Macon County Board of Commissioners: the Green Light Years, the Honor Flight and the Veterans Memorial Park

The record. The Board's agenda packets and minutes are born-digital PDFs on the county's images library; the window's packets (October 14, 2025 through October 13, 2026) were downloaded and read whole. The Board meets the second Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the Commission Boardroom on the third floor of the Macon County Courthouse, 5 West Main Street, Franklin; the roster: Joshua Young, Chairman (District 2); Gary Shields, Vice Chair; John Shearl (District 1); Danny Antoine (District 2); Barry Breeden (District 3); County Manager Warren Cabe; Deputy Clerk Tammy Keezer. The November 2025 meeting moved to Thursday the 13th - the October 14, 2025 agenda's announcements: "The November Board of County Commissioners meeting will be held on Thursday, November 13, 2025, due to the observance of the Veterans Day holiday." The veteran items, in order: - October 14, 2025 (item 12E): "Approval of Resolution in Support of Operation Green Light. (Veterans Services Director Leigh Tabor-Holbrooks)" - carried with the resolution's recitals honoring "all the men and women who have selflessly served our country and this community in the Armed Forces." - March 10, 2026: the county's capital-projects list "including National Guard Armory renovation, SCC driving track, Macon Early College repairs, Veterans Memorial Park improvements, and various facility upgrades" (about 5.6 million dollars), and the Active Spaces grant application for the "Macon County Veterans' Memorial Recreation Park" - a new amphitheater, a multipurpose covered court, and pavilion, bathroom and locker-room upgrades "complement[ing] existing amenities, including athletic fields, swimming pools, and the park's granite American eagle centerpiece"; the application's justification cites the area's "substantial proportion of veterans (8% in the county, 9.4% in the town)". - July 14, 2026: "Doreen Castle, Treasurer of the Veterans Memorial of Macon County Committee, addressed the board regarding the Veterans Memorial. She detailed ongoing maintenance and financial contributions made by the committee over recent years, including repairs to the shelter, rock wall, and eagle monument. She requested that the board consult the committee before taking any actions at the memorial, that the founding fathers' original intent serve as a guide, and that the county and committee work as a collaborative team going forward." - September 8, 2026: Budget Amendment #56 - "Appropriate special funds for Blue Ridge Honor Flight for Sheriff Holbrooks" (account 113840 417900 FUND BALANCE APPROPRIATED; 114310 556024 SPECIAL FUND EXPENSES), 500 dollars, moved by Commissioner Shearl and seconded by Commissioner Antoine, "Motion passed unanimously." Sheriff Brent Holbrooks described the Honor Flight: "veterans - particularly those from Korea, Vietnam, and World War II - are flown from Asheville to Washington, D.C. to visit the memorials honoring their service. Each veteran is paired with a guardian for the day," his own pairing with "Macon County veteran Mel Hopkins", the "welcome home celebration with bagpipes and roughly 250 people in a hangar in Asheville," and "he has a countdown clock running - 17 days until the next flight." He confirmed the funds "come from a separate special fund raised through the Sheriff's Office fundraisers - not county tax dollars." - October 13, 2026 (item 11a): "Approval of Operation Green Light for Veterans Resolution - Veterans Services Director Leigh Tabor Holbrooks. Ms. Holbrooks has requested approval of the resolution included in your packet to declare Macon County a Green Light Veterans County, November 4-11, 2026. She will be present to read and present the resolution." The packet's resolution: "NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Macon County Board of Commissioners hereby designates Macon County as a Green Light for Veterans County and declares November 4-11, 2026, as a time to salute and honor the service and sacrifices of our nation's veterans ... BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that in observance of Operation Green Light for Veterans, Macon County will illuminate designated county facilities with green lighting from November 4-11, 2026." Adopted October 13, 2026, signed Josh Young, Chairman. The budget. The FY2026-2027 Proposed Budget (presented May 12, 2026) carries department 115820 VETERANS SERVICES - salary 127,798, part-time salary 16,128, longevity 3,310 and the supporting lines, a total department of 215,023 dollars at the Administrator's recommendation, up from 191,049 adopted for FY2026 (2025 actual 174,115.75), with the department's GPCVO (20,000) and GIFTS (10,281) lines in the 2026 revised budget; the same budget message lists "better occupancy spaces for the Board of Elections and Veterans Services" among the needs to consider. No veteran benefit was adopted, narrowed or repealed.