GRANITE QUARRY — Members of the Granite Quarry Town Council agreed to continue discussions with the town of Faith about continuing the Granite Quarry-Faith Joint Police agreement during a special meeting on Tuesday.

The meeting comes after the Faith Board of Aldermen voted to terminate the agreement between the two municipalities, which allowed for the Granite Quarry police to cover Faith for an annual fee. Faith Mayor Randall Barger delivered a letter to Granite Quarry officials, which stated:

“Please be advised that the Town of Faith Board of Aldermen has voted to discontinue police services with the Town of Granite Quarry effective July 1, 2025. The Town of Faith appreciates the police service provided over the years and has enjoyed working with Granite Quarry as well.”

During the meeting on Tuesday, several of the members of the Town Council said outright that Faith had been getting a good deal from their town.

“As I thought about this in the past few months, it occurred to me that every benefit that Faith has received as a result of the discounted number for police services has been subsidized by the taxpayers of Granite Quarry versus the taxpayers of Faith. The constituents of Granite Quarry are subsidizing their discount,” said Council Member Rich Luhrs.

Granite Quarry Mayor Pro Tem Doug Shelton said that there was no harm in going back to the table and negotiating with Faith, but that they should do so from the point of view that they are negotiating a completely new contract, as the prior one has been terminated.

“In my opinion we have to start fresh, with, ‘OK all bets are off now we can go.’ I have no objection (to continuing discussions), but frankly I think the Granite Quarry taxpayers are giving them a bargain,” said Shelton.

Both Town Manager Jason Hord and Luhrs noted that while the discussion has touched on the fact that Granite Quarry is growing through annexations, that growth has yet to show up in the Police Department budget. Granite Quarry has presented a multi-year contract as part of the negotiations, which would include incremental increases every year in the amount Faith pays Granite Quarry..

“That is the whole purpose of the contracted agreement that we drafted, and they’ve had since February. That is a protection, a failsafe for them, to keep them from having to pay for our growth,” said Hord.

Faith Mayor Randall Barger said in a phone call last week that the decision to terminate ultimately came down to a requested increase in the amount Faith pays Granite Quarry for the police services. Granite Quarry has asked Faith to increase its contribution to $225,000, up about $49,000 from the current amount.

Following the discussion, the members of the Town Council gave their consensus to continue negotiations with the town of Faith, in hopes of extending the 18-year partnership with the two.

In other news from the special meeting:

• The council heard a presentation from real estate attorney Harry Marsh, who has bought the Balfour Quarry and been restoring the property. Marsh said that he plans to renovate the property into a themed AirBNB property built around the former quarry itself. Marsh’s presentation included a request to the town for the town-owned property to the north of the quarry as well as connection to the town’s sewer system, which the board agreed to begin negotiations on.
• The council heard a presentation from Coleton Boone, who wants to purchase a town-owned property at the corner of Mayor Ponds Street and Dunns Mountain Church Road and construct a multi-use property, which would contain office space, retail space and an events center in the rear.
• The council heard a presentation from John and Tina Kanipe, who host Taps in the Park at Granite Lake Park on the first Friday of every month, and Cecil Whitley, who has partnered with the Kanipes to design a large monument that honors veterans at the park. The three are asking for board permission to utilize the space in the park for the construction, but are still working on the design process.