So below is the City Council meeting. With each agenda item, you can click on the links and it will take you to that specific point in the meeting. You can always 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 April 1, 2014
- Go to this link if you would like more information about the Agenda items.
Highlighted Links below take you straight to that point in the video.
Invocation by Rev. Charles Kyker, Pastor, Christ Church
Special Presentations
A. Proclamation for Fair Housing Month to Regina Jenkins, Realty Executives, on behalf of the Catawba Valley Association of Realtors - (Per Hickory Inc.) - Mayor Pro Tempore Patton read and presented the Proclamation for Fair Housing Month to Regina Jenkins, Realty Executives, on behalf of Catawba Valley Association of Realtors. Ms. Regina Jenkins thanked Council and stated that the National Association of Realtors has long accepted April as being Fair Housing Month. She was appreciative for the recognition for the Catawba Valley Association of Realtors.
*** Mayor Pro Tempore Patton also read a Proclamation for World Autism Awareness Day.
Persons Requesting to Be Heard
A. Mr. J. Franklin Davis addressed Council regarding pure ward representation - (per Hickory Inc.) - The citizens of Hickory that voted for pure ward representation have spoken again. Even though Council is in office, they have a seat, they are supposed to be representatives; the citizens have told him that they want to take the City back for themselves. He discussed the City being the 5th most miserable City in the United States, which came out in the Gallup polls yesterday, Gallup-Health ways. He stated that the City has been the 5th most miserable City for the past several years. He continued his discussion regarding an article that he saw in the newspaper regarding a Hickory City Police Officer who had been terminated because he had assaulted a person while in his custody. He stated that he requested, approximately a year ago, a civilian policemen’s review board with subpoena capabilities. He thinks now it would be wise to think over this. He discussed his uncle’s death when he visited the City. He was in the Police Department, and his family found him dead in front of the convention center. The citizens are willing to go above and beyond that. Any police officer that they see speeding, they can take pictures using smart phones of car numbers. The policemen want to have paper on the citizens, and people visiting the City, they want to have paper on them too. There are ways that they can go around you, or above you, to file those papers and have them looked at by the federal and state government. It is time that we wake up and smell the coffee. He discussed the statements that Council had made regarding the funds that would be put towards greenways, 40 million dollars. He stated that they are constantly taking away from certain communities, in particularly the southeast section of Hickory, and southwest. They feel that they are not being represented by anyone on this board. The money that is being taken from them, it really should stay with them. He quoted from the Bible, Jesus was standing beside a man watching a parade one day. As the elders of the city were walking in a parade, Jesus ask them how do you see men walking? The man said I see them as trees. Jesus spoke the truth with them with force. When you are speaking with force, your mouth produces drops of water, spittle. He put over his eyes, and said how do you see men walking? He said I see them as they are. This City has gone down, and it continues to go down. That 40 million dollars can be a recruitment of jobs for the citizens of Hickory. Not grass seed, not park benches, or things of that nature. Hickory also has a problem of obesity. He has visited some parks that have workout equipment in the parks, free of charge for the citizens to use. If you are going to do something like that, put that in the parks. He stated if someone would come after him, because he has been stopped and antagonized by police officers. He is upset that every Police Officer that joins the force, when they talk about the southeast section of Hickory or the Ridgeview community, they are being told that it is one of the worst sections in Hickory. He would like to see that documentation because the Police Department is employed by Council. Anything that they do is a reflection on Council. They are the boss. When the person that was beat up in November, was talked to by members of the City, they were told not to press charges or anything like that. That is sad, and with Council being employers of that group they are held liable also. The citizens of Hickory love this City just as much, if not more than they do. Let’s get this together and start worrying about all of this other stuff. We do not want Hickory to be a bed and breakfast town. Hickory has a history of being a great manufacturing place. He has always been on the people. He thanked Council for hearing him.
Consent Agenda:
New Business - Public Hearings
1. Consideration of Text Amendment (TA) 14-01 to the City’s Land Development Code. - Presentation by Cal Overby
Against : Ellie Bradshaw spoke and wanted to see parking for Senior Housing kept at a lower number (.66 per dwelling) compared to what the Planning Department recommends (1 per dwelling).
*** Cal Overby stated that the reasoning for 1 space per dwelling is because at a time in the future some of these residences may revert back to standard housing.
+++ The Council Present voted unanimously for the recommendation
Below are the Power Point slides associated with this presentation:
2. Public Hearing to Install Curb and Gutter along a Portion of the West Side of the 600 Block of 8th Street Drive NW. - Presented by Andrea Surratt
+++ The Council Present voted unanimously for the recommendation
General Comments
Alderman Seaver commented that there would be a Proclamation presented at the Zahra Baker Playground for Child Abuse Prevention Month for the month of April. He invited the citizens to attend at noon on April 9th at the Zahra Baker Playground.
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Hound Notes:
The Interesting discussion of the night was about parking in Senior presented above by Attorney Ellie Bradshaw.
The most interesting development is the further continuance of the development that was proposed four years ago by Pete Zagaroli called the Winged Foot District. This is where Hollar Mill is located. This is where the Moretz Mill is located. This is where the Lyerly (Olde) Mill is located. And this is where the $27 million Linear Park/Sidewalk is located.
You can follow the trail in my thoughts about this meeting -
Thoughts about last night's Hickory City Council meeting - April 1, 2014
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