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Harrah's extends casino closure
BY CORY VAILLANCOURT S TAFF WRITER F ollowing the lead of several other municipalities, corporations and coops, the Town of Waynesville has temporarily suspended billing-related water and electric shutoffs for its residential customers in response to the Coronavirus Pandemic.
“As everybody knows, we’re up against it,” said Alderman Jon Feichter during a town board meeting March 24. “One of the things I’ve seen that companies are doing, for example Duke Energy, my natural gas provider PSNC energy — and I’m sure that there are others — until the economic dust settles on this pandemic, these companies have decided that they are not going to disconnect any of their customers for non-payment.”
Feichter said he’d explored available options with Town Manager Rob Hites and Finance Director Ben Turnmire and came up with a proposal for Waynesville to follow suit. “If there is one thing that worries me more than the thought of catching the coronavirus it’s the damage this is doing to the pocketbooks of our citizens,” Feichter said.
The concerns voiced by Feichter go handin-hand with recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that people wash their hands thoroughly and frequently to help limit the spread of coronavirus.
Turnmire said that offering such assistance could have a 3 to 5 percent negative impact on the town’s water fund every month the policy remained in effect. He also cautioned that his analysis doesn’t account for the loss of revenue from commercial accounts that aren’t currently using water — like restaurants.
The town’s water fund is an enterprise fund and thus is separate from the general fund. Revenue flows in and expenditures flow out, and the water fund has its own fund balance to cover shortfalls or unexpected expenses. Currently, it’s at more than $2.2 million.
If the water fund incurs a 4 percent loss of revenue each month because of the suspension of disconnections, that would be about $91,200 in lost revenue the fund balance would have to cover each month.
The town’s electric fund is similar in that it’s an enterprise fund separate from the general fund and operates much the same way as the water fund. A March 20 memo from
Waynesville aldermen addressed a mostly-empty room on March 24. Cory Vaillancourt photo
Turnmire to aldermen estimated the electric fund’s monthly revenue loss at 2 to 4 percent. The electric fund’s fund balance at the time of the 2019 audit was $3.2 million. If the electric fund incurs a 3 percent loss of revenue each month, that would amount to roughly $24,800 in lost revenue that would need to be covered by the electric fund’s fund balance each month. But, it’s not really lost revenue — state law prohibits waiving fees or bills, so customers who can’t or won’t pay their bills during the grace period would still have to pay them eventually. Essentially, the water and electric funds are each borrowing from their respective “rainy day” funds with expectations of paying themselves back once the crisis is over. F
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“If we can take it on the chin a little bit now, I think that is going to help everybody later,” Feichter said.
Alderman Anthony Sutton — who’d phoned in to the meeting from quarantine due to a recent trip to Spain — said he agreed with offering relief for individuals and stressed the importance of asking residential customers to make payment arrangements in the interim.
“It needs to be very clear that they’re not going to get it for free,” Sutton said. “They do have to pay it eventually.”
Unanimously, aldermen agreed that utility customers who weren’t already delinquent before the March 15 state of emergency declaration by Haywood County would qualify for an initial 60-day reprieve from disconnection. As the that deadline draws near, Hites and Turnmire will report back to the board on the fiscal impact of the reprieve, so aldermen can consider extending, modifying or abolishing it in light of circumstances at that time.
Waynesville wasn’t the first or the last entity to grant such relief to its customers. The Tuckaseigee Water and Sewer Authority (TWSA) suspended all disconnections as of March 17 and also allowed customers who’d been disconnected to ask for restoration of service without paying deposits, fees or past due balances.
Bryson City halted sewer and water disconnections and will no longer assess late fees until the pandemic ends. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians adopted a similar policy on March 26.
The Haywood Electric Membership Corporation (HEMC) won’t disconnect customers who can’t pay their bills due to coronavirus-related circumstances so long as customers contact HEMC to let them know. HEMC will also consider reconnecting previously disconnected users on a case-by-case
basis. Duke Energy announced a policy similar to HEMC on March 13.
Waynesville Gas Services (as well as all AmeriGas affiliates) will no longer disconnect customers or lock tanks. Customers facing hardships due to coronavirus can also contact Waynesville Gas to ask about payment plans. PSNC — also known as Dominion Energy — won’t shut off power or gas, and said it will work with customers who have been disconnected to restore service. stment analysis. in commercial real nd presentation of ssionals upon ion CASE A BILL Congratulations to NAI Beverly-H LY CASE Awarded CCIM Designati Certified Commercial Investment Member The CCIM designation is awarded to commercial real estate profe successful completion of a graduate-level education curriculum an a portfolio of qualifying experience. CCIMs are recognized experts estate brokerage, leasing, asset management, valuation, and inves Hanks’
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NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR FALL 2020 The Catamount School, a school for 6th, 7th, and 8th graders in Jackson County, is accepting 6th, 7th and 8th grade registrations for the 2020-21 school year. Operated by Western Carolina University’s College of Education and Allied Professions in cooperation with Jackson County Public Schools, The Catamount School is designed to explore innovative teaching approaches and applied learning opportunities in order to help every student discover his or her full academic potential. The school is a public lab school operated on the campus of Smoky Mountain High School and is free to accepted students and their families.
Rep. Meadows resigns from Congress
Rep. Mark Meadows, R-Asheville, formally resigned from the House of Representatives on Monday, previously serving North Carolina’s 11th District. Effective immediately, Meadows will begin serving full time as President Trump’s White House Chief of Staff, as previously reported.
“Working for the people of Western North Carolina has been the honor of my life. There is a season for everything — and while I’ll be serving in a different capacity, the mountains of western NC will always be home. I’ll be forever grateful to the people there for placing their trust in me 8 years ago to be their voice in Congress,” Meadows said in a press release. “Now begins a new chapter. I’m honored, humbled, and excited to begin working alongside President Trump’s team in the White House on behalf of the American people. While our country is in a moment of tremendous adversity with the coronavirus pandemic, make no mistake: as Americans always do, we will rise to the challenge, and we will win. With President Trump at the helm, our country will emerge from this trial better than ever before. I look forward to playing a small part in that story. Let’s get to work.” Mark Meadows
Davis to hold virtual town halls
Moe Davis, the Democratic nominee for Congress in the 11th District, will be hosting a series of “Moe Talks” Facebook Live virtual town halls. There will be two events to be held at the same time each week: from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Mondays and from 7 to 8 p.m. Thursdays. Topics will change week to week. Viewers can submit questions in advance to the @MoeDavisforCongress Facebook Page.
FSA help available to Swain County
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency is accepting applications for the Emergency Conservation Program to address damages from flooding in early February in Swain County. ECP signup will continue through Monday, May 11.
The approved ECP practices under this authorization include 1) debris removal from farmland; 2) grading, shaping, releveling, or similar measures; and 3) restoring permanent fences. ECP assists producers with the recovery cost to restore the farmland to pre-disaster conditions. Approved ECP applicants may receive up to 75 percent of the cost of approved restoration activity. Limited resource, socially disadvantaged and beginning farmers and ranchers may receive up to 90 percent costshare. A 25 percent advance payment will be allowed for repair or replacement of fencing.
Producers with damage from such events must apply for assistance prior to beginning reconstructive work. For more information on ECP, contact the Bryson City USDA Service Center at 828.488.2684, Ext. 2, or visit www.farmers.gov/recover.
Queen to host virtual town hall
Rep. Joe Sam Queen, D-Waynesville, will hold an online town hall meeting for District 119 at 11 a.m. April 4 for the 2020 Short Session. To view the meeting, visit zoom.com or dial 312.626.6799 and enter the pin 177- 922-853#. To submit questions or concerns for Queen to address, email joesam@joesamqueennc.com or text 910.632.0707.
Fontana Regional extends library closures All Fontana Regional Library locations in Macon, Jackson, and Swain counties will remain closed through April 15. The date of re-opening is not definite but will be guided by ongoing public health advice and evolving state and local regulations.
All due dates for library materials have automatically been extended again, to May 15, and there will be no overdue fines while the library is closed. Please do not return any items at this time.
The public is encouraged to visit www.fontanalib.org for information and resources that are still available, such as eBooks, eAudiobooks, streaming video, and other online materials.
If fines blocked the use of your card in the past, please try again now, because limits have been increased so that more people can get to the electronic resources they need. In addition, the library’s eBook collection has been expanded to help meet increased demand. Public Wi-Fi extends around the perimeter of library buildings and can generally be picked up from sections of the parking lots.
Anyone who does not have a library card but needs one to use eBooks or other online content should go to the “about us—contact us” section of the library webpage and request a card. Please include your name, date of birth, and a phone number. You will receive an email with your account number and instructions for using eResources.
Taste of Scotland rescheduled
The committee members of the Taste of Scotland and Celtic Festival 2020 have voted to postpone the festival, which is held every year in Franklin, until June 18-20, 2021.
Circumstances as they currently are dictate that this is the best course of action for patrons, vendors, entertainers and community. www.tasteofscotlandfest.org.
