Following a lengthy closed session during the Swain County Board of Commission’s July 2 work session, commission chair Kevin Seagle said the board had reached a consensus that it would obtain the advice of a lawyer to draft a code of conduct. 

Swain County Board of Commissioners added a referendum to November ballots that will allow residents to vote on the on-premises or off-premises sale of beer and wine. 

Neither Jackson County nor Swain County commissions have agreed to approve the changes Macon County proposed to the Fontana Regional Library agreement, citing legal and logistical concerns.

The issues facing Swain County are similar to those in other Western North Carolina communities — an affordable housing shortage, a boom in short term rentals, a laundry list of large projects that need to be tackled — but its geography, demographics and economic makeup differ from many of its neighbors, given its relatively sparse population and the amount of federal land within its borders.