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Residents press commissioners on decorum, transparency, land deals and local services during public comment
Summary
Public commenters urged the board to enforce meeting decorum, respond to public-records requests, investigate past land trades, and address local concerns including trash dumping, river-safety hazards and library construction; several speakers also thanked the board for specific projects.
During public comment at the Sept. 2 work session, multiple residents addressed a range of issues including meeting decorum, transparency and records access, past land transactions, local infrastructure, river-safety hazards and community services.
Fred Crawford urged the board to strengthen decorum and enforce rules at meetings so that all citizens can be heard. "Maintaining order is not about silencing voices. It's about making sure all voices can be heard fairly," Crawford said, citing state authority for meeting rules and urging the chair to enforce them.
Courtney Dills called for greater transparency and timely responses to public-records requests, saying she had repeatedly received requests routed through the county attorney rather than the records custodian. She cited General Statute 132-6 as the public-records statute and warned that withholding records could create the appearance of obstruction. "I have not threatened anyone. I have not harassed anyone. I have asked questions," Dills said.
Other public commenters raised practical local concerns: one speaker urged tighter enforcement against out-of-county trash dumping at county disposal sites and recommended a decal or sticker for county residents; another asked for improved road lighting and guardrails on Highway 28 North (Fontana Dam/Fontana Road) and raised concerns about roadside camps and safety at River Road; a speaker invited commissioners to a library groundbreaking set for Sept. 10 and thanked the board for support on that project; and an attendee representing elections said the county's new polling-site arrangements should improve accessibility for voters.
Several speakers revisited the school-site land discussion and alleged prior irregularities in a land trade, saying documents showed fewer acres were transferred than commissioners had been told at the time. Commissioners acknowledged the comments but did not provide additional documentary responses during the meeting.
No formal board action resulted directly from public comment; commissioners acknowledged the remarks and said staff would follow up as appropriate.
