The Sylva Town Board on Friday voted 3-2 to hire a new town manager with a background in planning.

The board hired Adrienne Isenhower to replace former Manager Jay Denton who was fired in September. Isenhower is currently a planner for the city of Lenoir, population 17,000. She has a master’s degree in public administration from Appalachian State University.

“I think she has great qualifications, and her background fits us perfectly,” said Commissioner Stacy Knotts.

Knotts noted that the board was looking for a manager with a planning background. Sylva currently does not have a town planner, after philosophical differences led to the departure of the former town planner last fall. The town board opted not to hire a new planner, but instead look for a town manager with planning expertise who could fill both roles.

Lenoir News-Topic Local Editor Paul Teague has covered Isenhower’s work with the planning department and said she is a “top flight person.”

“She will do an outstanding job for Sylva,” said Teague. “She knows her stuff.”

Teague said Isenhower pays attention to detail and “eats, sleeps and breathes municipal government.”

Teague said he knew it wouldn’t be long before Isenhower left for an advancement in her career. Isenhower has done much to improve Lenoir’s downtown, Teague added.

Vote not unanimous

Town Commissioners Harold Hensley and Ray Lewis voted against hiring Isenhower, saying she lacks the experience necessary for the job, particularly in managing a budget.

“I didn’t think she had the experience,” said Hensley.

Hensley noted that Isenhower just graduated from college in 2006 and has only been working as a planner for the past few years. Hensley said Isenhower has no experience in finances that he knows of.

“For the taxpayers’ money it seems like we should have gotten someone with more experience,” Hensley said. “The people on the losing end are the taxpayers of Jackson County.”

Since the position was advertised in the fall there were 98 applications received, according to the town clerk’s office.

Hensley also disagrees with the new manager making $60,678 a year when former manager Denton made $53,694. And Hensley said, “Jay had lots of experience.”

Commissioner Lewis has similar complaints as Hensley.

“I didn’t think she had the experience,” said Lewis, questioning her salary. “I think that’s a little high for as much experience as she has.”

Lewis said Isenhower has no experience with town finance or budgeting and that he doesn’t know how she can do the job without those skills.

Commissioner Sarah Graham admitted that Isenhower has no experience directly managing a town budget. But Graham said she thinks Isenhower will do an excellent job.

“She’s got the qualifications we are looking for,” said Graham.

Those qualifications include a master’s degree in public administration, and experience working as a planner. Planners from larger cities often advance their careers by moving on to be manager of a small town.

“This will be her first position as a city manager,” Graham stated.

Asked why Isenhower is making more than Denton, Graham said, “Because that’s what we’re offering the manager this time around.”

The reason she is getting paid more than Denton is that Isenhower is really filling two jobs — one as manager and one as planner, said Knotts.

Maurice Moody agreed that Isenhower was the best applicant.

But he admitted that she probably does lack experience in budgeting. “I don’t think budgeting is her strongpoint,” said Moody.

But Moody said there is already a well-qualified individual in the finance office handling most of those issues, whose official title is assistant finance officer and tax collector. While ultimately budget oversight lies with the town manager, Graham said Isenhower has “ample experience” to perform that role.

Isenhower could not be reached for comment. She is scheduled to begin in May.

Other than Isenhower’s current job, she also had an internship with the city of Lenoir in 2006, an internship with the town of Troy in 2004 and an internship with the town of Boone in 2003, according to her resume provided by the town.

A Jackson County task force has entered the nitty-gritty stage in its quest to fix traffic congestion on N.C. 107 in Sylva.

The group has begun compiling a long list of possible solutions to the congestion. Once complete, it will turn the list over to the Department of Transportation to assess whether and how much each idea could help.

The solutions fall into one of two categories. One is to alter the design of N.C. 107 to handle more traffic. The other is to divert cars off N.C. 107.

Jackson County is split into two basic camps of how to solve traffic congestion on N.C. 107. One advocates building the Southern Loop, a cross-county highway that would bypass the main drag of N.C. 107 and tie in with U.S. 23-74 north of Sylva. Initially conceived as a large-scale freeway, road planners now say it could be a boulevard or even simple two-lane road.

The second camp wants to redesign the existing N.C. 107 and use smaller side roads to handle some of 107’s traffic.

Just how much congestion the task force is tasked with solving has been the subject of debate over the last several months (see related article.) The latest prediction claims there will be around 1,000 to 2,000 cars too many using N.C. 107 during the peak commuter hours by the year 2035.

The projection was formulated using DOT models and growth formulas, and massaged with help of the task force.

Some members of the task force remain concerned over the growth assumptions plugged into the model. The pace of growth witnessed over the past 25 years may not hold true for the next 25.

“Then this overage you are trying to address may not be accurate,” said task force member Susan Leveille.

Those in favor of the Southern Loop want to make the future congestion look worse to justify the road, Leveille said. Likewise, those who don’t want to build the Southern Loop want to downplay future congestion.

Diverting traffic

The name of the game is figuring out how to deal with 1,000 to 2,000 more cars than the road can handle. That’s where the brainstorming process and solutions pitched by the task force come in.

Those opposed to the Southern Loop hope to shows the overage can be handled without building a new highway. Those in favor of the Southern Loop claim the only way of dealing with that many cars would be building the new bypass.

The Southern Loop isn’t the only way to divert cars off 107, however. There are other ways to lighten the load. One is a system of smaller network roads: a system of shortcuts, more or less.

Another option for lightening the load doesn’t involve the roads at all. For example, if more students and faculty lived in Cullowhee, they wouldn’t be driving up and down N.C. 107 to get to campus. The county could enact land-use strategies to encourage more residential development around Western, according to Pam Cook, a DOT transportation planner working with the task force.

“That would be something that only elected officials can change, but that can certainly be evaluated,” she said.

Another option to get cars off the road is a commuter bus between Sylva and Western Carolina University in hopes of decreasing cars on the road.

When it comes to altering the design of N.C. 107 to handle the traffic overage, solutions being pitched include rerouting intersections, adding lanes and congestion management strategies.

Some solutions, when packaged together, can actually result in exponential improvements. For example, an intersection redesign could increase carrying capacity by 2,000 cars and an extra lane by another 2,000, but when done together could carry an extra 5,000.

“We’ll try to strategically group those,” said Ryan Sherby, community transportation coordinator for 10 western counties.

A whole category of solutions falls under the umbrella of congestion management. Congestion management can streamline traffic and increase what the DOT calls the “carrying capacity” of the road. But the congestion strategies might not be included in the numbers game aimed at coping with the projected overage, Cook said.

But the techniques are being considered. A team that specializes in congestion management visited Jackson County and performed a cursory analysis of N.C. 107 last year at the behest of the local DOT. The report from their visit is not yet out, but could be promising, Cook said.

“They may not solve all the deficiencies but would certainly make things operate more smoothly,” Cook said.

Cook said the team would like to make a second visit to examine a few options more closely.

The public can join in the brainstorming as well. Anyone with a solution they think the task force should put on the list to run by DOT can contact Sherby at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 828.586.1962, ext. 214.

Stop-and-start process now rolling

Jackson County task force members are excited with the new stage of their work. The task force was formed six years, but faltered for much of its existence due to a revolving door of DOT staffers, including long windows with no staff person assigned to the task force at all.

“I feel like we are just getting started with what I thought would be happening five years ago,” said Susan Leveille, a task force member and representative of the Smart Roads coalition. “We have been sitting listening for such a long time, and for a long time we had a void of nothing. I am very glad that we finally have an opportunity for input that seems to be genuinely part of the process.”

The current DOT staffer assigned to the task force marks the fourth since its creation, and each one essentially started again from scratch upon taking over. But the latest at the helm, Pam Cook, appears to be in for the long haul and the task force is finally showing concrete progress.

Cook said every solution pitched in the brainstorming stage will get evaluated.

“Every thought needs to be considered. Some can just be considered by discussion, some thoughts will be evaluated through a model, others we’ll have to go out into the field and see if it is feasibly possible to connect this road and that,” said Cook, who specializes in community transportation planning. “There is not a bad idea.”

A homeless shelter has opened in Sylva to provide an escape from the frigid nights.

The shelter, located at Lifeway Church in Sylva, is the only homeless shelter in Jackson County. It will remain open through March.

About a month ago several local organizations met to discuss the need for a homeless shelter amid fears the spiraling economy would leave people with nowhere to turn.

Local churches have committed to staff the homeless shelter in Sylva with volunteers.

The shelter is working in partnership with the Community Table to provide meals.

Lifeway Pastor Mike Abbott doesn’t know how many homeless people there are in the Sylva area, but said, “We definitely have homelessness.”

With the winter being so cold this year, there needs to be a place for them, he said. The shelter opened about two weeks ago, and as of Sunday (March 1) no one had stayed there.

He said the homeless may not realize it’s there or they may have gone south or to Buncombe County by now. The shelter is open from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. seven days a week.

Abbott said the plan is for Lifeway to host the shelter again next year with it opening Nov. 1.

“I’m excited that in a relatively short period, community organizations and churches were able to come together and accomplish opening this up,” Abbott said. “This speaks well of the community. A lot of good people made this happen.”

The shelter can accommodate about 20 people and there is additional space for women with children and families, he said.

Mountain Projects Executive Director Patsy Dowling said the economy is causing people who normally wouldn’t need help to seek assistance.

“More people are losing their jobs and their healthcare,” she said. “The faces of people in need are changing.”

Many people who have lost their jobs and need food stamps can’t get them because they have assets that preclude them from qualifying, she said.

Laid off employees are having trouble paying their rent and can’t get help because the rental assistance program waiting list at Mountain Projects is “years long,” said Dowling.

Utility bills are becoming harder to pay for people affected by the economy.

Churches in Haywood County have banded together to open a homeless there, too. Space is being provided at Camp New Life.

Dowling spearheaded the community meetings to bring the homeless shelters to Jackson and Haywood counties. Her interest was sparked in December when there was a homeless couple in Waynesville that needed a place to stay.

There was nowhere in Waynesville and nothing available in Asheville. She felt bad that the only thing Haywood County could offer the couple was gas money to get to a shelter in Tennessee.

“We should have a place for people to get back on their feet,” she said.

Asked if she thinks it took too long to get shelters open in Jackson and Haywood counties, Dowling said she is not going to look back.

She said there is also a need for food and clothing, noting that the Community Table may expand its hours and her church in Tuckasegee may open a food pantry.

Dowling has a long list of heartbreaking stories, including a 61-year-old woman who can’t afford heating oil and groceries.

“I hear so many stories of people who were making $20 an hour last year and now are walking into my office with utility disconnect notices,” she said.

Split votes are becoming increasingly common on the Sylva town board, throwing into question whether the board can meet its stated goal of agreeing on a new town manager.

Town commissioners Harold Hensley and Ray Lewis often vote together against commissioners Stacy Knotts, Sarah Graham, and Maurice Moody.

Hensley and Lewis voted against funding the Downtown Sylva Association, opposed improvements to Bridge Park, support hunting in the Fisher Creek Watershed, and were against steep slope regulations.

Hensley offered little explanation on why he thinks there are split votes.

“I’m not going to comment on that,” said Hensley. “I like to have unity instead of division.”

Hensley suggested that, “Maybe mine and Ray’s ideas are wrong.”

Moody said he, Graham and Knotts are “probably” more progressive than Lewis and Hensley in certain ways. He would not elaborate on how he thought they were more progressive.

“I’m not going to say anything that could be construed as being critical,” said Moody.

As for Moody saying he, Knotts and Graham are probably more progressive, Hensley said, “I guess he’s right.”

“I’m not going to get into tongue lashing,” Hensley said. “I’m trying to keep a lid on this. I don’t think it would do anyone any good to get into an argument, so if that’s the way he feels, that’s the way he feels.”

Hensley said it depends on what Moody means by “progressive.” Hensley said if it means spending money on unnecessary things, Moody, Graham and Knotts probably are more progressive, but if it means watching out for the taxpayer money, it probably means he is more progressive.

Graham said she would never vote to spend taxpayer money on something that doesn’t benefit the town.

Asked if she thinks Lewis and Hensley hold the town back, Graham said, “I’m not going to say.”

She noted that one of the bigger issues that Lewis and Hensley have opposed the other board members on is funding the Downtown Sylva Association. Lewis and Hensley have voted against any town funding for the Downtown Sylva Association for the past three years, running counter to rest of the board.

The DSA received $12,000 from the town this year, and Graham said the money goes toward downtown revitalization and supporting small businesses.

“I wish we could be more cohesive at times,” said Graham.

But she said she thinks the differences on the board are representative of the population of the town.

Knotts said each board member was elected by the people of Sylva to vote “the way we see fit.”

The board is now trying to hire a new town manager.

Moody said he would like the vote to be unanimous when the new town manager is chosen because each board member has to work with the manager.

Graham also hopes the vote on the new town manager can be unanimous.

“It’s an important move for the town,” she said. “I hope we can agree.”

In the most recent 3-2 vote Hensley and Lewis voted against making improvements to Bridge Park, while the others supported the upgrades.

Hensley said he couldn’t support the town spending $79,000 with all of the economic problems facing the country.

“Maybe I’m a little too conservative,” said Hensley.

Lewis admitted that he and Hensley don’t see eye to eye with the other board members. But he wouldn’t say he and Hensley do a better job.

Another issue that has resulted in a 3-2 vote was terminating the former Town Manager Jay Denton. Hensley and Lewis voted to keep Denton, while the others voted to fire him.

Moody said anytime there is a group there is going to be “some give and take and compromise.”

As for why Hensley and Lewis vote opposite of the others, Moody said. “I think they see things differently.”

However, Moody said there are times when he, Lewis and Hensley vote together and Knotts and Graham oppose.

In fact, Moody said he doesn’t necessarily think it is a bad thing that there are split votes on the board.

“You need various viewpoints,” said Moody. “People have different backgrounds. I think everybody is doing what they think they ought to do.”

Sylva’s current library opened in 1970 and is 6,400 square feet. The debate over where to locate a new library lasted more than eight years, with commissioners finally deciding to build it as an attachment to the historic and beloved Jackson County Courthouse.

• 1999 – County leaders decide to tear down the historic Hooper House on Main Street to expand the library, but opposition mounts among those who want to save the historic structure.

• Dec. 2000 — Those fighting to save the Hooper House prevail. Renovation to the Hooper House gets underway to serve as the home for the chamber of commerce, Jackson County Travel and Tourism Association, and Sylva Partners in Renewal. Library supporters are left looking for a site for a much-needed library expansion.

• May 2003 — The idea to partner with Southwestern Community College for a joint library on the SCC campus in Webster has been gaining steam. County commissioners see the SCC joint venture as a way to save money, but it creates deep division among those who want to keep the library downtown. A public hearing on the issue attracts more than 200 people, most against the joint library.

• Jan. 2004 — Jackson commissioners, spurred by opposition to the joint SCC-Jackson County library proposal that culminated in the creation of a group called Build Our Library Downtown (BOLD), put plans on hold and appoint a task force to select a new library site.

• March 2004 — N.C. Board of Elections denies Jackson’s request to hold a non-binding referendum to gauge public sentiment on the idea of a joint library with SCC.

• July 2004 — The search for a library site has left task force members, commissioners, town leaders, opposition groups, and the Friends of the Library members torn. Many favored the historic courthouse, but it was dismissed as unfeasible. Finally, commissioners settle on a parcel located near the site of the old Western Sizzlin’ steakhouse in Jackson Plaza. The Sylva town board agrees to contribute $105,000 to the cost of the property. The property was purchased in September, but many still oppose the site. Even the town considers it a compromise, keeping it close to town but not in downtown proper.

• June 2007 — Jackson commissioners pledged $4.2 million to build a new library, but the location is again being questioned. The board had significant turnover during the last election, with three out of five members being new. Commissioners William Shelton and Tom Massie agree to set aside the money but re-open the debate about where to site the library.

• Oct. 2007 — Library site selection debate finally ends with a 3-2 vote by commissioners to construct the library next to the historic courthouse overlooking downtown Sylva. The renewal of the courthouse property as a potential site for a new library was spearheaded by Commissioner William Shelton.

• June 2008 — Architectural plans for the new library on courthouse hill are well-received by library supporters and project continues to move forward. Cost, including historic courthouse renovations, are pegged at $7.9 million.

• Jan. 2009 — County commissioners pledge to move forward with construction despite recession. Fundraising for the library furnishings reaches its half-way point.

A proposed expansion to the Sylva Volunteer Fire Department building could be up in the air now that the project has come in almost $500,000 more than expected.

The overruns are due to parking and drainage issues that weren’t originally thought of.

The cost has risen from $1.89 million to $2.38 million.

The 25 percent increase is mostly due to extra parking spaces. Sylva town ordinances require an additional 16 parking places would have to be put in if the expansion were built, Interim Sylva Manager Chris Carter said.

Most towns mandate maximum and minimum parking spaces based on the size of the building the parking lot serves. In this case, a bigger building forces them to put in more parking.

There is currently a dirt cliff where the additional parking would go, and it would require expensive dirt work to make way for the parking, Carter said. The cost amounts to roughly $30,000 per extra parking space.

The town is moving forward on the project by seeking a finance company, and Carter hopes bids for the project can be approved by mid-March.

However, the county, which would fund the entire project, has not decided to move forward now that the cost has increased.

Sylva Fire Chief Mike Beck approached the commissioners last week about the project, but the commissioners said they would have to study the issue at their workshop on capital projects in February.

Carter said he can understand that the county wants to further consider funding the project now that the cost has increased.

The fire department expansion would add four bays, a meeting room, office space, sleeping quarters, a laundry room, kitchen and storage. Beck said the expansion is needed because the county has grown.

The fire department was built in 1980, Beck said.

It appears Dillsboro has launched an official study into the pros and cons of merging with neighboring Sylva, although the planning board chairwoman leading the process was unwilling to release many details.

Dillsboro Planning Board Chairwoman Teresa Dowd asserted that the merger is not a priority at this time.

“It’s a back-burner issue,” Dowd told The Smoky Mountain News. “Nothing’s going to happen. If something happens, I’ll call you.”

Dowd offered little comment on what the Planning Board has done so far to study the issue. She said the Planning Board is gathering demographic data, such as the budgets and populations of the towns, to see if merging is a good idea.

She would not elaborate further on what data had been collected and charged The Smoky Mountain News to do its own research.

However, Dowd did say that the Dillsboro Planning Board may take a field trip during its next regularly scheduled meeting Jan. 21 to Hazelwood, a district of Waynesville. Hazelwood used to be its own town but merged with Waynesville in 1991, providing an example the Planning Board could study.

Under review

Planning Board member Beauford Riddle said making Dillsboro part of Sylva is just in the discussion phase.

“At this point in time we’re seeing if it would be feasible,” said Riddle.

If Dillsboro became part of Sylva, Dillsboro could receive police protection and trash pick up from Sylva. In exchange, Sylva’s tax base would increase.

Dillsboro Alderman John Faulk said he has not made up his mind on the possible merger, noting that the issue is being studied by the planning board, and he is waiting to see what it comes back with.

He realizes that many are opposed to the idea, but Faulk said he is going to keep an open mind until he has all the information.

“Tell us the pros and cons,” Faulk said. “It’s very early in the game.”

Dillsboro Alderman Mike Fitzgerald said he would oppose such a merger.

The process

If and when Dillsboro moves forward with the idea, it would be broached with the town leaders of Sylva. But Sylva Town Commissioner Sarah Graham said the merger is far from being in her board’s hands.

“I have no comment on it until they (Dillsboro) bring it to us as a possibility,” Graham said.

For a merger to happen, the town boards of both Sylva and Dillsboro must approve it. The process would include public hearings.

However, a townwide vote allowing residents to decide the issue isn’t necessarily required, according to David Lawrence at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Institute of Government.

Lawrence said a referendum would be necessary if Dillsboro had a lot of debt, and Sylva voters could decide if they wanted to take on that debt.

The state Legislature must finalize any merger.

While Dillsboro leaders claim the idea of merging Sylva is in its mere infancy, opinions on the issue are already swirling in the small town.

Several Dillsboro residents interviewed around town last week said they are opposed to the merger. A top concern is higher property taxes.

“I’d like to see the autonomy of Dillsboro remain,” said resident Robert Stevens. “Right now we determine our own taxes.”

Stevens doesn’t think Dillsboro wouldn’t benefit from a merger. One of the only tangible services is patrol by the Sylva police department. But Stevens said the town is already well-served by the county sheriff’s office, which can get to Dillsboro just as fast as the police department, said Stevens.

And Jill Cooper, owner of Haircuts By Jill in Dillsboro, also opposes the merger.

“I think I like Dillsboro the way it is because it has its own identity and uniqueness,” Cooper said. Cooper moved here from Eastern North Carolina, where she said people all over know about Dillsboro.

While Cooper has lived in Dillsboro only three years, she monitors the pulse of the town through her customers. Many of them are older residents opposed to the town being absorbed by Sylva.

Some interviewed around town though are indifferent to Dillsboro becoming a part of Sylva.

Sylva resident Ted Kay said it doesn’t matter to him either.

“It wouldn’t make any difference to me,” he said.

He said he supports whatever it takes to help Dillsboro survive, adding that Dillsboro probably has trouble generating enough revenue on its own.

However, Kay said it would probably be a burden for Sylva if Dillsboro became part of the city.

It may be a good idea if Dillsboro dissolved as a town and became part of the county, said Dillsboro resident John Clark. Clark said as a resident he isn’t getting anything in return for his taxes anyway, including no garbage pickup or police service, and it would drop the taxes if Dillsboro was part of the county.

By Jennifer Garlesky • Staff Writer

Sylva Town Board members want to see hikers, horseback riders and mountain bikers sharing the trails in Pinnacle Park, 1,100 acres of land located at the northern part of town.

By Jennifer Garlesky • Staff Writer

Sylva’s search for a new town manager ended Jan. 17 after Town Manager Jay Denton asked the board for his job back.