Swain County commissioners approve local agreement to advance proposed middle school project

Swain County commissioners voted to accept a local agreement on a proposed middle school project that moves the county into the next design and preconstruction steps.

The agreement, approved after a motion and second, directs staff to proceed with selection of a construction manager-at-risk (CMAR), commission topographical and geotechnical surveys and to complete outstanding site-clearance obligations spelled out in the property purchase agreement. A county official said hazardous-material abatement on the building has already been carried out.

The vote followed discussion about required studies and near-term tasks needed to keep the project on schedule. A county speaker said, “we need to do some borings. Those things need to happen, really quickly,” and noted a topographical survey is necessary because “a standard survey is not going to work for this” given the site terrain.

Why it matters: approving the local agreement lets Swain County use matching funds and proceed to design and construction-management selection, steps the commissioners said are necessary to preserve a state construction grant opportunity.

Commissioners discussed the project budget and related infrastructure needs. One commissioner described the state grant as “this $52,000,000 that we got” and another county official said a separate figure of $54.6 million is “for construction and the completion of a turnkey project within the boundaries of that property.” Commissioners also discussed a proposed county match and where matching money would come from; one speaker proposed using interest earnings in an account to provide the local match and tying the facility’s identity to the North Shore funding as a legacy project for future generations.

Commissioners raised concerns about sewer and water for the site. A county official cautioned the state grant rules prevent using the grant “for anything outside of the boundaries of the property,” and a superintendent present told the board he had prior engineering estimates for sewer and water in the neighborhood of $6,000,000 (he described those figures as from earlier work and not necessarily current). The superintendent said the school system is pursuing outside funding and has commitments from state legislators to help identify additional money and that the county and town will meet next year to narrow infrastructure plans.

The board also discussed naming the facility. One commissioner proposed naming it to reflect the North Shore funding; another commissioner recommended naming it “Swain County Middle School.” Commissioners agreed the naming decision need not be finalized at the same meeting as accepting the local agreement.

Action and next steps: the board approved the local agreement and instructed staff to continue with surveys, geotechnical borings and work with the CMAR and architect on design. The board directed that sewer and water requirements be coordinated with the town and other funding partners. No final design contract or construction contract was authorized at this meeting.

Provenance: Discussion of the local agreement and site preparations began in the transcript at the start of the provided excerpt and concluded when the board confirmed the vote to accept the local agreement.