Haywood recreation plan approved H
This word cloud derived from a survey represents citizen sentiment on what Haywood County needs more of, and what it doesn’t need. Haywood County photo
Commissioners advance new Haywood jail project
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Christopher told commissioners that he’d called around to other sheriffs who either went through or currently work in a Moseley build and said he’d gotten lots of positive feedback. Commissioner Tommy Long added that he thought the Moseley designs offered better officer safety, something Christopher said was particularly important, especially when moving inmates. The motion passed by commissioners only authorizes the county to enter into negotiations with the firm, so nothing’s yet set in stone, but it appears to be headed that way. During preliminary budget discussions back in February, Morehead said the county would likely enter the bond market later this year, seeking financing for the build. The proposed jail expansion project originated almost 18 months ago, when Haywood County Sheriff ’s Office Chief Deputy Jeff Haines presented the results of a jail capacity study to commissioners. During that presentation, Haynes revealed that the average daily jail popula-
Haywood County Sheriff Greg Christopher addresses commissioners during an April 4 meeting. Haywood County photo
tion had grown steadily since 2015, and that it was headed nowhere but up through projected population growth stretching out to 2045. As in other counties, the 149-bed Haywood County Detention Center regularly hits capacity, causing sheriffs to scramble to find beds for inmates in other facilities. Transporting inmates is dangerous, and expensive. There was some initial resistance to the
idea of jail expansion, with harm reduction groups advocating more money for mental health and substance abuse treatment over jail capacity increases. When proposed, the project was projected to cost at least $16 million, however, due to inflation and ongoing supply chain issues in the construction industry, the market price at the time of construction isn’t quite certain. – Cory Vaillancourt, Politics Editor
Smoky Mountain News
aywood County commissioners took an important step forward on April 4 by selecting Moseley Architects of Charlotte as the preferred firm to handle architectural and engineering services for the county’s proposed jail expansion project. “Through the conversations, most are comfortable with the product Moseley provides based on their experience through expansion,” said Bryant Morehead, Haywood County manager. Four bidders responded to the county’s RFQ last December. From the four, a panel of 10 people, including members of county law enforcement and the county’s IT, finance and facilities departments, selected Moseley over Hemphill-Randall, also of Charlotte. “[Because of] the number of jails that they’ve worked on in North Carolina, the design features that offer greater efficiency and some of the maintenance issues from the design, we think Moseley would offer a better product in the long term for Haywood County,” Morehead said. Outgoing Haywood County Sheriff Greg
That’s a problem, at least for a partnership of nonprofits that have joined together to promote something called the “10-minute walk movement,” which aims to provide every American access to a park or green space within a 10-minute walk from home by 2050. By far, the majority of survey respondents cited a desire for additional trails and greenways. Almost 94% said they’d support additional greenways or trails that would connect to destinations located both in and out of Haywood County.
April 6-12, 2022
What it has, is just two parks – Allens Creek, located south of Waynesville, and Glance Street Park in Clyde. Together, they total less than 10 acres. By comparison, the Town of Waynesville owns and/or maintains nine parks, the Town of Maggie Valley eight, the Town of Canton five and the Town of Clyde one. The survey reached more than 1,600 people, 92% of whom are Haywood County residents. The largest age group was 35 to 44, and 65% of them do not live within a 10minute walk of a park or leisure facility.
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BY CORY VAILLANCOURT POLITICS E DITOR aywood County is known for its outdoor recreational opportunities that drive both tourism and the local economy. Now, with the county’s approval of a 236page recreation master plan last week, commissioners are seeking to stay ahead of the competition in the outdoor recreation game. “We are really at the forefront of what this movement is now,” said David Francis, Haywood County’s community development director. Francis told commissioners on April 3 that he recalled a work session several years ago when the county prioritized outdoor recreation, which has since become a booming industry, but the county’s existing master plan was so old that it prevented the county from going after grant funding. The new plan solves that problem. “That will position the county to apply for PARTF (North Carolina Parks and Recreation Trust Fund grants) and other grants to help support the cost of the proposed facility additions and staffing that the new plan put forward,” said Kevin FitzGerald, chair of the Haywood County Recreation Advisory Board. The comprehensive recreation master plan, which remains in effect through 2032, was created after conducting an inventory of the county’s existing park facilities, consulting county staff about needs and weighing public input. Using state and national standards to support recommendations made in the plan, the county now has a clear picture of what it has, and what it needs.
Other major goals of the plan include bolstering ADA compliance, keeping up design and maintenance of existing recreational space, more facilities and trails for bicycles, and the possibility of a development ordinance that would fund greenway land acquisition and construction. Based on the current population of Haywood County, as well as standards offered by report author McGill Associates, major expansion of recreational amenities is needed to efficiently serve the county’s 61,000 residents – everything from softball fields to fishing spots. As the population grows to 67,000 near the end of the plan’s useful life, those needs will grow, too. In the short term, the plan recommends a slew of improvements to Allens Creek Park, including fitness stations, boulder climbing and pickleball courts. A master plan is also recommended for Glance Street Park. The long-term plan recommends building out Glance Street Park, as well as the design and construction of what’s called a “district park,” which would need to be between 75 and 200 acres. Commissioner Brandon Rogers, who serves on the Haywood County Recreation Advisory Board, said he was pleased the county could now move forward. “It’s something that probably should have been done before now to be quite frank,” Rogers said. “It’s been since 2006 that we’ve had a master plan. I’m excited that we’ve been able to get this far and find out what the community wants, and as we discussed it’s outdoor recreation.” Recommendations made in the plan are just that – recommendations. Any of the suggested projects, improvements or acquisitions would require commissioner approval.
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