Amid uncertainty, Swain commissioners accept revised FRL amendments
Swain County commissioners, hearing comment from FRL Trustee Cynthia Womble here, approved all three of the proposed amendments to the Fontana Regional Library interlocal agreement.
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For months, Jackson County commissioners have been making material decisions to advance a costly and widely criticized plan to pull its two libraries from the Fontana Regional Library system.
Nonetheless, in 2025, the Jackson board proposed three amendments which, contingent on passage by fellow FRL-member counties Macon and Swain, might convince commissioners to change their course.
The first mandated a commissioner from each county to act as one of its three board representatives. The second opted for a separate regional director and county librarian as opposed to the current model that allowed for a dual position. The final amendment stated that after audit completion and calculations of payables, any surplus funding beyond operational costs would be reallocated to the counties.
While Swain County passed all three amendments, Macon commissioners approved two, and the FRL board only accepted one. This prompted the bodies to negotiate the changes, and repurposed amendments were brought to the Swain board Feb. 17.
According to County Manager Lottie Barker, Macon took issue with the requirement that three total commissioners sit at the table of the FRL board — because it was a redundant measure.
“[Macon] said, as the board, you could appoint one of yourselves onto the board if you wanted to be on there. So they didn’t feel that that one was actually a needed change,” Barker said.
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The second item, meanwhile, had been upheld unanimously. The third was altered so that reimbursement was not dependent on audits and payables but instead consisted of any end-of-term funding surpassing 25% of the budget for that fiscal year, she said.
Barker emphasized that these amendments were not major departures from Jackson’s original three, which Swain commissioners had already passed. While they still expressed concern, that had much less to do with the proposed legislation than it did Jackson County’s uncertain plans.
The North Carolina Association of County Commissioners encourages inter-county agreements and dialogue — especially concerning shared issues — among commissioners. The first article of the NCACC constitution even reads that “Counties, like individuals, cannot profitably and happily exist in isolation … where common problems exist, cooperation is necessary.”
Vice Chair Tanner Lawson said he supports the amendments so long as Jackson County truly reverses its actions; otherwise the board will be stuck with “trying to figure out how to fund our library.”
FRL trustee Cynthia Womble rose to the podium to clarify some of the issues.
“Jackson County, to date, all indications are that they are pulling out, that they do not have the votes on their board … at their last meeting, they did appropriate another $350,000 towards purchasing the equipment they need in order to operate their libraries on their own,” she said, adding that the board must have a decision by the end of June and before the next fiscal year.
If Jackson County chooses to leave, employment contracts of all staff it two libraries will be terminated — there’s no space for them in other Macon or Swain branches of FRL.
“But June 30 is after you have to pass your budget. So, you know that the problem is that you don’t know if they’re going to pull out or not. And obviously, sharing the overhead among four libraries instead of six libraries, two counties instead of three counties, is going to mean that Swain County is going to have to pay more to get the same services,” Womble added, estimating increased annual costs to range anywhere from $15,000 to $150,000.
That’s nothing compared to the expense that’ll be incurred by Jackson for operating its own library system, which Womble put at somewhere between $350,000 and half-a-million dollars and some have estimated the figure to be significantly higher. Though she admitted that even were Swain County to pull its sole library from FRL — Marianna Black in Bryson City — the decision wouldn’t be as expensive, affecting fewer employees and only a single location.
Some Swain commissioners seemed confused as to why their neighboring county would leave FRL, despite NCACC partnership recommendations and continuous coverage by the Sylva Herald and The Smoky Mountain News.
“What was their motive for pulling out?” asked commissioner David Loftis.
Womble said the decision had to do with ideological disagreement with library LGBTQ+ content — both in programs and literature. For example, the library, as a public space, must be available to anyone who pays the rental fee.
Jackson County, however, was “not happy with some of the programs that happened there, that were not sponsored by the library, were not funded by the library. It was just somebody having a family reunion. But it happened to be something they didn’t agree with,” Womble said.
In August 2025, the annual Mx. Sylva Belle Pageant was subject to the group’s ire when about 20 people showed up to protest the private, ticketed event, despite its compliance with library policy. The protestors were met by a crowd of more than 120 pageant supporters facilitating a “read-in” on the lawn, SMN reported.
“The folks who come and speak at the FRL meetings are very adamant that they’re not in favor of banning books. They just want them removed from the library. As a library board member, I don’t know what the difference is between telling me that book shouldn’t be in the library and banning a book,” Womble said of the second line of reasoning, adding that Jackson commissioners want to have full control over the county’s libraries without compromise.
None of those challenged books have been removed from FRL, mainly because the system has always followed a specific and comprehensive protocol for reviewing such materials. Additionally, according to Womble, FRL doesn’t have the resources — nor an attorney — to fight a First Amendment lawsuit, which Jackson County could very well face in the future.
Lawson had a more relevant concern — what if Macon County follows suit?
“I know there’s not been any talk of this, but I just want to make sure there is no thought that Macon would do this thing next year of pulling out,” he said, further underscoring the lack of inter-county communication among commissioners.
Womble replied that she’s gotten anonymous and “not very nice” emails from known Macon County residents that match emails sent to FRL (SMN reporters also received a similar email). She speculated that some Swain commissioners may have received similar messages — raising the possibility of Macon also leaving the system.
At that point, fellow Swain FRL board member Tony Monnat noted that after all, Macon County commissioners were first to consider what later passed in Jackson.
“It was three, four years ago, Macon County Board of Commissioners did vote to stay in [the FRL system], but it was — that vote came up because of the same group of people, who tried to get that commission to remove themselves to the library. They lost the vote,” he said.
At the time, Macon County thought withdrawing from FRL would place too high a burden on taxpayers.
The group was undeterred — and its proposal was eventually accepted by commissioners in Jackson. But if that county pulls out by the end of June, Macon may have greater incentive to do so as well.
“[Macon commissioners] don’t get much from us with our one library in Swain County by being joined with us. I mean, there’s not a whole lot of benefit and not a whole lot of savings that’s going to be gained by that. We benefit more than they do,” Womble said.
However, all renovations to the Marianna Black Library in Bryson City have been financed by the county, so as far as that major project, it’s business as usual.
Womble also told commissioners that in the future, maybe they’ll want to cut to the chase themselves: pursue the more costly option and disaffiliate from FRL.
“I suspect the Macon County Commissioners are asking that same question: ‘Is Swain thinking about pulling out?’ And the answer is, ‘Well, you got to look at all your options.’ But have you decided now? No, you can’t decide. We don’t even know what Jackson’s going to do right now,” she said.
“Do you think if we pass this, it would help? When it comes up to Macon, they would know that we’re in?” Chair Jay Kirkland asked Barker.
“Yeah, maybe. I don’t know. I think it’s just whatever their mindset is,” she responded.
If intending to leave the system, Macon commissioners, like Jackson, would have to give one year’s notice.
In the end, the amendments passed 4-1, with all in favor but Loftis.
