Jackson County Commissioners selected Knoxville-based Cope Architecture to replace Pinnacle Architecture to lead the Smoky Mountain Middle School construction and Blue Ridge School renovation projects at their regularly scheduled Nov. 3 election-night meeting.
Soon, Republicans Mark Letson, Todd Bryson, and John Smith will end their tenure on the board, as voters selected three new Democratic candidates, Casey Walawender, Sean Bridgers, and Marcia Almond, in the midterm election to replace them.
Plans for the county’s first standalone middle school and needed renovations at Blue Ridge School have stalled over the past several months.
The county was forced to reconsider budget constraints when commissioners nixed adding a $105 million school bond referendum to the ballot at the last second in September, and commissioners have expressed unhappiness with Pinnacle Architecture’s leadership thus far.
With this latest vote, however, commissioners hope Cope Architecture will be the catalyst the county needs to push the project across the finish line and break ground on construction before the September 2027 deadline attached to $52 million in N.C. Department of Instruction (NCDPI) grant funding approaches.
Cope Architecture pitched themselves to commissioners at their Oct. 20 meeting, while competitor LS3P pitched on Oct. 6.
In his official recommendation to the board, County Manager Kevin King said both firms would be excellent choices and that he did not prefer one over the other.
In discussions, commissioners echoed King’s sentiments, acknowledging that both companies made compelling presentations.
Where Cope Architecture won over commissioners was in the details.
Cope representatives said they took a walk around the undeveloped middle school property along Highway 107 before the meeting, and Cope Vice President and Head of K-12 Market Sector Jim Hinton gave commissioners a segmented timeline for the project’s completion, which he estimates could come as early as Summer 2029.
“I like the fact that Cope actually visited the site and done [sic] a little bit more homework, it seemed like, on what our site consisted of in a short period of time,” Bryson said.
Both firms have recently completed K-12 projects in Western North Carolina, and both have experience working with counties that have also received NCDPI Needs-Based Public School Capital Fund grants.
Commissioners Michael Jennings and Jenny Lynn Hooper agreed with Bryson’s reasonings for his Cope Architecture preference, and the board passed a 5-0 motion to select the firm going forward.
“I think they both presented well; I just got a good gut feeling about Cope,” said Hooper.
At the Oct. 20 meeting, Hinton said Cope could start work on the project immediately.
“We’re not there to do one project, come in, come out, make a bunch of money, and go on to the next one,” he said. “We’re here to be a partner with the county, with the school system — come in listening, and have the attitude to do what needs to be done.”