Murphy – The Cherokee County Board of Commissioners suspended its Needs & Solutions Advisory Committee on Monday, following a profane email revealing a rift between the committee’s chairman and secretary.
In February 2023, the board of commissioners established the committee to identify the county’s needs and potential solutions.
The committee, called NASA for short, presented its findings in February 2024 after a year of fact-finding meetings held across the county. The report outlined a list of areas of concern ranging from housing to health care and highways, but the committee itself has fallen prey to an issue that sometimes hamstrings the county but wasn’t even mentioned in NASA’s list of concerns.
That issue is either politics or personalities – or both.
Two prominent Cherokee County Republicans who are members of the NASA committee have gotten into an ugly and public exchange that revealed itself in emails shared on social media and was confirmed by a Cherokee Scout Freedom of Information Act request.
NASA Chair Mark Kephart and NASA secretary Margaret Ackiss are at odds that, judging from the email record, surfaced to the public on March 7 with an email from Ackiss to assistant county manager Maria Hass.
“Can you please remind the chair of the committee [Kephart] that he needs to give the community 10 days notice before a meeting? He seems to think one day notice is appropriate.”
On March 11, Hass emailed Kephart, with a copy to Ackiss, saying, “Hi Mark. Just a reminder to send me a notice of meetings seven days prior so I can post them on the county website and send to the Sunshine list (media, unless you have others who have asked for notice of meetings).”
Also that day, Kephart told Ackiss that the NASA chair position was open. On March 12, Kephart replied to an email about a new appointment to the NASA committee.
“Well, Margaret the chairman’s position is open as I told you last night!” Kephart wrote. “I’m gonna say what everyone else wants to! To hell with you, you better than everybody [expletive deleted]! Sorry for my less than professional tone and words everybody on this email, but I’m sick and tired of you, Margaret, running people in the ground!
“Run for office, I double-dog dare you, and you’ll see just exactly what the GOOD PEOPLE of this county think of you and your tactics. I’m done with you, and you or I one must be gone from NASA, so you decide! If you won’t decide, then we will let the commissioners decide as they will all be CC’ed on this email. Thank you.”
Ackiss responded.
“It’s regrettable that you included the commissioners on a private email because that makes it public record,” she wrote. She added that her private email exchange was “meant to show compassion and help create better public/NASA engagement.”
“Clearly, I’ve either missed the mark in trying to communicate the need for being understanding to the community and the board member’s personal time to be involved/engaged or you’ve allowed your personal feelings to impair your judgment regarding private suggestions from your own committee and chosen to publicly criticize the person making suggestions and not the suggestions on their merit,” Ackiss wrote.
“Either way, I apologize for anything I may have done to cause this situation to rise to the level of public scrutiny and commissioners’ attention. It was never my intention to make a private email discussion public, let alone involve the commissioners’ valuable time.”
In response, Kephart wrote, “That’s fine, please remove my email and phone from your contacts, as I said I’m done with your antics.”
In an email sent on March 14, Hass said, “I am deeply saddened by these events.”
Kephart and Ackiss did not respond to requests for comment from the Scout.
Ackiss has been at the center or involved with high-profile conflicts in Cherokee County for some time, using her social media accounts to criticize political opponents and those she disagrees with. She is being sued for $100,000 for libel and slander by one local Republican over her posts.
The issue of the NASA conflict was added to the board of commissioners’ agenda at the last minute Monday night, reflecting commissioners’ concerns about the emails, the committee’s mission and high turnover of committee members.
“It is evident there are difficulties on the committee that make it non-functional,” said Commissioner Dan Eichenbaum, who was chairing the meeting in place of an ailing Randy Phillips.
Commissioner Jan Griggs, who added the item to the agenda, suggested that the committee be temporarily suspended until the board can come up with better guidelines and new members.
She described Kephart’s email as “inappropriate.”
Commissioner Cal Stiles said the existing board worked for months and produced good work.
“I’d like to see it continue,” Stiles said, adding that if the committee is suspended, it may be four to six months before things are sorted out and it can get back to work.
The decision to suspend NASA passed on a 4-1 vote, with Stiles casting the lone no vote.