebody who has any mountain values. What I want to tell you is, every single one of you — all the people from the other side — we’re all part of the human race.”

Commissioners did not respond to any of the speakers, and the meeting moved on without further discussion of the library issue. As of the end of the meeting, no official public explanation of the withdrawal had been released by the board.

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