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Residents urge Jackson County to preserve Silver Library community room access
Summary
Multiple residents told the county board that proposed restrictions on the Silver Library community room would shrink affordable local event space, risk legal challenges and undermine transparency; staff said draft policies will return to the board for further review.
Residents at the Jackson County Board of Commissioners meeting on July 6 urged county leaders to reject proposed restrictions on use of the Silver Library community room, saying the space is both an affordable venue for private events and an important public forum.
Several speakers described frequent community uses of the room. Beth Baxley said the room has hosted educational presentations, candidate forums and private events that generated more than $6,000 in rental revenue over two years and asked the board to “please afford the people of Silva and surrounding areas the same consideration” when drafting rules. Rachel Huffman told commissioners that policies that make people feel unwelcome “discourage community participation” and raised concerns about the advisory board’s authority and transparency.
Chris Hamlet, a Cottonesque community member from Silva, framed the draft as a potential legal risk, saying meeting rooms in a county library are a limited public forum under the First Amendment and citing the North Carolina constitution and North Carolina General Statutes to argue that geographically restricting access could be vulnerable to legal challenge. “Banning local groups from using a local library meeting room in one part of the county while allowing it in another part of the county presents a clear equal‑protection concern,” he said.
Other commenters offered personal examples of why the community room matters. John Ritchie said he used the room for a memorial service when no other local venue was large enough, and Debbie Buchanan and Susan Bogartis urged clearer, community‑focused criteria rather than ad hoc decisions.
County Manager King told the board the draft utilization policy mirrors long‑standing Department of Aging language and a prior facility policy; he acknowledged a drafting error in an early circulation and said the drafts are intended for board review and can be revised. The board did not vote on the policy at the July 6 meeting and agreed to return the drafts for further review.
Why this matters: The community room is both a revenue source for the library and one of the few affordable large indoor spaces in the town of Silva. Residents told commissioners that limiting access could shift events to more expensive venues outside town and reduce opportunities for local civic engagement. Several speakers asked the board for transparent rules and equitable treatment across the county’s library branches.
The board’s next procedural step: staff will present revised draft policies at a future meeting for additional discussion; no final policy or vote occurred on July 6.
