Construction begins on law enforcement, recreation centers in Bakersville
Rachel Hoskins
rhoskins@thefranklinpress.com
On Monday, Nov. 6, Mitchell County Board of Commissioners embarked on two multi-million-dollar construction plans that are geared to meeting the needs of Mitchell County residents for years to come.
Law Enforcement Center
The Mitchell County Sheriff’s Department has been housed in temporary offces in Bakersville since 1998.
Located in the former Quality Plus Apparel factory in Bakersville, renovations will provide a new Law Enforcement Center that will serve the present and future needs of local law enforcement.
The Law Enforcement Center is being constructed with a $5 million grant the county received from the state.
“Senator Ralph Hise and Representative Dudley Greene were the driving force for securing the funding from Raleigh,” said Mitchell County Commissioner Jeff Harding.
“Commissioners looked for months and months for a site for the facility,” said Harding. “90% of the sites were in the floodway or flood plain. Many of the sites we looked at would have required land development and expansion of water and sewer services. That would have taken half the funds we had available for the project. The Taylor Togs building became available and it
interview rooms, sheriff and chief deputy offices and meeting areas, detective offices and work areas, an armory, conference and training rooms, K-9 kennels, patrol deputy facilities, lockers and physical training space, intoxylzer room, arrestee processing area, two temporary holding cells, vestibule and lobby area, storage and server areas and a small impound yard.
“Twenty-one years ago after the jail fire we moved into the temporary offices we are in,” said Mitchell County Sheriff Donald Street. “It’s been over 20 years, and we will finally get an office space that will serve law enforcement for many years to come.”
Street said the new facility will provide a much needed, updated evidence room, an interview room where officers can conduct, and record interviews and offices for all his staff.
“Now there is no privacy,” said Street. “The new facility will provide a professional working environment where deputies can focus on the tasks they are working on without hearing every phone call, every conversation, all the noise associated with a busy department.”
Street said currently his officers drive to Spruce Pine to conducted recorded interviews. The new facility will have the equipment and space needed for deputies to do their jobs.
A temperature-controlled evidence room with appropriate space will also improve the collection and processing of evidence.
“It’s going to be a huge morale boost for all my people,” said Street.
Security for the public and law enforcement officers will be improved with the new facility as well.
A holding cell will allow arrestees to be held securely while processing. The vestibule will provide an added security feature for deputies and staff, as well as the public.
“Now when someone comes to the door they are buzzed in,” said Street. “The new entryway will allow us to know who a visitor wants to see prior to opening the door. It’s a safety improvement for everyone.”
Street said when he started at the sheriff’s office, before the fire, all the offices were spread around. “There was a place for everyone,” said Street. “But some were in the jail area, some were in the courthouse, some were in the county annex building. This new facility will bring our team together. It will be done right and it will provide for our needs well into the future.”
The scheduled completion date for the Center is October 2024.
Recreation Center
As the county continues to grow, so too has the increased demand for recreational facilities.
County commissioners selected the area next door to the county administration building in Bakersville to house a new recreation center which will feature both indoor facilities and outdoor fields for baseball, softball, soccer, and t-ball. The $5.7 million center has a projected completion date of November 2025.
The county received a $500,000 PARTF grant through Parks and Recreation. The county matched with $500,000. And again, Senator Ralph Hise and Representative Dudley Greene came with an additional $4 million for the project, according to Harding.
The indoor facility will be home to an indoor walking track, full-sized basketball court, pickleball court, concession stand, bleachers/seating, men’s and women’s locker rooms, an exercise classroom, workout area with equipment, staff offices, storage and restrooms.
The outdoor facility will include a full-sized baseball field with soccer filed inlay. The baseball field will have bleachers, press box, dugouts and handicap-accessible restrooms, t-ball field, parking area to accommodate approximately 200 vehicles and festival space.
“It will be wonderful. We started working on this project nine years ago,” said Brock Duncan, director of Mitchell County Parks and Recreation. “It’s gonna be something we can call our own. We won’t have to worry about using space somewhere else. It will be the heart of Bakersville.”
Duncan said the economic impact on Bakersville will be significant once the facility is complete.
“The easiest way for people to spend money is to spend money on their kids,” said Duncan. “The baseball and basketball games go on about nine months of the year. People will be in Bakersville, spending money, eating meals. When a kid is playing they bring their parents, their siblings, their grandparents. At any given time 10 people will come to watch a kid play.”
Duncan, who has served as the recreation director for the past 11 years, with assistant director Ryan Cook by his side, said this project has been a long-time coming and will change the future of recreation for Mitchell County.
The Creek Walk will be expanded and connect to the existing Bakersville Creek Walk. This will feature a pedestrian bridge across Cane Creek with a walkway connector passing under the N.C. Highway 226 bridge in Bakersville. The Creek Walk will connect with the Wade Tipton Field. There will be a walking path from the new Law Enforcement Facility to the head of Cane Creek without having to get on the roadway.
The Cane Creek basin will undergo USDA creek stabilization with the inclusion of flood prevention measures, fishing features, storm water bioretention areas, wetland features and a dog park.
Duncan said once the facility is complete the department would be adding some additional positions.
“Recreation is a 24/7 job,” said Duncan. “I couldn’t do it without Ryan. He has been here the entire time and does a fantastic job. Our phones ring constantly. With the increased programs and services, there is no way we could do it by ourselves. We already spend more time together than we do with our family.”
The new center will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1-6 p.m. on Sunday.
“Investing in recreation and sports is the best bang for our buck.” said Duncan. “I coached football for 20 years and I’ve been the recreation director for 11, along with Ryan. We both love sports and just seeing kids have a good time – it’s worth the hours. A team jersey is an equalizer. It doesn’t matter your socioeconomic status, how smart you are, what you have or don’t have – sports has the potential to change a kid’s life. We’ve seen it. It’s the most gratifying part of our jobs. It’s how I met both my sons-in-law; I coached them when they were little boys.”
Duncan said recreation sports – basketball, baseball, cheerleading, soccer, volleyball – have grown exponentially over the last decade. While the number of children in the school system seems to have declined, the number of kids participating in sports and outdoor recreation continues to grow. He is excited about this next step in recreation for Mitchell County.
“Getting kids off the couch and active pays off,” said Duncan. “These new facilities are a great investment in our future.”
With the opening of the new YMCA in Spruce Pine and the facility in Bakersville recreation needs should be met for the foreseeable future. Harding said these projects will also be economic drivers for the county.
“By the Spring of 2025 we will have a new YMCA, a new law enforcement center, a new recreation center, and a new school in Mitchell County,” said Harding. “That is huge. Over the next two years we have approximately $100 million being spent in constructing these new facilities. That will have a big impact on the county and businesses.”
Future projects
Looking forward Harding said the county will also begin looking at uses for Bowman School once the new school is open in Ledger.
“The building will belong to the county,” said Harding. “It’s in great condition. We’re just starting discussions on how it can best be used. There are a lot options. We will be getting community input as we develop a plan for how the building will best serve the county. Our county manager Alan Cook is in the process now of grant writing so we can get a survey done and start exploring options. It’s a busy time for county commissions – it’s a good time.”