Hiwassee Dam – A new format for the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners’ first meeting of each month kicked off on March 3 with a sparse turnout, but a taste of its potential.
In December, when Commissioner Dan Eichenbaum was voted chairman of the board by his fellow commissioners, he changed the format of the board’s monthly meetings. Instead of business meetings on the first and third Mondays of each month, there would be just one business meeting – on third Mondays.
The meeting on the first Monday of each month was repurposed into a “chairman’s forum,” giving people a chance to meet with Eichenbaum and their local commissioner nearby and in person without the formality of a business meeting and without having to drive to Murphy.
The first of its kind was held March 3 at the community center in Hiwassee Dam, home of District 5 Commissioner Alan Bryant. Turnout could be counted on two hands, counting Eichenbaum, Bryant, a sheriff’s deputy there for security, a Cherokee Scout reporter, Bryant’s wife and daughter, and three citizens.
The meeting had no agenda, no dress code and no real structure – just two county commissioners (three would constitute a quorum and make the meeting more formal), listening to any constituent who stopped by about anything they wanted to talk about.
On March 3, a private citizen asked about a Tennessee Valley Authority easement on his property (TVA is a federal agency outside of county jurisdiction) and road striping on newly paved roads (N.C. Department of Transportation is a state agency, also outside of county jurisdiction).
There are some things commissioners have authority over, and many things they don’t. Part of the function of these meetings is to inform the public about the differences.
Two of the three members of the public were volunteer firefighters with the Hiwassee Dam Volunteer Fire Department; one left early, while the other came late. They were concerned about the limited radio service in far reaches of the county, and the risk firefighters take if they get injured and have no way to radio for help.
“I know just the person to talk to,” Eichenbaum responded. “It’s why we’re here. We’ll make sure something gets done.”
That was about it. It was a 15-minute meeting spread out over an hour.
“Is there anything else you want to talk about?” Eichenbaum asked. “You have my full attention. It’s up to us to do something.”
The next chairman’s forum meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday, April 7, at the Tri-County Community College Center for Applied Technology in Marble – District 2 Commissioner Mark Stiles’ home turf.