In an interview just hours before the June 19 meeting, acting FRL Board Chair Cynthia Mason Womble told The Smoky Mountain News that although the library system’s own bylaws mandate public comment at all library board meetings, Jackson County commissioners have declined to allow it tonight.

“They were the ones who requested the meeting and set the date and time,” Womble said. “So [Chairman Mark Letson] will lead the meeting off and call it to order, and then I will call my board to order so that we're both in a formal meeting, and he will make an opening statement, and I will make an opening statement.”

The Fontana Regional Library system — formed more than 80 years ago — serves Jackson, Macon and Swain counties. Its future in Jackson is now uncertain after commissioners began openly discussing withdrawal over concerns about materials some claim are inappropriate for children.

The cost of withdrawal is estimated at $500,000 annually, not including one-time startup costs thought to be around $300,000 — although no one really knows the true amount. On June 17, commissioners couldn’t even approve their annual budget over disagreements about spending and a substantial tax increase.

Womble said she asked Letson to explain the absence of public comment in his opening statement — not just for transparency, but because the FRL bylaws requires it — although she remains apprehensive about the lack of public comment and said if it were up to her, there would be a public comment session.

“I am concerned because we are under a microscope, and anytime we fail to comply, or are perceived as not wanting to comply, we are criticized for that. I did express that to Mark,” Womble said. “He understood my concern, but he said that it is not required for Jackson County commissioners to allow public comment at a working meeting in accordance with North Carolina General statutes.”

When reached for comment on the afternoon of June 19, Letson defended the decision.

“According to both attorneys [from Jackson County and FRL] since this is not a called meeting by FRL, and since we called the meeting our bylaws supersede theirs,” he said. “If someone has a comment for FRL, they can go the FRL’s next meeting.”

Another concern is in the lack of a detailed list of concerns to be discussed; Womble didn’t even receive an agenda for the meeting until yesterday. When she read it, there was little more than what’s already known about the meeting — time, date, location and purpose: “to have a working discussion between the board members of Fontana Regional Library and the Jackson County Commissioners,” according to Womble.

While the publication of a meeting agenda isn’t required by statute, it’s a common practice among public bodies subject to open meetings laws meant to bolster transparency.

Jackson County commissioners have been plagued by concerns over transparency, especially after an investigation by The Smoky Mountain News in April revealed that commissioners likely violated the law by not discussing the removal of decorative plaques from a Confederate statue at the library. At the time, County Manager Kevin King told The Smoky Mountain News that there was not a single record — text, email, fax, memo, nothing — containing deliberations by commissioners about the statue.

Still, Womble described her conversation with Letson as “very positive,” and said she doesn’t believe procedural issues will derail the discussion.

“My hope is a better understanding among our two boards of what the specific concerns and issues are of the Jackson County commissioners that are causing them to consider pulling out,” she said. “There's no decisions that have been made yet. I will just have to wait and see what happens at the meeting.”

Letson was similarly optimistic, and said the lack of an agenda was because he hadn’t received enough feedback from commissioners on what they wanted to discuss — other than content.

He added that he hoped the meeting wouldn’t spend too much time addressing concerns over content because there is a separate process for challenging content and the Jackson County commissioners do not play a role in that process.