12 minute read
Sylva extends take-home vehicle policy for police
BY HANNAH MCLEOD STAFF WRITER
In the face of a housing shortage and increased competition for employees, the Town of Sylva has updated its policy that allows police officers a take-home vehicle. The board also decided that in the future, updates to this policy would not have to come before the board but would be an administrative decision made within the police department.
“Usually police policies are administrative, but this one is coming before the board because the board adopted it initially and because there is a budget impact of driving farther, fuel costs, wear and tear on the vehicles,” said Town Manager Paige Dowling at the Sept. 22 meeting of the Sylva Board of Commissioners. “But it is a recruitment and retention tool that is an employee benefit.”
While much of the workforce was able to stay remote following changes brought on by COVID-19, police and other emergency service workers have had to be on the job in person. This means daily commuting. Depending on the department, some police officers can use patrol cars to commute to and from work without restriction, while others can only use them if they live within a certain distance of the department.
In 2016, the Town of Sylva adopted a policy that permitted take-home vehicles for officers who lived within 10 miles of city limits. The updated policy now allows takehome vehicles for officers who reside in Jackson County or an adjacent county and are able to regularly arrive at work within a 30-minute travel time. The distance may be extended by 10 minutes in individual cases upon written approval from the Chief of Police and the Town Manager.
“The take-home car is crucial as far as retaining people and attracting people,” said Chief of Police Chris Hatton. “A lot of our local agencies in this area don’t even have a policy for it and they’ll let you drive your car far. I see an Asheville patrol car here regularly.”
Hatton said that he believed the Sylva Police Department could stay within its operating budget even with the updated policy extending the allowable distance for takehome vehicles.
Until recently, the department was fully staffed, a feat in a sector that has seen vast employee shortages in recent years. Mayor Linda Sossamon noted that everyone is having trouble finding employees, and that it had taken the whole time Hatton has been with the Town of Sylva to get a full staff.
“If the town can find officers from surrounding areas that are willing to work here, we need to do everything we can to snag them,” said Sossamon.
Commissioner David Nestler raised a concern that this might result in the town hiring officers from out of town over those that are local.
“Chief, the emphasis you’re placing on policing is community policing and we want our officers to live in our communities not only because it makes take-home cars cheaper but also that’s a better method of community policing,” said Nestler. “Keeping the policy as is, or at least amending it to not so far a distance, encourages us to hire local people and have local people apply for the job, but also to move to the area if they get the job. I don’t think we want to give that up.”
Hatton explained that while he agrees with the appeal of local officers, take-home cars are commonplace among other departments in the region. He said that if Sylva could not offer them, they might lose applicants to other local police departments.
“That’s one of the sacrifices that towns are making in order to get quality applicants in, making changes to these policies to try to get more people in” said Hatton “I totally agree with what [Nestler] said, especially for a community like Sylva, if I can find somebody from Sylva, that’s a way better hire than somebody moving here from somewhere else.”
One of the reasons it is difficult to recruit employees to the Sylva Police Department is the housing situation in Jackson County.
“Housing is not good here; it’s a problem,” said Hatton. “I’ve got two or three officers hired in the last year, one is trying to rent, one is trying to buy. It’s been months and they’re finding zero, they’re just struggling to try to find a place. It affects everybody.”
Hatton said the new policy would be more equitable to officers regardless of where they live. With the previous policy, an officer that lives in Jackson County might drive 35 minutes to work in their take-home vehicle, while another employee who lives 20 minutes away in a different county must drive their own car. Many of the department’s most experienced officers live in surrounding counties.
Police officers in Sylva work an average of 15 shifts per month. Public works director Jake Scott said that the town’s police cars travel an average of 10-12,000 miles per year. In addition to miles traveled, police cars withstand a lot of idling hours throughout the year. Most of the problems in the older police vehicles occur from idling and moving slowly through town for most of the car’s lifespan, rarely going over 45 miles per hour.
“Right now, we average two oil changes a year on these cars,” said Scott. “You’re talking about a round trip to Asheville every day, that’s like 4,000 miles a month. There will be costs there, I can’t comment on whether the retention will offset those costs, I haven’t had time to review that.”
“I think if this is something that you need as a retention tool, then we should modify this policy,” said McPherson.
With Nestler dissenting, the board passed the policy update, 4-1. during its Sept. 22 meeting. After the policy update passed, commissioners discussed whether or not such policy updates should have to come before the board in the future, or be an administrative decision made within the police department.
Commissioner Guiney argued that because the town board approves the police department budget, a decision like takehome vehicle policy updates could be made within the department.
“But this is really a budgeting issue,” said Nestler. “This is a cost. Thirty minutes with an additional 10 minutes allowed as well, this means taxpayer vehicles can travel 40 minutes twice a day to and from Sylva at taxpayer expense and I think that’s why it’s a board decision and it probably should remain that way. That’s a big increase.”
Commissioner Mary Gelbaugh said that while this board vote on the policy update was taken for the sake of transparency, moving forward policy updates could be an administrative decision within the department.
“It comes down to if you all want to review this in the future because of the budget ramifications, or if you’re alright with it being an administrative policy and budget amendments still coming before you,” said Dowling. “I think it is standard for it to be in a police department policy and procedures manual.”
Commissioner Guiney made a motion to make future take-home vehicle policy updates an administrative decision rather than a board decision. The motion passed, 41, with Nestler dissenting.
SCC names building in honor of school president
During a recent meeting, Southwestern Community College’s Board of Trustees unanimously agreed to name the new Health Sciences Center in honor of Dr. Don Tomas – SCC’s President.
The 55,000-square-foot facility will be officially named the Don Tomas Health Sciences Center. New signage is in process and will be installed this fall.
“Dr. Tomas played a pivotal role in securing the funding for, and overseeing the planning and construction of, our beautiful new building,” said Lambert Wilson, chair of SCC’s Board of Trustees. “Thanks to his efforts and the support of our local elected officials and community leaders, we are able to provide the very latest advances in training technology for future generations of healthcare professionals.”
Completed in the summer of 2021, the Don Tomas Health Sciences Center houses 10 of Southwestern’s 16 Health Sciences programs. Five of the remaining programs now enjoy expanded space in the Balsam Center. And Therapeutic Massage has its own dedicated lab and classroom in Founders Hall.
The new construction allowed SCC to add Surgical Technology and Opticianry as career pathways. Southwestern also plans to add Dental Assisting in the Fall of 2023.
“I am especially proud to name the building in honor of Dr. Tomas because he’s done so much for Southwestern and the communities we serve,” said Vance Davidson, vice chair of SCC’s Board of Trustees. “Under his leadership, SCC has been ranked multiple times among the Top 10 community colleges in the country – and we were a semifinalist for the prestigious Aspen Prize this year.”
When Dr. Tomas became SCC’s president in 2011, only a couple dozen students received financial assistance through the SCC Foundation. During the current academic year, 187 students received a total of $210,000 in scholarship support.
Shortly after arriving at Southwestern, Dr. Tomas helped launch the Student Success Campaign – an effort that ultimately yielded the first million-dollar endowment in school history.
The college’s annual fundraising gala has raised more than $530,000 since the inaugural event in 2015. All proceeds support students who might otherwise not be able to afford tuition and fees.
“I like to think about how many students are able to pursue their dreams and enjoy fulfilling careers because of this additional scholarship funding,” said Wilson, who along with Wendy LeMay serves as co-chair of the Gala Planning Committee. “Because Dr. Tomas has made scholarship fundraising a priority, the foundation has been able to enjoy unprecedented growth. That’s just another reason it seems fitting to name this building in honor of Dr. Tomas.”
Dr. Don Tomas is starting his 11th year as Southwestern Community College’s President. He’s shown here in front of the Don Tomas Health Sciences Center.
Small Business Center provides link for workforce project
Haywood Community College’s Small Business Center worked on a unique workforce preparedness project by referring the first intern for the Helping Inspire Gifts of Hope, Trust and Service (HIGHTS) program, funded through the Golden LEAF Foundation.
When local small business owner Chip Singleton reached out to HCC SBC Director Ashley Swanger to see if she could connect him with a student looking for experience through an internship, she saw it as a perfect way to provide hands-on learning to someone just starting in the field. And just as importantly, it was helping a Haywood County small business owner.
“One of the roles of the SBC is to stay connected with resource partners in our region so we can help connect businesses to the resources they need,” Swanger said. “After talking with Chip, I reached out to Linda Lamp with the Southwestern Commission to see who might be able to help. Linda connected me with Caroline BrownWilliamson, the Youth Workforce Development and Education Program Director with HIGHTS.”
The pieces fell into place. Through the project, participants are provided paid internships focusing on in-demand jobs in healthcare, construction, automotive and technology. HIGHTS is a youth organization based in Cullowhee serving seven WNC counties, offering experiential activities, community service projects, job training and goaldriven exercises to help youth develop life skills and instill feelings of community, belonging and purpose.
Student Merit Kuykendall was matched with Singleton for a CNC Machine internship. Through this experience at Custom CNC in Clyde, he worked daily with Singleton to create a list of tasks. Some days Kuykendall organized materials and parts, and other days he worked with milling software to create files (using 3-D imaging) with specific models for customers, like Sonoco Plastics.
These work-based learning experiences last anywhere from eight to 12 weeks.
“It was a great benefit to have an intern in the shop this summer to help during a busy time,” Singleton said. “However, the greatest benefit is that we will hopefully gain a long-term employee from the experience. I would recommend this option to anyone looking to grow a business.”
Although he says he would “do the work for free just so he could learn,” the internship allowed Kuykendall to benefit from his supervisor’s knowledge and experience while earning a regular paycheck. Ultimately, Kuykendall did real work producing a real product for real pay. This experience will one day pay off in his quest for a career in mechanical engineering.
HCC accepting photo submissions
The Haywood Community College campus is known for its iconic mill pond and natural beauty. Community members frequently use the campus for photographs, walking trails and the disc golf course.
The HCC Foundation is asking community members to dig out their best photo to use in making a 2023 calendar showcasing the campus in its full glory during each season. Only scenic images will be accepted.
Once completed, the calendars will be available for purchase. Proceeds from this fundraiser will benefit Clyde’s Cupboard, an on-campus food pantry. If your photo is selected for the calendar, you will receive photo credit in the calendar as well as a free calendar.
Deadline for photo submissions is Nov. 4 by 4 p.m. Photos must be horizontal and high resolution of 300 dpi. For more information, please visit haywood.edu/foundation/hcccalendar.php. To submit a photo, email hccmarketing@haywood.edu.
NCSECU awards Bridge to Career scholarships to SCC Continuing Education students
The N.C. State Employees’ Credit Union Foundation recently gave Southwestern Community College $18,000 to assist students who enroll in Workforce Continuing Education programs.
Thirty different students will receive $500 scholarships to enroll in short-term workforce programs that lead to a state or industry-recognized credential such as basic law enforcement, emergency medical technician, real estate, phlebotomy or nurse aide.
To qualify for the funding, students must be North Carolina residents who are unemployed or underemployed, adults, military veterans or members of the National Guard.
“We’re extremely thankful to the SECU Foundation for providing a better future for so many of our students,” said Scott Sutton, SCC’s Dean of Workforce Continuing Education. “A lot of people want to change careers but just don’t have the financial resources at this time, so these scholarships will make a tremendous difference.”
The funds can be used to offset the costs of registration fees, required books, uniforms, instructional materials, transportation, childcare and credentialing.
Upon receiving the award, recipients are tracked to determine the number of credentials earned, entry into employment and enrollment in further education.
To inquire about these scholarship opportunities, contact Latresa Shuler, SCC’s Coordinator of Workforce Continuing Education, at 828.339.4425 or ldowns@southwesterncc.edu.
