The Macon County Board of Commissioners voted May 12 to put off repairs to Macon Early College.
The board chose not to take immediate action on a singular bid from Wind River Construction to make repairs and renovations to Macon Early College. The same company made repairs to the Macon County Public Library in 2025.
A base bid of $165,433.95 would cover repairs to the building, while for a total cost of $630,346.01 the contractor would build a new enclosed portico for the school building to add two 12 by 12 foot office spaces and a buffer between the front doors and student areas. The offices would be placed inside the old, current portico. As the building is currently laid out, an individual buzzed into the school has immediate access to students through the cafeteria.
“Macon County Early College is a similar building to the Macon County Public Library that we had to make repairs to last year … we’ve got brick columns pulling away from the corners of the building, support pillars that are decaying,” said county Planning Director Joe Allen. He said the school system requested the construction of the portico.
“It’s a safety feature here,” Commissioner Gary Shields said. “If you’re out there today and you walk in those four doors, you’re at the inside of the school.”
Commissioner Barry Breeden pointed out if the portico is to be around 400 square feet, the cost per square foot of the addition is close to $1,150, much more than a traditional construction project.
Allen said this expense came from the complicated construction work of modifying the building’s roof, supports and concrete slab to accommodate the new portico. While the designs do not create a second set of doors to go through once visitors enter the front door of the building, finance director Lindsay Leopard said this change should be minor enough to add without needing to rebid, if the commissioners want it.
“I’d say one more thing,” Shields said. “It’s hard to put a dollar figure on a person’s life. In any way possible, we should move forward with the safety move.”
Commissioner John Shearl said if the doors to the school building are electronic and require visitors to be buzzed in by reception, the building is already the same as all other schools. Shields said other schools have a reception area visitors have to pass through before accessing students, a buffer not present at MEC. He said having the buffer would make it easer to protect students at the school.
Commissioner Danny Antoine said, “It actually makes a lot of sense to do it. It is expensive, but at the same time it’s the safety of these kids, it definitely make sense.”
“I like the idea of safety, but at that price tag I feel like we’ve got to find some other options,” Breeden said.
Shearl suggested looking at creating additional office space by renovating other areas of the school.
County Manager Warren Cabe and Allen said only one bid came back both times the county put the project out for bids, both from Wind River Construction. Leopard pointed out the contractor has technically bid thrice.
Allen said this singular bid was likely a factor created by the complexity of the project and the tendency of these kinds of contractors to be busier over the summer. He said Wind River has been especially patient with the county as it has considered the bids but might not be willing to tolerate more significant changes to the original project.
Ultimately, the commissioners did not take action on the bid, waiting until the board’s June meeting to accept or reject it.
Public comments
A collection of public comments from six speakers addressed topics from greenway construction to legal action against property owners.
Norelle Kirkland described an opportunity to improve and expand the Little Tennessee River Greenway, created after business owners at the intersection of Highland Road and East Main Street repaved portions of their driveway. This creates, by Kirkland’s estimation, a 60-foot section of gravel road the county could pave to prevent elderly users, cyclists and those pushing strollers from having to cross more gravel as they traverse the greenway.
She encouraged commissioners to pursue that small improvement, saying, “I thought this was the safest way … anybody who’s roller skating or bicycling or running can stay on the safe path and not have to deal with that horrible gravel.”
Tracy Rowan requested the county take action against residents on Teem Hollow Road regarding what she said was irresponsible, dangerous and illegal use of the property. Rowan spoke previously on these concerns at the March board meeting, outlining complaints including trash accumulation on the property, finding used needles in neighboring fields where children play, unleashed dogs and disposing human waste in a hole without a septic tank.
John McCall also spoke about the property with Rowan at the May meeting, saying the residents bathe in a nearby creek and their dogs drag trash into his stepdaughter’s property.
County attorney Eric Ridenour said the county brought forward a nuisance abatement lawsuit against property owners Michael and Melba Keener. According to the county’s complaint, the county is seeking permission to use legal authority to remove four campers, a destroyed single-wide trailer, inoperable vehicles and debris from the premises, citing eight years of complaints and inspections from county health and law enforcement agencies going as far back as 2018.
Library trustee appointments
Constance Neely asked for clarification on how county commissioners would select Macon County Public Library Board of Trustees appointees in June. Cabe said the commissioners would vote via public ballot on the candidates, whose applications will be placed on the agenda packet accessible online at maconnc.org.
Commissioners will be voting to fill three vacancies created as the terms of trustees Justin Bohner, Diann Catlin and Leah Gaston expire. While an April 23 post on the county website said the deadline for applications was May 5, the county later posted on April 28 the deadline is June 2. The vacancies will be voted on June 9.
Heather Johnson requested commissioners acknowledge controversies following some trustees and choose qualified applicants.
Johnson said, “Two board members and their spouses, in particular, have shown an egregious lack of respect for the institution of the public library and its staff, going as far as to employ underhanded means to achieve their agenda.”
“Several wonderful staff have resigned due to harassment,” Johnson continued. “Next month you have the opportunity to appoint qualified candidates that want to uphold the library’s bylaws, staff and increase the public’s access to library materials, making their library the best it can be. I encourage you to use this time to call the references listed on the applications and meet in-person with the applicants. I hope you will select folks who have attended library board meetings in the past and have a familiarity with the institution, of which they will be representative.”
Board appointments and changes
Commissioners voted unanimously to approve a set of changes to the recreation commission’s bylaws and reduce the number of board members from seven to five people who will represent demographics invested in the county’s Parks and Recreation Department.
Parks & Rec commissioners will represent Nantahala, Franklin and Highlands districts, with one commissioner representing schools and one commissioner representing seniors. Two nonvoting county commissioner liaisons will also sit on the board.
Commissioners then approved five new appointments for the board, selecting Mikel Morgan of Topton to represent Nantahala, George McClure to represent seniors, Timothy Dearth of Scaly Mountain to represent Highlands and Jay Brooks of Franklin to represent schools. All four were the only candidates considered for each seat.
Jessica Maddrey and Tim Crabtree were eligible for the Franklin seat. Commissioner Danny Antoine voted for Maddrey, but all other commissioners voted to appoint Crabtree to the commission.
The commissioners voted to appoint Sheriff Brent Holbrooks and EMS supervisor Jeremy Cabe to the Local Child Fatality Prevention Team to fill a state requirement for the makeup to contain an EMS provider and a law enforcement officer.
The Macon County Board of Commissioners will next meet on Thursday, May 21, at 9 a.m. for a budget work session, followed by its regular June meeting at 6 p.m. on June 9. Both meetings are set to take place on the third floor of the Macon County Courthouse.
Reporter Shelby Powell can be reached at reporter@thefranklinpress.com.