Candidates for the Carroll County Board of Commissioners emphasized the need for a new courthouse, the necessity of maintaining strong sources of drinking water and the importance of government fiscal responsibility while speaking to a full house Monday night at a forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters.

In the chambers where two of the five candidates will later serve as commissioners, Democrat Herman Ayers squared off against Republican Incumbent Bill Chappell, each man vying for the chairmanship of the board. Also speaking were Republicans George Chambers and Billy Hyatt along with Democrat Tommy Robinson, each hoping to fill the District 6 seat vacated by Ayers when he declared his candidacy for chairman earlier this summer.

Of the topics discussed, the issue that received the most attention is one that has been haunting the board for over a decade. Plans for a new courthouse to address the swell in the county’s population have been on the docket since the early 1990s, and each of the candidates said that it will be one of their top priorities should they get the nod from voters.

“The courthouse is an issue that I think has to be addressed immediately,” Ayers said. “We need to make sure we get the board of commissioners to make it more functional and accommodating for the citizens of Carroll County.”

While it is paramount for a growing county to have a functional courthouse, Hyatt said, the courthouse should not be overly elaborate and unnecessarily expensive.

“This is just my way of thinking. As far as the courthouse, I’ve sat here years and listened to people talk about the courthouse,” Hyatt said. “My idea behind the courthouse is something simple. A courthouse is basically for criminals and your judges.”

Chappell said that the process was moving forward, though he was hesitant to decide arbitrarily on a location for the new courthouse.

“We’re very close to starting it right now,” he said. “I wanted to delay a decision on where we put it until we talk to professionals. We’ve had chicken farmers, pipe cleaners, gun shop owners, as commissioners. I wanted a professional to say [where it should be located].”

Though recent rains have made it less of a pressing concern, the candidates also addressed the water needs of the county in terms of how they relate to future industrial growth.

“There’s no question that Carroll County is going to grow,” Chambers said. “Water is one of the basic necessities in human existence. We understand Carroll County is going to grow but that needs to be targeted to areas where there’s existing infrastructure.”

In addition to the creating new reservoirs, the county should explore other alternatives to better meet the needs of incoming industry and current citizens, Chappell said.

“Developers want to come in and build huge projects. That’s all well and good but if the water’s not there, they can’t do it,” Chappell said. “Back in the fall when I was elected I posed a question to [EMA Director] Tim Padgett. I said ‘what do you do in Carroll County when you run out of water?’ He said we’ve got four 500-gallon containers. That’s not enough. We started a well study then. One of the answers to water is wells. It has not been investigated. It needs more.”

Robinson warned that without the necessary infrastructure in place, the county could very well grow beyond its means.

“Carroll County has outgrown itself,” Robinson said. “The people in Carroll County have not been ready for the growth that we’ve experienced in the county.”

Agreeing with Chappell’s comments, Hyatt said the county should be more responsible with its money than to necessarily spend it on another reservoir without exhausting other alternatives.

“We all know, water is life,” Hyatt said. “I tell you where we need to start is stopping waste. We get to a water deal: $100 million for a reservoir? What I asked myself is, couldn’t we go to every place in Carroll County and drill a well a lot cheaper. That’s just my way of thinking.”

Like searching for cheaper alternatives to water production, fiscal responsibility starts at the local level, Chambers said.

“I think that it’s very important we be frugal, that we give efficient, effective government to members of this county,” |Chambers said. “We have to know where to cut corners and we have to know where to spend money. I think it’s important that we spend money where we need to but not to overspend.”