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Commissioners hear public comments about 2024 controversy and animal welfare; approve consent agenda and make tourism appointment
Summary
Public commenters urged unity and defended Commissioner Terry Ramey’s tax status, called for review of animal-cruelty investigations, and the board approved the consent agenda and appointed Case Brown to the Tourism Development Authority while agreeing to repost an accommodations vacancy.
At its January meeting, the Haywood County Board of Commissioners heard public comments that revisited a 2024 controversy, addressed a high-profile animal welfare case, and completed routine business including the consent agenda and a tourism appointment.
Howard Nepper urged commissioners to avoid ‘‘sideshows’’ and grandstanding and warned that perceived attempts to circumvent the law in 2024 could have led to lawsuits or the loss of state funding. He credited ‘‘Mr. Pless’’ for clarifying legal limits and urged the board to learn from the episode so it would not recur.
Sherry Morgan told the board, ‘‘Commissioner Terry Ramey's taxes are paid, and he's in good standing with the Haywood County tax office,’’ and urged an end to public shaming. Morgan alleged a group of commissioners 'conspired behind his back forming an illegal quorum with Corey from Smoky Mountain News' to shame Commissioner Ramey; that allegation was made by a public commenter and not investigated or confirmed during the meeting.
Evelyn Copeland, a long-time animal-welfare volunteer, recounted decades of local animal-control history and asked the board to appoint a committee to review investigative procedures after what she called an insufficient investigation into the injuries and death of an animal she identified as "little Zoe." Copeland requested the county reexamine its cruelty-investigation protocols and the animal-control ordinance to prevent similar cases.
In administrative business, the board approved the five-item consent agenda by voice vote after a motion and second; the meeting record shows a unanimous voice vote but no roll-call tallies were read. The board approved the appointment of Case Brown to the Haywood County Tourism Development Authority as Clyde’s representative; the vote was again by voice and recorded as unanimous (specific vote counts were not provided in the transcript). For a second vacancy — a seat reserved for an accommodations provider with 20 or more units — members agreed by consensus to repost the vacancy after the scheduled candidate failed to appear for an interview.
The chair reminded residents of upcoming public hearings on Feb. 2 for the Southwestern North Carolina HOME Consortium 2021–22 annual action plan amendments (prepared under U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development requirements) and on proposed county code amendments ahead of recodification by American Legal Publishing; Chapter 150 (building regulations) was noted for a Feb. 16 vote.
The meeting concluded after a motion to adjourn.
