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Clampitt calls for unification of Swain emergency services

Clampitt calls for unification of Bryson City, Swain County emergency services

BY KYLE PERROTTI NEWS EDITOR

As towns and counties across Western North Carolina grow and attract more visitors, the services provided by those places must grow, as well.

Such is the impetus behind a push by Rep. Mike Clampitt, (R-Swain), to unify that county’s emergency services with Bryson City’s. In a May email from Clampitt to top county officials, including Swain County Sheriff Curtis Cochran, Bryson City Fire Chief Charles Bryson, Bryson City Town Manager Regina Mathis, County Manager Kevin King and County Commission Chairman Ben Bushyhead, Clampitt argued it is “imperative” that the best public safety can be provided at the “most affordable cost.”

In the email, Clampitt outlines some of the features that would be warranted in a new joint emergency response facility — basically a large new state-of-the art fire station — that could be used by both Bryson City and Swain County emergency response personnel, as well as anyone else that may be called in to deal with any given emergency, such as the forest service or the county rescue squad. Some features would include a decontamination area, offices, classrooms, emergency operations center, accommodations and a commercial kitchen capable of feeding not only firefighters but also incident command personnel. In the email, Clampitt estimated the cost to be between $3-5 million.

The cost, of course, will be the tricky part.

“This may sound extravagant, but in reality it is an investment in the future of our area,” Clampitt wrote.

In an interview with The Smoky Mountain News, Clampitt offered some specifics as to what he’d want to see. First, he spoke about a problem that exists statewide that has led to the decline of some emergency services agencies. There is simply less emphasis on their importance at the community level, he said, highlighting not only a 20% decrease in donations to departments but also a reduction in the number of people who are willing and able to volunteer.

“We have less volunteerss available as a resource these days,” he said. “They don’t have the free time they used to have.”

Clampitt said it’s important to keep in mind that while the departments would have a unified approach and there would be one large emergency services facility, each fire department in Swain County would still keep their jurisdictions.

Clampitt was himself a career firefighter who retired as a captain with the Charlotte Fire Department and led a host of programs geared toward emergency services personnel at Piedmont Community College.

“I lived and breathed public safety,” he said.

Along with believing he has the right experience and credentials to make this argument, Clampitt mentioned several recent disasters in the region that have highlighted the importance of emergency services, from the 2016 wildfires to last summer’s catastrophic flooding in Haywood County. He even talked about a recent tornado that touched down in Swain County and caused some property damage.

“I never thought I’d see a tornado in Deep Creek, but that’s something we need to be ready for,” Clampitt said.

“With more people coming to the area, there’s also an increase in swift water rescues, and there are more cars and buses on the road,” he added. “There are 40,000 people here during the summer.”

If a large joint fire station were to be built like Clampitt hopes, the obvious question is, where will the money come from?

“As bad as I hate the word,” Clampitt said, “you can call it a fire tax. [Swain County’s] tax base isn’t high enough to fund that adequately on its own.”

According to a post on Coates’ Canons from Kara Millonzi, a professor of public law and government at the University of North Carolina School of Government, such a tax would apply to all real and personal property that is subject to the county’s general property taxes.

“Revenue generated from the services district tax is specifically earmarked to finance the fire services provided in this district,” the post reads.

To make that possible, county commissioners must call a referendum on approval of a property tax levy, which will put the proposal in front of voters. Clampitt estimated that would probably come during the 2024 General Election.

“Having a fire tax gives departments a baseline so they would not have to depend on the county,” Clampitt said.

“I can tell you I’ve researched this myself,” he added. “From Haywood County west, Swain and Graham are the only counties that don’t have a fire or public safety tax for the departments.”

Clampitt is hosting a meeting on July 23 that he has invited local media, Swain County elected officials and people in local government and emergency services to. The meeting will be held at the Swain County Administration Building in Bryson City, and the public is also invited to attend. Those interested can RSVP by contacting DeAnne Mangum via email at DeAnne.Mangum@ncleg.gov by July 15.

Clampitt said he’s looking forward to hearing what folks think of the proposal.

“I’m holding the meeting so I can hear all the complaints and gripes,” he said with a chuckle. “But I’d like for everbody to approach this with an open mind and be receptive to future growth of Swain County and Bryson City and how emergency services can and does affect everyone’s personal lives.”

Rep. Mike Clampitt speaks to a crowd at a recent rally in Maggie Valley.

Maggie codifies park rules

HANNAH MCLEOD STAFF WRITER

Disparate parks and recreation regulations in Maggie Valley will be codified under one ordinance if the board of aldermen accepts staff recommendation at its July 12 meeting.

“The whole goal of the new park rules is to provide a safer and more enjoyable park experience for our visitors,” said Town Manager Nathan Clark.

While the town does not have a parks and recreation department, it does have several parks throughout its jurisdiction. Previously, these parks were governed by a confederation of internal and external policies with different signage displayed at different parks. In order to make those regulations clearer, the town decided to codify the rules under one ordinance.

“On review of that, we thought that was probably not the best idea to continue to try to enforce rules and regulations in our parks,” said Clark. “We decided to codify those through an ordinance.”

Though there wasn’t a single instance that facilitated the move toward codifying parks and recreation regulations, increased park activity was a factor in the decision. With more people enjoying Maggie’s parks, the town has run into several instances of people breaking park rules. More people are hanging around outside the permitted dawn-to-dusk hours, consuming alcohol on park property and leaving excessive trash. The town had to look at what resources it had available for enforcement of these rules.

“Formalizing those rules of operation is just one of the things on the town’s list that we’re trying to get a better handle on,” said Clark.

Codifying park regulations will also help Maggie’s police as they try to enforce permitted park uses by having one, official ordinance to cite when someone breaks the rules.

“They have a better idea of what they’re supposed to be doing as well as the public,” said Clark.

One park issue brought up during the July agenda setting meeting had to do with people disposing of household trash at the town’s parks. Mayor Mike Eveland said he believed this was the doing of short-term rental guests in the valley who were supposed to go to the dump to dispose of their trash but instead disposed of it at the public parks. He said he experienced the same issue when running a hotel in the valley.

While the Maggie Valley Festival Grounds is technically a park, it will not be in the codification because things like camping, drinking and driving on the grounds are often permitted during special events.

The decision to codify Maggie Valley parks and recreation regulations was made with input from Police Chief Russ Gilliland and other staff. No board members expressed opposition to the proposal.

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