Waynesville appoints new planning board members

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT POLITICS EDITOR

Citing precedent and historical trends, the town of Waynesville will request that Haywood County government resume its annual financial contribution to the town’s recreation budget.

“They used to do it, and given that, we bolster recreation for the entire county, we feel like the county should consider helping us out again,” said Luke Kinsland, interim director of the Waynesville Recreation and Parks Department. “Everybody in Haywood County uses the center and the park, and we’re contributing to the greenway, connecting the pieces of it.”

Kinsland started at the rec center as a lifeguard in 2008 and worked his way up to his current position, becoming interim director two months ago upon the departure of longtime director Rhett Langston.

Prior to 2010, the county had made an annual financial contribution in the amount of $70,000 toward Waynesville’s recreation department expenses but then stopped as the Great Recession set in, impacting municipal government revenues across the board.

Waynesville taxpayers foot the bill for upkeep of the town’s parks, as well the recreation center on Howell Mill Road.

In 2019, Waynesville’s rec center had an operating budget of just under $819,000. Revenue in the form of membership fees generated $368,000, leaving more than $450,000 to be funded by the town.

But not everyone who uses the rec center is a Waynesville taxpayer; data from fiscal year 2019 shows that 40.6% of users were Waynesville residents, while 59.4% were not.

Information provided by the recreation department to aldermen on July 26 says the usage rates are part of a consistent pattern established over 10 years or more.

Yearly individual memberships run $409, but nonresidents aren’t charged any more than residents, who not only pay membership fees but also pay taxes that support the recreation department.

In essence, nonresidents are getting a cheaper deal than the taxpayers who built and continue to pay for the facility.

Kinsland said that some seasonal inhabitants of Haywood County, including those with residences in Florida or South Carolina, also use the facility. Although the idea of charging different rates for out-of-town customers has been discussed, Alderman Anthony Sutton says the math doesn’t add up to a valid or equitable solution.

“Even if you raise it $5 for the individuals who live in the county, it doesn’t make up the gap at all. I don’t think it’s fair to have

the disparity in one set of rates,” Sutton said. “It would actually create an accounting issue to implement.”

Most of the recreation center’s large capital needs have been taken care of in previous budget years, but that doesn’t mean the additional revenue won’t come in handy.

“Our main priority is the recreation center building,” Kinsland said. “We could put the money back into our operating budget, whether it is for supplies for programming or for fitness equipment.”

On July 26, aldermen gave Kinsland the OK to begin drafting a statement meant to open up negotiations with the county, in hopes they’ll begin making contributions again.

“I hope that they ask for a specific amount of at least what they were paying in 2008, possibly more,” Sutton said. “The majority of the people who attend the recreation center are from the county and not from the town, so the town is helping supplement the health benefits of the rest of the county. I would expect them to step up and assist with the cost for the facility.”

Kevin Ensley, Chairman of the Haywood County Board of Commissioners, said he understood where the town was coming from with its request.

“In 2009, we cut everything, just trying to survive, and I guess we hadn’t put [the annual contribution] back,” Ensley said.

Ensley bemoaned the fact that the county just passed its annual budget a few weeks ago.

“If they had made the request in January or February, maybe we could have considered it,” he said.

Instead, Ensley said he’d have a conversation with some of the other commissioners.

The request could end up on a forthcoming county agenda, or not.

Waynesville’s rec center offers a variety of programs

and activities. File photo

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT POLITICS EDITOR

After reviewing applications and conducting a thorough interview process, the Town of Waynesville’s Board of Aldermen have settled on four new members of the planning board.

“I am always amazed but never surprised by the level of interest of people in devoting their time and energy to making Waynesville a better place,” said Alderman Jon Feichter, a former planning board member. “The only thing that causes me some angst is that there were some really good people that got caught up in a numbers game.”

Back in June, the terms of three members of the planning board expired — Michael Blackburn, Don McGowan and Marty Prevost. Greg Wheeler resigned, leaving four vacancies.

The planning board has recently become a crucial player in town affairs, attempting to balance increasing development pressures with the desire of some residents who, despite an affordable housing crisis, don’t want anything to change.

The board has also struggled to maintain order at some meetings as emotions over development and other issues have spilled over into the section of meetings reserved for public comments.

Aldermen tag-teamed all nine applicants with formal interviews, an idea brought forth by Alderman Chuck Dickson.

“I feel extremely grateful for Chuck for coming up with the plans for interviewing individuals,” said Alderman Anthony Sutton, a former planning board member himself. “It was very helpful because sometimes looking at people's resumes on paper and actually just talking to them face-to-face you can get a sense of their commitment and their qualifications, and I'm very happy with the results.”

Feichter also credited the interview process with producing a slate of new members with “a diversity of viewpoints.”

“First of all, I really think that the process that we undertook to interview the candidates, even though we couldn't each interview all of them, gave us a much better perspective of the individuals than we could maybe have gotten by reading their resumes,” he said.

Blackburn and McGowan reapplied for their seats, but only Blackburn was reappointed.

Blackburn said in his application that he has hired many people in town over the years and understands the town’s housing situation. He’s worked at the First United Methodist Church in Waynesville since 2005 and is a 1990 graduate of Tuscola High School.

McGowan wasn’t reappointed despite helping to found the Smoky Mountain Housing Partnership as wel, as the Southwest North Carolina HOME Consortium and also serving as the director of the Canopy Foundation. McGowan also has decades of experience in banking and affordable housing financing solutions.

“He has other positions in the community, which I think he works with housing, and I think that will be able to afford more time to do better things for those organizations,” said Sutton. In addition to McGowan, applicants Ronnie Call, Matthew Johnson, Joshua Morgan, Travis Smith and Kara Sither were not selected, resulting in the appointments of John Baus, Jan Grossman and Peggy Hannah.

Baus is a former judge, prosecutor and civil trial attorney who said in his application that he wants “what is best for the residents and businesses of Waynesville.” He also said he had experience in real estate and commercial development, and is a current member of the zoning board.

Grossman’s application said that he wants to ensure that “Waynesville grows responsibly with the interest of residents in mind.” Grossman lives on South Main Street, has been active in the hiking and bicycling communities, served on the Haywood Greenway Commission and has been a polymer scientist for four decades.

Grossman, however, refused to elaborate on his credentials when contacted by The Smoky Mountain News, saying he wanted to be sworn in first.

Hannah, who retired as a production worker from Haywood Vocational Opportunities, said she wants to “be part of my community and learn how to be part of the solution.” She served as the vice president of Mountaineer Little League and Softball for seven years.

“I think everyone can bring something to the table, and I think more people need to be involved in county and city government,” Hannah told The Smoky Mountain News on Aug. 1. “You can’t be complaining unless you’re willing to come to the table and learn.”

Sutton, along with Alderman Julia Freeman, interviewed Hannah. Sutton said she didn’t present any actual experience in land development, zoning or real estate matters.

“She did not mention anything about experience with that, but she has been very active in the community and has her fingers on the pulse of certain areas and certain demographics of the community,” Sutton said.

Sutton also acknowledged that Hannah, a frequent speaker during the town’s public comment sessions, has presented inaccurate information to aldermen.

“I know that she's very passionate about what she speaks of and sometimes information that she's gotten has not been incorrect, but she's very open to any corrections and is willing to make changes to her thought processes based on new information,” he said.