Rudy Wright - Inspiring Spaces - $80 million for Beautification

This is another of the recordings from the Conover Crusader that I planned on putting out today. Thanks again CC. You have done a great service here. In reading the following comment from "mbg", it fits vurry well with this presentation.

mbg commented on "Rudy Wright - Accountability from this day forward" on July 30, 2013:

While I do not hold Rudy Wright solely responsible, I do think this is indicative of the lack of an effective plan fromm our leaders to grow job opportunities in the Hickory area.

I recall listening to "Monday Morning With The Mayor" nearly 2 years ago while I was driving up to Virginia to put together a new manufacturing operation that had decided to locate there. Hal asked Rudy what were we going to do about jobs in Hickory. The next 10 minutes were spent talking about Hickory's new logo which evidently was the "plan". This stuck in my mind because the company I was working with looked at Hickory first before Virginia. They were evidently under Hickory's radar, but SW Virginia really put the full court press on. Needless to say I am still in Virginia today. I have yet to see a company that cared about logos or slogans.

I have heard what mgb states here many times over the last several years. There was an opportunity for Hickory to participate/place a bid for Honda Jet engines and the city administration showed no interest. There were federal grants available to fix the city swimming pools and the city refused to even apply. There have been many education initiatives that Hickory could qualify for and the local government has refused to act. In my opinion, this is a dereliction of duty (no not the military term), when they are not fulfilling their fiduciary responsibility to act on the public's behalf. Just because an opportunity doesn't fit your personal agenda/priorities does not mean you should not act.

The Mayor talks about $80 million for beautification. The term beautification isn't going to play well in Peoria or Hickory. We truly need to reassess what is the Inspiring Spaces program. It has become a catch all program and there is a huge lack of focus when so much is incorporated under this one  umbrella.

An example is that the Mayor now wants a splash pad, since he was called out in the HDR in relation to the closed swimming pools a couple of weeks ago. To be fair he initially did push the idea of a Splash Pad as set forth by Site Solutions park plan of 2010, but in the meantime he has not mentioned it. Now they want to build this splash pad under the Inspiring Spaces umbrella. Well, he pulled this rabbit out of the hat here at election time, because he knows that the majority of the people in the community think that there should be aquatic recreation in the community. He believes that this would appease the masses at the same time it will give him a talking point going into this election. I don't think it's going to fly. If programs aren't specific, then we have seen how they become boondoggles.

You can find out more from this July 9, 2013 Inspiring Spaces presentation that was held at City Hall.

This program was created as a result of trips by Hickory Administration and City Council to various cities in the region including Burlington, Asheville, Durham, Greenville, SC, Chattanooga, TN,  and Roanoke, VA. A panel of well connected business and non-profit people were handpicked by Hickory City Council and then they came forward with recommendations for projects including Greenways, Gateways, Parks, and what are termed Special Places. In witnessing Hickory task forces of the past, I wouldn't be surprised if the project list wasn't determined before the first meeting took place and the outcome guided by city staff.

The biggest problem that I have seen thus far with this program is the open ended talks of a funding mechanism. They are putting the cart before the horse. The Mayor is pushing this 1% prepared food tax as a funding mechanism, while saying that it will cost $80 million over 10 years to fund this program with $20 million coming from the Local Government, $20 million coming from the State, $20 million coming from the Feds, and $20 million coming from private sources. They believe that they can raise $13 million over 10 years through this prepared food tax for the local part and one would have to assume that the other $7 million would come from the General Fund.

From the sources I have spoken with and the evidence I have seen by reading hundreds of stories about the economic situation here in North Carolina and the United States, these funding assumptions/formula are the stuff of pure folly. We cannot move forward with this overarching program until the funding is set in stone. Could you imagine moving forward with even $40 million of this and then the funding mechanism falls through. If that happened, then the community would be on the hook.

Specific parts of this program can be pulled out and funded individually as you would normally do, but this needs to be an open and transparent process. It is time for the days of Hickory City Funds going to the same insider entities all the time come to an end. It isn't anything against those businesses. It is giving all of Hickory's businesses an opportunity to participate and another thing is that Hickory businesses should come first, when it comes to projects.

I am inspired by people not property!

Rudy Wright - Accountability from this day forward

Another Soundbyte from our friend the Conover Crusader: Rudy Wright and his surrogates have taken no responsibility for what has happened to the local economy over the last 12 years. I will be fair. There was a perfect storm that hit this community's economy in 2001. We had a convergence of the bursting of the Dot.com bubble decimating Fiber Optic production, NAFTA kicked in full throttle and had a very negative effect on our furniture and textiles, and then 9/11 was a haymaker that accelerated this reality and sent us reeling.

Many people knew that we had troubles long ago, because the type of manufacturing we had in this community was low-skilled and labor intensive. These were the first jobs that would be offshored. Jim Rice, who was a manager with Superior Cable and now is the founder of Visionaire Jets, knew that it was necessary to diversify our local Manufacturing Economy for the sake of its long term viability - Jim Rice - A Man ahead of Time - He wanted to diversify Catawba County Industry in 1977.

For years of his tenure, I'd listen to Mayor Wright do Hal Row's show on those first Monday mornings talking about how we were going to turn it around and how this was going to be our year. This Mayor and City Administration pushed the idea of moving retirees in here and turning Hickory into a retirement community and now he says that was never an emphasis. I sat in a room 4 years ago where Mick Berry talked about the Low Hanging fruit of retirees, how easy they were to attract with our infrastructure,  and how it would be very difficult to get the younger generations to come here. When he didn't like the direction the conversation was heading, he split. That was a huge part of their plan, whether they want to change history or not.

This is not about me, but the constant refusal to talk about our realistic situation frustrated me to no end and that is the reason why I wrote my first letter to the editor, which they allowed as a guest column six years ago: An All-American City deserves first-class leadership - July 15, 2007

Rudy has taken no ownership over our local Economic Malaise since he took office. He was given a pass over the first four years, "because the downturn wasn't his fault and Jay Adams was one of those Wascawie Develwopers." Then Rudy had the audacity to talk about what an honor it was to be unopposed in 2009 and pushed his "All of one Mind" Council Agenda. He got everything he wanted and we're still in the same economic rut and time is still a wastin'.

Rudy's Go To Economic Development strategies/philosophies are short and sweet..... 1) Scott Millar, 2) City Staff 3) It's all Washington's fault, 4) It's all Raleigh's fault, 5) The other local communities are dragging our numbers down, 6) It's out of our control. 7) The Insider Boondoggle of the year, 8) Obfuscation with the help of surrogates.

Honestly, most rational people will understand that it would be a lot easier to actually try to accomplish some difficult tasks and let the chips fall where they may. That is the reason why Term Limits are very effective, because they render such messes as above futile. You know what or get off the pot!  

Rudy was taken to task about his never accepting responsibility for his 12 years as Mayor. He's the CEO and we've lost 30,000 jobs. There aren't career options for young people. Family children, other than those of the top of the food chain around here, move away and parents don't get to see them much.  Much of our problems come from the loss of these generations.

In answering, Rudy sounded incredulous that anyone would ever mention his name in the same sentence with the downturn. That is the attitude of much of the upper government of Hickory Inc. When asked about accepting responsibility, he talks about not casting blame (as if he never does) and then says that he is responsible from this day forward. What will be different in the next 4 years compared to what we have seen in the previous 12 under the continuation of a Wright Regime?

If it weren't true, it would be hard to believe.

Rudy Wright - The Hickory Daily Record prints Garbage

Back in late June, I received an e-mail of interesting links from a meeting that was attended by Mayor Rudy Wright in which he said some "vurry intursting" things. I alluded to one of the statements that really ticked me off, where he talks about the Hickory Daily Record article from June 2, 2013 related to Hickory being the 5th most miserable metropolitan area in the United States. He says that people are entitled to their opinions, but the paper doesn't have to (shouldn't) print them. He talks about "people called in with axes to grind" and belittles people -- many his constituents.

Hey Rudy, no one "called in." The paper asked questions on their website and in the hard edition. People responded and the paper utilized those responses to form an article. They had over 400 people respond to their poll that was on their website. That's a pretty respectable amount of respondents and that is probably what bothers you the most. The HDR did not create this story, as you state, their audience did. That is what any good business model does. They listen to their customers. Hickory Inc. should try that!

You can read about it here
Readers say Hickory area needs some work - June 2, 2013 
Hound responds to HDR "Readers say Hickory area needs some work" - June 3, 2013

I received these e-mails from an anonymous source who goes by the name "Conover Crusader". It seems that whomever this is that they are doing a takeoff of some of my work. "Conover Crusader", you can get in touch with me again at the e-mail you sent this to the last time. I'd certainly like to talk or at least have some sort of correspondence.

Anyway, I think that y'all will find this more than interesting. It certainly doesn't sound like Mayor Wright thinks very much of the people who submit Letters to the Editor. We know that he wanted to have a meeting last week with the Hickory Daily Record staff. I assume that he did have that meeting. After that meeting was when the HDR came out with the article that had a headline about there being no basis to Joe Brannock's questions at the last City Council meeting. They also didn't allow Joe to respond to Alder Patton or to Mayor Wright's assertion that 'the law doesn't matter to Joe Brannock.'

The HDR article against Joe Brannock even showed that Bruce Meisner had appointed his business partner to the Rental Property task force that Joe had served on and this person was his business partner in the property in question that had been in violation of Code issues, and Alderman Meisner did indeed vote against the motion to beef up code enforcement that would have directly affected properties such as the one in question. So where is the logic in the "No Basis" summation by the HDR?

I am not pointing out any of this to take the HDR to task about what we have seen in the last week and a half. It is what it is. I do stand by the statement that they were the ones who brought the Conflict of Interest discussion into play, so why run scared?  Logically one can see that the HDR is allowing themselves to be bullied by the local Powers That Be in this community. This has been going on for a long time. Maybe, we should see if  Mr. Buffett likes his media entity being bullied. I just want to see a level playing field as we move forward into this election. Rudy and his Army will do everything to keep that from happening. And we will continue marching forward.



Who were the money interests???

Economic Stories of Relevance in Today's World -- July 28, 2013

The Biggest Oil Discovery In 50 Years? - The Economic Collapse Blog - Michael Snyder - July 23rd, 2013 - In a virtually uninhabitable section of South Australia, a discovery has been made which could rock the world.  Some are calling it the biggest discovery of oil in 50 years.  Earlier this year, a company called Linc Energy announced that tests had revealed that there was a minimum of 3.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent sitting under more than 65,000 square kilometres of land that it owns in the Arckaringa Basin.  But that is the minimum number.  It has been projected that there could ultimately be up to 233 billion barrels of recoverable oil in the area.  If that turns out to be accurate, the oil sitting under that land is worth approximately 20 trillion dollars, and it would be roughly equivalent to the total amount of oil sitting under the sands of Saudi Arabia.  In essence, it would be a massive game changer.                            If the 233 billion barrel figure is accurate (and some have even suggested that the true number could actually be 400 billion barrels), that would make it nearly 10 times larger than the Bakken formation, 17 times larger than the Marcellus discovery and 80 times larger than the Eagle Ford deposit down in Texas.                     It would also mean that Australia now has more "black gold" than the nations of Iran, Iraq, Canada and Venezuela.                    The closest town to this oil discovery, Coober Pedy, is in the process of being totally transformed.  It normally only has about 1,700 inhabitants, but news of this discovery has drawn in 20,000 additional people already and real estate prices in the town are absolutely skyrocketing.                 So does all of this mean that gas prices will go down soon?                     Well, unfortunately that is not likely to be the case.                   First of all, the oil in this formation in Australia is going to be quite expensive to extract.  It has been estimated that it is going to cost up to 300 million dollars just to get this site ready for production.                      In addition, many of our politicians are absolutely determined to greatly punish the use of oil because they believe that it is the primary cause of global warming.  So they continue to raise taxes on gasoline consumption.                   Today, motorists in the United States pay an average of 49.5 cents of taxes per gallon of gasoline, and in the state of California motorists pay an average of 71.9 cents of taxes per gallon of gasoline.                      Hopefully the price of gasoline will come down a bit over the next few years, but even if it does I would not expect it to come down too much.                       But what we can be sure of is that the world is not going to run out of oil any time soon.  Those that have been predicting that we are are on the verge of an "energy doomsday" can take a rest for a while.                   Sometimes it is funny to look back and remember some of the ridiculous things that our politicians were saying about oil in the old days.  For example, U.S. President Jimmy Carter made the following statement back in 1977….


It Is Happening Again: 18 Similarities Between The Last Financial Crisis And Today - The Economic Collapse Blog - Michael Snyder - July 25th, 2013 - If our leaders could have recognized the signs ahead of time, do you think that they could have prevented the financial crisis of 2008?  That is a very timely question, because so many of the warning signs that we saw just before and during the last financial crisis are popping up again.  Many of the things that are happening right now in the stock market, the bond market, the real estate market and in the overall economic data are eerily similar to what we witnessed back in 2008 and 2009.  It is almost as if we are being forced to watch some kind of a perverse replay of previous events, only this time our economy and our financial system are much weaker than they were the last time around.  So will we be able to handle a financial crash as bad as we experienced back in 2008?  What if it is even worse this time?  Considering the fact that we have been through this kind of thing before, you would think that our leaders would be feverishly trying to keep it from happening again and the American people would be rapidly preparing to weather the coming storm.  Sadly, none of that is happening.  It is almost as if they cannot even see the disaster that is staring them right in the face.  But without a doubt, disaster is coming. The following are 18 similarities between the last financial crisis and today...                        #1 According to the Bank of America Merrill Lynch equity strategy team, their big institutional clients are selling stock at a rate not seen "since 2008".                       #2 In 2008, stock prices had wildly diverged from where the economic fundamentals said that they should be.  Now it has happened again....


McDonald's falls short, warns of tough year - McDonald's profit falls short of expectations, warns of challenging year ahead - Associated Press - Candice Choi, AP Food Industry Writer - July 22, 2013 - McDonald's Corp. is mixing up its menu to lure more customers but not enough of them are biting.                 The world's biggest hamburger chain on Monday reported a second-quarter profit that rose 4 percent but fell short of Wall Street expectations. It also said July sales are expected to be relatively flat and warned of a tough year ahead.                         Its stock edged down more than 2 percent at $98.05 in premarket trading.                           The company, based in Oak Brook, Ill., says global sales edged up 1 percent at restaurants open at least a year for the three months ended June 30. The figure rose by the same amount in the U.S., where the company has been trying to adapt to changing eating habits with items such as its new chicken wraps and egg-white breakfast sandwiches.                           But the tepid growth in the latest quarter reflect the challenges facing McDonald's, which for years had been a standout in the fast-food industry. Part of the problem is that economic conditions remain weak in many parts of the world. But another factor is that dining habits are changing, particularly in the U.S., with people increasingly opting for foods they feel are fresher, healthier or higher-quality.


Role Reversal: How the US Became the USSR — Paul Craig Roberts - July 23, 2013 - I spent the summer of 1961 behind the Iron Curtain. I was part of the US-USSR student exchange program. It was the second year of the program that operated under auspices of the US Department of State. Our return to the West via train through East Germany was interrupted by the construction of the Berlin Wall. We were sent back to Poland. The East German rail tracks were occupied with Soviet troop and tank trains as the Red Army concentrated in East Germany to face down any Western interference.                 Fortunately, in those days there were no neoconservatives. Washington had not grown the hubris it so well displays in the 21st century. The wall was built and war was avoided. The wall backfired on the Soviets. Both JFK and Ronald Reagan used it to good propaganda effect.
In those days America stood for freedom, and the Soviet Union for oppression. Much of this impression was created by Western propaganda, but there was some semblance to the truth in the image. The communists had a Julian Assange and an Edward Snowden of their own. His name was Cardinal Jozef Mindszenty, the leader of the Hungarian Catholic Church..


Paul Craig Roberts ~ The Total Destruction of America from Within

This video goes into the info from the article above and then goes further.

The Hickory Daily Record rejected this response too

The Hickory Daily Record allowed Jill Patton and Rudy Wright to make statements about Joe Brannock and the CEG, but created barriers to not allow Joe Brannock to respond. All of what the HDR reported about what was said by Joe at the last City Council meeting is up to interpretation.

Reporter Tinkelenberg did nothing other than his job when he reported what Joe had said at that meeting. It is no different than saying that it was 81 degrees at 1pm today. Are the local Powers That Be going to get mad at the HDR reporter because they are mad about it being hot outside?

The Mayor is on record as saying that the HDR prints garbage and he basically says that they should censor the news apparently to fit the Authoritarian template. I gave the HDR the benefit of the doubt that they were going to show some independence; but once again, like Charlie Brown and kicking the football while Lucy is holding it, I was only fooling myself. The HDR isn't going to stand up to the bullies. We know that Mayor Wright was giving them the business this week and we assume that this has been an ongoing thing during his tenure.

Let the HDR fall in line and be subservient to their masters. We're gonna crank this thing back up again.

Joe Brannock made this submission the other day to the HDR. They told him they were going to publish it and then reneged by creating a candidate policy after the fact that apparently doesn't include incumbents. Thus Joe could not respond to personal statements made by Jill Patton and Rudy Wright. Once again understand that the HDR were the ones that ramped this Conflict of Interest stuff up a couple weeks ago and as soon as they got the least little pushback from the local Powers That Be, they go looking for a scapegoat to throw under the bus. How Manly!!!

Are we the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave or the Land of those who Flee and the Home of the Slaves?



Joe Brannock - submitted on July 22, 2013 to the Hickory Daily Record in response to a Sunday Letter to the Editor by Jill Patton that among other things labels him as the Chairman of the Citizens for Equity in Government:

In response to Mrs. Patton's comments in this past Sunday's paper I would like to point out that no accusations were made against her or anyone else. Questions were asked. It is not surprising that Mrs. Patton took offense to questions being asked, as that seems to be the typical response the City has when questioned.

Unlike Mrs. Patton, I am able to admit when I'm mistaken; as I did in the follow up HDR article concerning conflicts-of-interest. But let's talk about getting one's facts straight, Mrs. Patton.  I have been and continue to be a spokesperson for the CEG, but I am NOT the Chairman. Had you ever taken the time to check that out rather than denigrate the CEG, you might know that.


Who helped Rudy get elected in 2001?

Reality - Trust No One - Verify Everything

I have watched and read programs over the past several years that state that if you want to find out what is going on in America then you have to watch foreign news sources and if foreign nations want to find out what is going on in their nations, then they have to watch American television. The same thing happens on the local level.

Everyone loves to point the finger at other communities... other parts of the government, but there is an unwillingness for self-introspection. That is cowardice. I just don't see how people can face themselves in the mirror when they can't even be honest with themselves. I know that I have made several mistakes along the way. I have made several bad investments and didn't take advantage of some opportunities afforded me. I have learned, but wonder if I will ever have those opportunities again.

I love my house; bought it nearly 8 years ago in August. I spent years saving the money to buy it. I didn't pay attention and look at the negative momentum in this community. It's supposed to be the American Dream. It has turned into American Bondage.

Buying this house was an investment in this community. It tied me down to this community. I was making more money back then and I bought this house for nearly $20,000 less than what it was on the market for and $7,000 less than what it had been appraised at. Does that not sound like a good investment to you? And yet, I feel like I had bad information all around and I failed to recognize that bad information. That is on me.

The younger generations, the Ys and Millenials, do not want to be tied down to what is called Real Estate. Real Property isn't "Real" when its price is not attached to "Real"ity. I understand marketing, but the premium in the "Real" property market created by marketing B.S. is creating a hindrance to the economic realities of the property markets in communities throughout this country and beyond, especially when you have all of this married to the idea that providing un"real"istic expectations, embellished and just plain bad information is somehow good for communities. And to have droves of arrogant Overlord types provided with inside information that they use for personal gain, at the average person's expense, goes against the trust needed in a Free Market Capitalist system.

This lack of self-regulation is what has led to the necessity for the burdensome regulation we see today. But, in the end, those regulations do not create harsh enough penalties to stop those they were intended to regulate in the first place. And usually they create barriers to entry that further help insiders, while keeping start-ups from entering into the marketplace, thus hurting overall economic progress.

(Wikipedia) - A conflict of interest (COI) occurs when an individual or organization is involved in multiple interests, one of which could possibly corrupt the motivation for an act in another...              The presence of a conflict of interest is independent from the execution of impropriety. Therefore, a conflict of interest can be discovered and voluntarily defused before any corruption occurs.

For those geniuses that might not understand, what the above says is that it is not about the violation resulting from the Conflict. It is about the acknowledgement of potential conflicts. Such acknowledgements lead to transparency and usually lead to the prevention of personal Acts of Conflicts of Interest. And at least the public is better informed. Too many times we see elected officials acting towards the interests of a select few at the expense of a great many; all the while telling us about how it is for our own good.

Why would young people want to invest in this community at this point in time? Why would active seniors want to invest in this community at this point in time? Why would you want to invest in a community that refuses to get real with itself -- that refuses any standard of accountability? Why would you want to invest in a community that believes we just need to tweak a few things and everything will be alright; a community that has created its own economic stagnation? A stagnation that has been going on for over a decade.

The Ys and the Millenials have voted with their feet. They aren't going to bind themselves to this community. They need to be flexible in the realities of this economy so that they can get to where the jobs are. That is what the statistics show. Of course I pointed to this before it became a trend and long before it was accepted. Now that this reality has been accepted, we are told that we just need to convince (ie market to) these young people that they should stay and give Hickory a chance. All of this at the same time that the people at the top of the socio-economic structure move their children out of the community and tell them not to look back, with those children very willingly obliging. In other words they aren't practicing what they are preaching. They have gotten their children to the lifeboats, while they are telling the rest of us to ignore that gash in the starboard side and go back to sleep. You can always tell people's character by whether they practice what they preach.

The good jobs are few and far between here. And even with good jobs, you will be paid less than market value in this community. And they brag about this in National Publications!!! Wow, what wonderful leadership. The "It's Good Enough" mentality. This is the reality of our local Underemployment Economic model. Educated people understand that. Why should a young person accept that? Why should they invest in a community that for years has refused to invest in them?

So what am I getting at? In this age of propaganda and rogue entities only representing their own self-interests and not looking out for the good of the ecosystem, you have to do more than due diligence to assess situations. You have to read between the lines. The days of common sense and ethical conduct are out the window. There is no face value. It's a free-for-all and the onus of expectations are going to be placed on the individual -- placed on you. The young people do not trust the people who have bred this lack of trust.

If you are honest and above board, you will find yourself at a disadvantage to those who do not accept practical codes of ethics. Unfairly, I and others that I associate with have definitely been held to a higher standard than others in this community are willing to accept for themselves. We accept that it is what it is and we will continue to refuse to make excuses and lower ourselves to their (lack of) standards and practices.


This is where Hickory is headed if we don't change.

Two responses the Hickory Daily Record apparently refused

Submission to Letters to the Editor that the Hickory Daily Record refused to post relating to the issues about the Hickory City Council. By the way, the CEG had nothing to do with the articles the Hickory Daily Record put in the paper a couple of Sunday's ago. They are entitled to their opinion, but those examples of conflicts pale in comparison to some of the real issues that have gone on over the years.

You know that what the Hickory Daily Record original article, a couple Sunday's ago, showed was that there did not have to be a criminal intent for there to be conflicts of interest. We agree with that. Now all of the sudden they seem to have retreated to a position that there has to be an express financial gain to rise to being a "Conflict of Interest". 

And now we see where the paper spoke to this issue and subsequently is falling all over itself retreating, which certainly is disappointing and shows that they have no interest in independent journalism. The Citizens for Equity in Government has certainly shown more respect to the Hickory Daily Record than Hickory Inc. ever has and yet they come to beat up on us on a regular basis, while constantly giving the local Hickory City Government a free pass and a platform. If we say something, then Hickory Inc. are allowed to respond. If they say something, we aren't allowed to respond.

I've held back on these, because the HDR was the proper forum for response, but since they want to censor relevant responses to issues in which people and organizations have been spoken of, here you go.

From Harry Hipps - submitted July 11, 2013:

There are many people who respect Sally Fox, of the Hickory City Council, for her efforts in the community over the years. I respect her and I believe Mrs. Fox when she thinks that she has done nothing wrong. But, the intent does not match the reality of what defines a "Conflict of Interest".

Mrs. Fox as much as admits that she steered the Farmer's Market to Union Square. There were many who wanted it located on Spring's Road. Mrs. Fox's multiple hats on the Farmer's Market Board, Downtown Development Association, City Council Member, and Union Square shop owner skewed the outcome.

We also know that Jill Patton wears as many Board hats as Mrs. Fox; formerly being on the boards of the Farmer's Market, Lake Hickory Country Club, Bank of Granite, and now the Rotary Chair. Along with Mrs. Fox they demanded and got the Million Dollar "Sails on the Square".

This cross pollination of these various interests have tilted the decision making process in Hickory towards Property and Business Owners in the immediate vicinity of Union Square at the expense of the rest of this community. Areas only a few blocks from Union Square have been ignored and fallen into disrepair.

We have seen multi-millions of dollars pumped into Union Square over the past two decades and we are constantly told that it isn't enough. We have even seen the Parking Fund monies, created to expand parking capacity, misappropriated according to the ordinance that created it. That was the fund used for this structure. And the City still hasn't been forthright about the associated costs.

The question begs to be asked. At what point do the bail outs of Union Square end? At what point does Union Square stand on its own feet?


From James Thomas Shell - July 23, 2013:

In reading Jill Patton's Letter from Sunday, I have issues with some of her assertions. No one can deny that she has the support of her ward, which originated from her steadfast doggedness on the Lowe's Home Improvement in Viewmont matter. An issue, which over time has proven her to be wrong, in my opinion.

I stood behind the HDR reporter the other night as Mrs. Patton made a beeline to berate him for not coming to city officials first about his queries and told him how ugly he had been to her in the story he had written. I too have been a subject of this anger in the past, when Mrs. Patton and I have had disagreements.

No one is out to embarrass Mrs. Patton. We're interested in how our local government is functioning. Jill certainly had no problem telling everyone that the local government was dysfunctional back in 2005. Now that she is on the inside, it seems she believes her government can do no wrong.

Yeah, Mrs. Patton and Mr. Seaver recused themselves from the votes for those loans for their kids. But it certainly doesn't look right when city officials procure these city funded, first time homebuyer loans for their children, when 99% of the people don't even know they exist. That reeks of the type of insider politics that many of us are tired of!

Jill, this type of scrutiny comes with that seat you hold. We all have had personal, emotional ups and downs with what goes into the paper. I hope that the HDR will continue to allow Mr. Tinkelenberg to move forward and keep doing his job like any good independent journalist is supposed to do! Because he is doing it well.

Economic Stories of Relevance in Today's World -- July 21, 2013

Share This Chart With Anyone That Believes The U.S. Economy Is Not Going To Crash - Michael Snyder, on July 21st, 2013 - Anyone that thinks that the U.S. economy can keep going along like this is absolutely crazy.  We are in the terminal phase of an unprecedented debt spiral which has allowed us to live far, far beyond our means for the last several decades.  Unfortunately, all debt spirals eventually end, and they usually do so in a very disorderly manner.  The chart that you are about to see is one of my favorite economic charts.  It compares the growth of U.S. GDP to the growth of total debt in the United States.  Yes, U.S. GDP has certainly grown at a decent pace over the years, but our total debt has absolutely exploded.  40 years ago, the total amount of debt in our system (government debt + corporate debt + consumer debt, etc.) was about 2 trillion dollars.  Today it has grown to more than 56 trillion dollars.                                  Our debt has grown at a much, much faster rate than our economy has, and there is no way in the world that we will be able to continue to do that for long. Posted below is the chart that I was talking about.  The blue line is our total debt, and the red line is our GDP.  As you can see, this chart kind of speaks for itself..

Now That Detroit’s Gone Bust, Is Your City Next? - Zero Hedge - Tyler Durden - July 20, 2013 

Housing recovery leaves young adults behind - USA Today  - July 17, 2013 - Between 2006 and 2011, those 25-34 experienced the largest decline in home ownership rates in the country, according to a USA TODAY analysis of Census Bureau data. High unemployment and debt loads are just some of the factors, but have led to a decreased ability to save for a down payment or qualify for a mortgage.

Bernanke Confirms: “If We Were To Tighten Policy, The Economy Would Tank” - SHTFPlan - Mac Slavo - July 18th, 2013 - Financial analysts have opined that the United States is well on the road to recovery. They cite various data points to make the case that the multi-trillion dollar bailouts and stimulus have brought us back from the brink of a collapse so serious that Congressional leaders had been told that should the bailouts fail, there was a real possibility of martial law being declared.
We’re doing so well, in fact, that just a couple of years ago President Obama assured the nation of our progress, claiming that we “reversed the recession, avoided a depression, [and] got the economy moving again.”                          But were one to take a step back from the rhetoric of talking heads, political leaders and so-called Wall Street experts, a completely different picture begins to emerge.
Just this week it was announced that not only are housing starts plummeting, but permit applications reported their “largest miss in history,” an indicator that the economy is not as healthy as it has been made out to be. And, while stock markets are hitting all-time record highs, what’s curious is that some of the world’s largest companies, including Intel, IBM, Google, Ebay and FedEx, are reporting significant consumer pull back and earnings below analyst expectations.                         And if that hasn’t convinced you, then here is the reality of the situation directly from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, the architect of the most massive economic recovery “plan” ever devised in the history of the world.


If We Don’t Break Up the Big Banks, They Will Manipulate More and More of the Economy … Making Us Poorer and Poorer - WashingtonsBlog - July 21, 2013 -


A Truckers anecdotal evidence on the economy

Newsletter about the City Council meeting of July 16, 2013

I began recording the City Council late last year, because of my desire that the City do it on their own as any modern 21st century community began doing long ago. I had people tell me that they couldn't make it to the meetings, but they would like to see what is going on. I was also told by some council members that my summaries did not truly reflect the record, so having a video/audio recording cannot be misinterpreted.

So below is the City Council meeting. Beside each agenda item, you will see the minute:second. You can drag the marker on the video display to the point in the broadcast that you are interested in seeing.




Agenda about the City Council meeting of July 16, 2013

Special Presentations
A. Presentation of Business Well Crafted Award to Johnson Piano Exchange - (1:20)
B. Presentation of Retiring Members of Volunteer Boards and Commissions - (7:00)
C. Presentation of the 17th Consecutive Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting to the City of Hickory by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada for its Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) - (13:35)
D. Presentation from Business Development Committee Member - Ryan Lovern (16:20) speaks about Real Estate process and planning changes in the City of Hickory.

Persons Requesting to be Heard (23:00)
Addendum Citizens Requesting to be Heard

Consent Agenda (47:30)

New Business - Public Hearings
1. Rezoning Petition 13-09 for the Property Located at 3254 NC Hwy 127 South, Hickory. - (48:00) - Presentation by Shimari Myer (spelling?)


New Business - Departmental Reports:
1. Vacant Building Revitalization and Demolition Grant Agreement for Agile Specialty Inc., dba Dennison Precision Machine Co. - (51:50) - Dave Leonetti presentation

2. Catawba County Gang Initiative Hickory Police Department will update Council on the Catawba County Gang Initiative. (56:30) - Presentations

3. Legal Counsel Advisory Opinion on Conflict of Interest Policy. 
(1:06:30) - City Staff Attorney Arnita Dula Presentation
Conflict of Interest Documents from the HDR article of July 7, 2013
I will let this presentation stand by itself without any more said than above. What Arnita Dula presents here is Hickory Inc.'s opinion and they are not the final arbiters of what is and what isn't conflicts of interest. The final arbiters will be the public.

Newsletter about the City Council meeting of June 4, 2013 - Addendum Citizens Requesting to be Heard

7 people addressed the Council on this evening

Cliff Moone - At the last City Council meeting, and at meetings prior to that, I have advocated first, to have these meetings videotaped, and second, to have them subsequently broadcast on the Charter government channel. I have repeatedly commended the council for finding a fiscally prudent way to initiate videotaping and for posting the videos on the city website.

I stand before you tonight to urge you again to broadcast these meetings to the public on cable tv. I do not have time in about 3 minutes to reiterate all the reasons you should do this.

And while no one expects a rebroadcast of the Hickory City Council to generate higher ratings than even a re-run of NCIS, it truly baffles me WHY any elected official wouldn’t want to use every possible means and opportunity to educate the public and raise public awareness about the discussions and actions taken by the body to which he/she was elected. If you are proud of your service and believe, as I know you do, that your actions are truly for the betterment of this city, HOW could you possibly NOT want more citizens to see and hear about it?

And after some of the responses to the recent HDR article raising questions regarding conflict of interest, whether true or not, I would think that having a video record going out to the public might prove advantageous as an added source of accurate information. I know that if I were sitting where you are tonight, I would welcome the video verification of what I had actually said leading up to my vote, and I would want it publicized as much as possible.

In talking with Mr. Berry about this, he appropriately raised a concern about the “quality” of any tv broadcast. Having viewed all of the videotaped meetings, and having seen for myself the high definition quality of those recordings, I just have to say you ALL look REALLY good on camera! Of course, it’s not how you look that matters to us citizens. It’s what you say and how you vote that affects our lives out here. So there is no need to improve the quality. Just let the people have the greatest possible opportunity to see it!

By the way, the newspaper reported that staff AND council decided it could not produce a high enough quality...broadcast to portray the city in a positive light.” I do not want to even begin to unpack that statement. But, for the life of me, I do not recall an actual vote by council on that particular point. Perhaps I am mistaken, but I haven’t found that vote in the minutes, and unfortunately since you have deleted the previous YouTube videos ( a potential violation of the NC Freedom of Information Act and the state’s Public Disclosure Law), I am unable to view the record for myself.

Finally, Mr. Berry stated in the newspaper, “It’s not a matter of whether we could [broadcast the meetings]; It’s a matter of whether we should.” Mr Berry, members of the council, as to whether you should, my answer is absolutely YES!


Joe Brannock - Conflict-of-Interest - I understand there is a Departmental Report tonight on the legal opinion regarding the recent conflict-of-interest matter.

Aside from that discussion, I would like the Council to consider the public perception standards/aspects also associated with conflicts-of-interest, that are there to insure the highest levels of transparency that the public deserves.

I don't believe anyone thinks that conflicts-of-interests necessarily mean illegal activity. Nor, do I believe that conflicts-of-interests are necessarily limited the financial matters.

Was it a conflict-of-interest when Mrs. Patton voted to approve her daughter's application for a first-time home buyers' grant?

Was it a conflict-of-interest when Mr. Seaver voted to approve various Consent Agenda items involving his son?

Wasn't it a conflict-of-interest when Mr. Meisner voted to reject Rental Property Task Force recommendations while his rental property was in violation of the City's nuisance codes?  Furthermore, was it a conflict-of-interest that his appointment to that Task Force was a partner in that rental property?

I would like to commend Mr. Lail for recusing himself during the discussion ans subsequent votes Re: the BID tax. He stated he owned commercial property in the BID district and thought it would be inappropriate to participate.

Also, I would like to commend Mayor Wright for recusing himself back in January regarding an issue with the City's Land Development Code and what he saw as a potential conflict involving his sign company.

But, wasn't it a conflict-of-interest when the Mayor's sign company provided the signage for the City-funded FBO Building without making those interests known publicly?

And wasn't it a conflict-of-interest when Mayor Wright failed to publicly acknowledge his own rental property interests prior to voting to reject the Rental Property Taskforce recommendations?

What I do know is this - my confidence in this Council's ability to enforce it's own conflict-of-interest ordinance is sadly directly proportional to its willingness to actually identify those conflicts.

***  Further evidence, including that here on the Hickory Hound, has shown that Jill Patton and Danny Seaver did recuse themselves on the loans obtained for their children and Danny Seaver was not present during a refi of a loan for his son. What begs to be asked is Should  City Council members children be applying for such loans when Hickory Inc. is not actively promoting that such loans are available? And while it does not rise to the highest level of Conflict of Interest, it does create a perception of a Conflict. In the end, the public will have to decide now whether this meets the smell test. ***


Calaila Jett (sorry for misspelling?) - Addressed the City Council about the AAU basketball team she manages that has been unable to find a place to practice in the City of Hickory with Parks and Recreation due to City Policies. They have been attempting to expand programming through volunteering. (The City is telling them that they need a $1 million insurance policy and to pay $65 per session in order to utilize City facilities.)

April Hill addressed the same concerns. They can utilze Brown-Penn, but not as a Basketball team. They are representing Hickory.


Larry Pope spoke about the rental spaces on Union Square used for dining. It is hard for him to navigate the area. He visits Fred's pharmacy. A mobility specialist, Larry had to come look at Union Square, is 'set back' because of the barriers and obstacles. There is no direct pathways. Larry asked whether the $25 fee (per month for the rental spaces) is being collected and what is it being used for and what fund is it going under. He would like to see something in writing.


Dr. Joseph "Jody" Inglefield - Hickory City Council has ignored the health and wellness of our citizens on many levels. It is time to replace city leaders when they choose to ignore the findings of validated scientific studies like the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index that ranks us the 5th most miserable area in the USA. It is a charade to ride on the backs of non-profits to the title of All-American city.

Uninspired citizens wander our streets due to the lack of jobs. We have the 2nd highest unemployment rate at 10% in the state. We need solutions, not an attitude that nothing can be done. The city must respond to these national surveys in a meaningful way. The failure to maintain parks and recreational facilities throughout Hickory during the 12 year tenure of the Mayor is especially destructive to the health and well-being of the citizens of Hickory. We need jobs, not excuses.

We need to bulldoze through the lack of transparency in City Council decisions. The City Council and staff have not followed the spirit and letter of the public records law, NC General Statute 132. Public information should be open and accessible on the city website permanently, with all public city meetings on cable TV.

City leaders and staff must truthfully file conflict of interest forms in a legible manner on a yearly basis according to law. Under my leadership I will ensure that this is done. City staff must insist Council do so legally and in good faith.

We need to fill positions on independent boards and commissions without delay, free of nepotism and cronyism. These positions are supposed to provide independent guidance and should also be subject to term limits and public conflict of interest requirements as well.

No new taxes should be levied until citizens can readily access and carefully review projects and budgets, including the $80 million dollar "Inspiring Spaces" plan. We need evidence-based plans with full, meaningful public participation, not pet projects. Stop the raiding of separate funds that belong to the citizens of Hickory.

I want to encourage public input and dialogue with the citizens of Hickory, all of the citizens, as many voices are not being heard. The local economy has suffered greatly under this Mayor and Council, yet he takes no responsibility for this decline. Our stale leaders have been in office for too long. We need term limits. We need inspiring leaders to inspire citizens. It is time for fresh new ideas. As a local Doctor and Community leader for the past 25 years, I am announcing my candidacy for the position of Mayor of Hickory. I am now ready to lead Hickory in a new direction. I ask citizens of Hickory to register to vote and to vote for me, Dr. Inglefield for Mayor.


J. Franklin Davis he talked about a program at L-R U entitled "the House that I live in". No community leaders attended. He also addressed the Council about asking to serve on the Community Relations Council and being denied the opportunity. "I have attended City College and even been given a key to the City and it doesn't seem that it opens any doors."

Agenda about the City Council meeting of July 16, 2013

This Agenda is about the Hickory City Council meeting that will take place on the date listed above. City council meetings are held on the first and third Tuesdays of each Month in the Council Chambers of the Julian Whitener building.

At right of this page under Main Information links is an Hickory's City Website link. If you click on that link, it takes you to our city’s website, at the left of the page you will see the Agenda's and Minutes link you need to click. This will give you a choice of PDF files to upcoming and previous meetings.

You will find historic Agenda and Minutes links. Agendas show what is on the docket for the meeting of that date. The Minutes is an actual summary of the proceedings of the meeting of that date. You can also look in the upper right hand corner of the front page of the Hickory Hound and (will soon) find the link to the past history of Hickory City Newsletters.

Here is a summary of the agenda of the meeting. There were a couple of important items that were discussed at this meeting and the details are listed further below:

Please remember that pressing Ctrl and + will magnify the text and page and pressing Ctrl and - will make the text and page smaller. This will help the readability for those with smaller screens and/or eye difficulties.

City Website has changed - Here is a link to the City of Hickory Document Center

All materials and maps for this meeting are provide at this link:

 City Council Meeting Agenda - July 16, 2013 (16MB)

Invocation by Rev. David E. Roberts II, Pastor, Morning Star First Baptist Church

Special Presentations
A. Presentation of Business Well Crafted Award to Johnson Piano Exchange
B. Presentation of Retiring Members of Volunteer Boards and Commissions
C. Presentation of the 17th Consecutive Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting to the City of Hickory by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada for its Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR)
D. Presentation from Business Development Committee Member, Ryan Lovern, Update of the Meeting held with Hickory Area Commercial Realtors

Consent Agenda:
A. Request Approval to Apply for Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) in the amount of $23,860. - City of Hickory Police department has received notification of pre-approval to receive $23,860 under the 2013 Justice Assistance Grant Program (JAG). The JAG program is a formula-based grant through the Office of Justice Programs/Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) that utilizes Uniform Crime Reporting statistics of all law enforcement agencies to determine eligibility for direct federal grant awards. There is no match required. Hickory Police Department recommends using grant funds from the Justice Assistance Grant to purchase in-car cameras.

B. Request Approval to Accept a Grant in the amount of $60,000 from Governor’s Highway Safety Program Grant for the Purchase of Twenty (20) in-car Digital Cameras. -  A standard marked Hickory Police Vehicle is equipped with a specialized Mobile Video In-Car Camera for all new police vehicles. Life expectancy will be five to ten years on the in-car cameras. These cameras can be reinstalled in new vehicles as required. The digital video recording system is to be installed in police vehicles at an estimated cost of $6,000 per in-car camera. The grant will consist of twenty (20) digital video in car cameras at a cost of $120,000 the portion Governor’s Highway Safety Grant would match is $60,000 and the City’s portion would be $60,000. Along with installing in-car cameras in new police vehicles, these cameras will replace any camera no longer working or supported by a vendor. The City’s match is budgeted in the annual budget for FY13-14.

C. Request Approval of the 2013 Urgent Repair Program Grant, Assistance Policy and Procurement Policy for Submission to the NC Housing Finance Agency. -  In January 2013, the City of Hickory Community Development Department applied for funding through the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency’s Urgent Repair Program. The City of Hickory has been award $37,500 through this program in order to assist approximately eight (8) eligible homes with urgently needed repairs in an amount not to exceed $5,400 per housing unit. The City of Hickory will provide $3,750 in matching funds, available from Rental Rehabilitation program income. NC Housing Finance Agency requires the City of Hickory to prepare an Assistance Policy and Procurement Policies to be readily available to the public explaining the guidelines of the URP13.

D. Special Event/Activities Application for Patriots Day, Steve Moore and Fred Hollar, Hickory Fire Department, for September 11, 2013 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Union Square.

E. Transfer of Cemetery Deed from Howard R. Craig and wife, Beverly F. Craig to Andrea Whitener Teeter and husband James Lee Teeter in Oakwood Cemetery

F. Transfer of Cemetery Deed from Joyce Ann Simpson, Executrix under the Will of William Grant Simpson, and Joyce Ann Simpson, individually to Linda L. Simpson in Fairview Cemetery

G. Call for Public Hearing - For the Consideration of Rezoning Petition 13-10 for the Property Located on 28th Street SE, Hickory, containing 3.32 acres. (Authorize Public Hearing for August 6, 2013)

H. Request Approval of an Updated Billing & Collection Agreement with Catawba County Relating to New Tag & Tax Together Program for Vehicle Property Taxes. - House Bill 1779 was passed by the General Assembly which created the Tag & Tax Together Program. The new program was designed to provide a convenient payment method for vehicle owners to be billed and pay both the tag registration fee and vehicle tax at the same time. Under the new agreement, City of Hickory agrees to pay Catawba County for any new fees associated with this change a percentage share of Hickory’s total tax amount. Deducted fees will be based on overall costs of billing and debit/credit card fees and any refunds, exemptions, and appeals. An annual statement will be generated by the County after December 1st of each tax year and due within 30 days of receipt. Any motor vehicle taxes with renewal dates prior to September 1, 2013 will require the City to pay Catawba County 1 ½ % of the total motor vehicle taxes and gross receipts taxes collected. Renewal dates on or after September 1, 2013 will allocate the motor vehicle tax payments directly to Catawba County. The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) will deduct the per statement billing cost and debit/credit card transaction fees from the County’s payment. The anticipated per statement billing cost is $1.69 per notice.

I. Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Funding Agreement with Safe Harbor Rescue Mission, Inc., for FY2013-2014 in the Amount of $8,000. - City Council approved the 2013 Community Development Block Grant Budget and Action Plan on April 16, 2013. As a result thereof, agreements need to be executed. Per Federal requirements, on February 7, and February 13, 2013 the City of Hickory Department of Planning and Development held two neighborhood meetings. The meetings were held at the Ridgeview Library and City Hall. At these meetings non-profit organizations were granted the opportunity to request funding for the upcoming year.
After the meetings were held, the Citizen’s Advisory Committee reviewed and recommended funding for these agencies. Safe Harbor Rescue Mission, Inc. is a neighborhood based non-profit organization engaged in providing shelter, counseling, and rehabilitation services to chronically dependent and homeless women.

J. Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Funding Agreement with Habitat for Humanity of the Catawba Valley, Inc., for FY2013-2014 in the Amount of $60,000 for a Deferred Loan.  -  City Council approved the 2013 Community Development Block Grant Budget and Action Plan on April 16, 2013. As a result thereof, agreements need to be executed. Per Federal requirements, on February 7, and February 13, 2013 the City of Hickory Department of Planning and Development held two neighborhood meetings. The meetings were held at the Ridgeview Library and City Hall. At these meetings non-profit organizations were granted the opportunity to request funding for the upcoming year. After the meetings were held, the Citizen’s Advisory Committee reviewed and recommended funding for these agencies. Habitat for Humanity of the Catawba Valley Inc. is a non-profit organization engaged in providing affordable home ownership opportunities to low and moderate income families.

K. Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Funding Agreement with Inter-Faith Housing Development Corporation for FY2013-2014 in the Amount of $10,000. - City Council approved the 2013 Community Development Block Grant Budget and Action Plan on April 16, 2013. As a result thereof, agreements need to be executed. Per Federal requirements, on February 7, and February 13, 2013 the City of Hickory Department of Planning and Development held two neighborhood  meetings. The meetings were held at the Ridgeview Library and City Hall. At these meetings non-profit organizations were granted the opportunity to request funding for the upcoming year. After the meetings were held, the Citizen’s Advisory Committee reviewed and recommended funding for these agencies. Inter-Faith Housing Development Corporation is a non-profit organization engaged in providing affordable homeownership opportunities to low and moderate income families. They are also the owners of the former Ridgeview Public Library, which they are planning to rehabilitate for use as a community center.

L. Budget Ordinance Amendment Number 1.
1. To transfer $400 from the Police Departments Uniform line item to the 2012 Bulletproof Vest Partnership multi-year grant project. The 2012 Federal grant awarded to the Hickory Police Department from the United States Department of Justice pays up to 50% of the cost of National Institute of Justice approved vests. Grant funds are budgeted for the vest purchases; however the grant does not cover shipping and handling costs of the vest purchases. Therefore a transfer of
$400 to the grant projects uniform line item is necessary.

M. Grant Project Ordinance Amendment Number 1.
1. To accept a $400 transfer from the Police Departments Uniform line item to the 2012 Bulletproof Vest Partnership multi-year grant project. Grant funds are budgeted for the vest purchases; however the grant does not cover shipping and handling costs of the vest purchases. Therefore a transfer of $400 to the grant projects uniform line item is necessary.
2. To budget $28,568 of Restricted Government Revenue in the 2013 Entitlement Block Grant Budget and to increase expenditure line items by $28,568. The proposed FY13-14 Community Development Block Grant budget was $432,974 however, the revised revenue is $461,542 thereby increasing the budget by an additional $28,568. A budget amendment is necessary to recognize the
additional revenue and to increase the expenditures so that the budget remains in balance.

New Business - Public Hearings
1. Rezoning Petition 13-09 for the Property Located at 3254 NC Hwy 127 South, Hickory. - The City of Hickory requests the rezoning of property located at 3254 NC Hwy 127 South. The area of rezoning was recently annexed into the city limits and currently developed as a Dollar General Retail Store. The request is to rezone the property from Catawba County Highway Commercial (HC) to Commercial Corridor (CC-2). The Hickory by Choice 2030 Comprehensive Plan classifies the vicinity as Commercial Corridor. The particular rezoning request is to update the zoning designation on the recently annexed property to be consistent with Hickory by Choice 2030. The Business Development Committee reviewed the application and voted to recommend approval at their June 21st meeting. This public hearing was advertised on July 5 and July 12, 2013 in a newspaper
having general circulation in the Hickory area.

New Business - Departmental Reports:
1. Vacant Building Revitalization and Demolition Grant Agreement for Agile Specialty Inc., dba Dennison Precision Machine Co. - (Mr. Ivester is requesting two readings due to the lack of two meetings in July.) - Agile Specialty Inc., dba Dennison Precision Machine Co. has applied for a Vacant Building Revitalization Grant in the amount of $12,142 to assist in the demolition of the former machine shop located at 417 11th Street NW. They plan to spend up to $34,690 to demolish the industrial building on the site. The grant program can reimburse up to $20,000 or 35 percent of eligible project cost, whichever is less, for demolition projects. This project would be eligible for a
grant in the amount of $12,142. After demolition, the applicant will market the property for future development or use as a parking lot by an adjacent property owner.

2. Catawba County Gang Initiative Hickory Police Department will update Council on the Catawba County Gang Initiative.

3. Legal Counsel Advisory Opinion on Conflict of Interest Policy. 
Conflict of Interest Documents from the HDR article of July 7, 2013

Newsletter about the City Council meeting of June 18, 2013

This newsletter is about the Hickory City Council meeting that I attended this past week. City council meetings are held on the first and third Tuesdays of each Month in the Council Chambers of the Julian Whitener building.

At right of this page under Main Information links is an Hickory's City Website link. If you click on that link, it takes you to our city’s website, at the left of the page you will see the Agenda's and Minutes link you need to click. This will give you a choice of PDF files to upcoming and previous meetings.

You will find historic Agenda and Minutes links. Agendas show what is on the docket for the meeting of that date. The Minutes is an actual summary of the proceedings of the meeting of that date.

Here is a summary of the agenda of the meeting. There were a couple of important items that were discussed at this meeting and the details are listed further below:

Please remember that pressing Ctrl and + will magnify the text and page and pressing Ctrl and - will make the text and page smaller. This will help the readability for those with smaller screens and/or eye difficulties.

City Website has changed - Here is a link to the City of Hickory Document Center

All materials and maps for this meeting are provide at this link:

City Council Action Agenda - June 18 2013


Invocation by Rev. Whit Malone, First Presbyterian Church



Special Presentations
A. (2:00) Presentation of Business Well Crafted Award to Mr. Dock Lynn and Ms. Sherry Mull of Canipe & Lynn Electric - Mr. Mark Huckabee of the Business Development Committee presented Mr. Dock Lynn and Ms. Sherry Mull of Canipe & Lynn Electric with the Business Well Crafted Award.

Persons Requesting to Be Heard
(5:30) Mr. Cliff Moone, 2925 8th St Ct NE, Hickory spoke to Council regarding video taping and televising City Council meetings.

Consent Agenda: (8:30)
A. Transfer of Cemetery Deed from Dale K. Cline, Executor of the Estate of Oren L. Cline, Joyce Patterson and husband Larry B. Patterson, Dale K. Cline and wife, Brenda K. Cline and Jeffrey M. Cline and wife, Joyce Baugess Cline to Jeffrey M. Cline and wife, Joyce Baugess Cline in Oakwood Cemetery

B. Transfer of Cemetery Deed from Naomi Florence Mitchell Ball to Charles M. Lail and wife, Linda H. Lail in Oakwood Cemetery

C. Transfer of Cemetery Deed from City of Hickory to Rosetta Tucker in Southside Cemetery

D. Special Event/Activities Application for Catawba Valley Pride Celebration, Edwin G. Farthing, Board Member of Catawba Valley Pride Inc., September 28, 2013 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. in the City Parking Lot at the corner of North Center Street and 1st Avenue NW.

E. Special Event/Activities Application for Symphony Under the Sails “A Patriotic Celebration”, Reggie Helton, Western Piedmont Symphony, for June 30, 2013 from 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the Sails on the Square in Downtown Hickory.

F. Approve Catawba County Fire Protection Service Agreement with Catawba County. - The City of Hickory Fire Department requests the approval of the Fire Protection Service District Agreement with Catawba County. The agreement is to provide fire service protection to the rural fire districts absorbed by the City of Hickory Fire Department. The City and the County are currently in an agreement whereas the City of Hickory Fire Department will dispatch firefighting and/or protection services upon any call indicating a need for firefighting or fire protection services within the Fire Protection District. The County agrees to annually levy and collect upon all taxable property lying within the boundaries of the Fire Protection District and ensure these taxes are used for the purpose of fire protection in the Fire Protection District where it originated. This contract automatically renews for successive one year terms until terminated. To meet compliance with NCGS 153A-301(a)(2), the term “Fire Protection District” will be changed to “Fire Protection Service District.”

G. Citizens’ Advisory Committee Recommendations for Assistance Through the City of Hickory’s Housing Programs. - The following request was considered by the Citizens’ Advisory Committee at their regular meeting on June 6, 2013:
Kae & Sang See were approved for recommendation to City Council for first-time homebuyer’s assistance to purchase a house located at 832 5th Avenue SW, Hickory. They have requested $7,500 for assistance with down payment and  closing costs. The First-Time Homebuyers Assistance Loan is zero interest, no payments and repaid upon sale, refinance or payoff of first mortgage. Funds are budgeted for these items through the City of Hickory’s former Rental Rehabilitation Program income received in FY 2012 and/or program income received through the City of Hickory’s Community Development Block Grant Program.

H. Approval of a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Funding Agreement with City of Refuge for FY2013-2014 in the Amount of $3,265. -  On February 7th and 13th, 2013 the City of Hickory Department of Planning & Development under the auspices of the Community Development Block Grant Program held two neighborhood meetings. The meetings were held at Ridgeview Library and at City Hall. At these meetings, non-profit organizations were granted the opportunity to request funding for the upcoming year. The Citizen’s Advisory Committee reviewed and recommended funding for these agencies. City of Refuge provides after school enrichment programs for school-aged children in grades one through five. The afterschool sessions provide a structured learning and development environment with instruction and activity based on the North Carolina course of study and year-end testing activities. City of Refuge requested and has been approved for funding in the amount of $3,265 through the City of Hickory’s Community Development Block Grant program.

I. Approval of a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Funding Agreement with Hickory Soup Kitchen for FY2013-2014 in the Amount of $8,000.  -  On February 7th and 13th, 2013 the City of Hickory Department of Planning & Development under the auspices of the Community Development Block Grant Program held two neighborhood meetings. The meetings were held at Ridgeview Library and at City Hall. At these meetings, non-profit organizations were granted the opportunity to request funding for the upcoming year. The Citizen’s Advisory Committee reviewed and recommended funding for these agencies. The Hickory Soup Kitchen provides meals to the City’s homeless and/or low income population. The Hickory Soup Kitchen has requested and been approved for funding in the amount of $8,000 through the City of Hickory’s Community Development Block Grant program.

J. Approval of a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Funding Agreement with Exodus Outreach Foundation, Inc. for FY2013-2014 in the Amount of $8,000. -  On February 7th and 13th, 2013 the City of Hickory Department of Planning & Development under the auspices of the Community Development Block Grant Program held two neighborhood meetings. The meetings were held at Ridgeview Library and at City Hall. At these meetings, non-profit organizations were granted the opportunity to request funding for the upcoming year. The Citizen’s Advisory Committee reviewed and recommended funding for these agencies. Exodus Homes is a neighborhood based nonprofit organization engaged in providing shelter, counseling, and rehabilitation services to chronically dependent and homeless men and women, and part of their process ismoving clients toward self-sufficiency. Exodus Outreach Foundation, Inc. has requested and been approved for funding in the amount of $8,000 through the City of Hickory’s Community Development Block Grant program.

K. Approval of a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Funding Agreement with Aids Leadership Foothills Area Alliance, Inc. for FY2013-2014 in the Amount of $8,000. -  On February 7th and 13th, 2013 the City of Hickory Department of Planning & Development under the auspices of the Community Development Block Grant Program held two neighborhood meetings. The meetings were held at Ridgeview Library and at City Hall. At these meetings, non-profit organizations were granted the opportunity to request funding for the upcoming year. The Citizen’s Advisory Committee reviewed and recommended funding for these agencies. Aids Leadership Foothills Area Alliance, Inc., provides quality services to people living with HIV/AIDS and offers HIV prevention education programs to the community at large. Aids Leadership Foothills Alliance, Inc. has requested and been approved for funding in the amount of $8,000 through the City of Hickory’s Community Development Block Grant program.

L. Approval of a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Funding Agreement with Greater Hickory Cooperative Christian Ministry, Inc. for FY2013-2014 in the Amount of $8,000. - On February 7th and 13th, 2013 the City of Hickory Department of Planning & Development under the auspices of the Community Development Block Grant Program held two neighborhood meetings. The meetings were held at Ridgeview Library and at City Hall. At these meetings, non-profit organizations were granted the opportunity to request funding for the upcoming year. The Citizen’s Advisory Committee reviewed and recommended funding for these agencies. Great Hickory Cooperative Christian Ministry, Inc. provides a Free Clinic, including dental, medical and pharmacy services. Greater Hickory Cooperative Christian Ministry, Inc. has requested and been approved for funding in the amount of $8,000 through the City of Hickory’s Community Development Block Grant program.

M. Approval of a Proclamation for National HIV Testing Day.

N. Approval to Change the Date of the Public Hearing for the Consideration of Rezoning Petition 13-09 for the Property Located at 3254 NC Hwy 127 South, Hickory. Council called for the Public Hearing of a rezoning petition 13-09, for property located at 3254 NC Hwy 127 South, Hickory, at the June 4, 2013 Council Meeting. The Public Hearing date was scheduled for June 18, 2013, however, an error was made in the Notice of Public Hearing, published in the Hickory Daily Record and will therefore need to be published again. Staff request new Public Hearing d ate of July 16, 2013.

O. Renewal of Taxicab and Other Passenger Vehicles for Hire Franchises.
Company - Taxicabs Passenger / Vehicle for Hire
Mile High Enterprises dba  Hickory Hop - 0/5
Yellow Cab - 10/4
Diamond Cab of Hickory - 3/0
Select Car Service - 0/1
Hickory Limousine - 0/3
Lake Hickory Limousine-  0/1
Total - 13/ 14
Annually, these companies apply for a renewal of their Certificate of Convenience and Necessity for the operation of taxicabs and other vehicles for hire.


New Business - Departmental Reports:
1. (9:00) Approval of an Amendment to the Joint Economic Development Agreement with Turbotec Products, Inc.  - In April 2010, the City of Hickory entered in to an economic development agreement with Turbotec Products, Inc. Under the agreement, Turbotec, a manufacturer of coaxial heat exchangers and heat transfer tubing, was to relocate their company to an existing vacant building at 2042 Fairgrove Church Road SE, Hickory. Turbotec Products, Inc. requested to receive economic development incentives in the amount of 75% of the real and business personal property taxes for three (3) years with a maximum total grant of $33,750. In Year one (1) the incentive would be a maximum of $7,500. In Year two (2) the maximum would be $13,125. In Year three (3) the maximum will be $13,125. In return for the incentives, the company agreed to invest a total of $3.5 Million including $1 M in building up-fit and renovations and $2.5 in machinery and equipment by December 31, 2011. In addition, Turbotec was to create 73 new jobs, in addition to the 15 jobs they already had in Hickory, by December 31, 2012. Due to unforeseen circumstances, Turbotec failed to meet these annual milestones. However, they did meet and even exceeded the investment and job creation aggregate goals by February 2013 ($5,000,000 in investments and 74 new jobs). Turbotec has requested the City to waive its failure to meet the annual goals established and to amend the Agreement so they may receive the incentives. Paragraph 13 of the Agreement permits the parties to amend the Agreement in writing. The proposed amendment meets with this provision. The proposed amendment modifies the improvement period during by which Turbotech was to make the $3.5 million investment from March 15, 2010 to December 31, 2012. The amendment now extends the date that Turbotec must maintain the $5 million investment to December 31, 2019. The proposed new date forTurbotec to meet job creation goal is February 28, 2013. The amendment also stipulates Turbotec must maintain the 74 jobs through December 31, 2019. If the City does not grant the requested waiver and amend the Agreement to permit Turbotec to receive the incentives, the incentives they are to receive from the State will also be endangered as there were matching requirements.

2. (16:40) Vacant Building Revitalization and Demolition Grant for 74 8th Street SE. - City Council established the Vacant Building Revitalization and Demolition Grant program on September 16, 2008. The program provides grant funding up to $30,000 for projects to renovate and rehabilitate vacant buildings within the Urban Revitalization Area and targeted industrial buildings in other areas of the city. Moretz Mills LLC has applied for a Vacant Building Revitalization Grant in the amount of $30,000 to assist in the renovation of the former Moretz Hosiery Mill located at 74 8th Street SE. The applicant plans to renovate the facility for use as office and retail space. The applicant plans to invest approximately $5.9 million in real property improvements to rehabilitate the mill building.

The Hound: This meeting was very routine. With the addition of video, I am changing the format of the presentation of these meetings. I will present the Agenda when it comes out and may provide commentary on issues of relevance. I am going to produce the meetings as a Newsletter as soon as possible. This is streamline the Newsletter and reduce clutter and redundancy. By producing the agenda first I see a couple of advantages. You get the info earlier and there will be a permanent record of it on the web in a more user friendly format. We have also seen information arbitrarily pulled from the city's website before. If you have any questions about this shoot me an e-mail.